Philippines Reflection: Pagbag-o Sang Kabuhi
The acceptance of the ‘New Life’ Logo as the logo of the whole Congregation was a boon to us as we began a presence of the Congregation in the Philippines. Taking the logo as our starting point, and with the assistance of our language tutor, we have adopted the motto above, ‘Pagbag-o Sang Kabui’ – Renewal of Life – as a statement of identity. We are here as an expression of new life within the Congregation. We are here personally to find, in a new way, the face of God among this beautiful people of Negros. We are here to share the spirituality of being Brother in a Church that has not had that experience before. This will require deep listening.

Constitution 20 gives us the lead. “We are offered the gift of obedience which disposes us to listen to God’s word and welcome it.” What is that word that we are hearing so far?

In the recently published Reflections on the Spirituality of Brother Colm Keating, Frank Chappell quotes Colm in India as saying, “Yes, there is stark poverty, and people living on the streets, but what speaks loudest to me is the dignity and attitude of the people.” Those words echo our experience. We have been confronted with poverty and how best to respond to it. Not that the poverty here is as stark as that in Calcutta, but it is very real. Amazingly, the majority of the people here are smiling and busy about life. They seem content with little and know well how to care for each other. Professional people run businesses in extremely simple stalls that have few overheads. We are challenged in how we live, and in our attitudes. We also feel challenged in how to respond to beggars and those in need. We are advised that dependency can be easily engendered. Finding ways to assist which support and empower yet remain respectful of the notion of reciprocity is not an easy task.

Our exploration into the mysteries of the Ilonggo language, have shown us how much humour is contained in it, and how the people of Negros love to make a play on words. We have been made most welcome wherever we go. Many people have been very kind to us, sometimes embarrassingly so. Gentleness and caring characterise these people. Yet paradoxically there is an undercurrent of violence. Murders are regularly reported in the media. The police and security personnel who abound, all overtly carry firearms. This has been confronting to us. The rich live in secured compounds. Our house too has a big wall around it. We feel bad about this. This gap between the rich and the poor is giving us plenty to think about.

The land in Negros is rich but the distribution of land and the resultant wealth is not even. Perhaps what we are sensing is the result of hopelessness. The church declares itself to be the church of the poor and does speak up for them. There are many examples where Bishops have taken the side of the poor in politically fraught issues. During our language studies we have been staying with the Redemptorists in Bacolod. Each Friday they have a distribution of rice to poor families whom they have previously encountered and checked. We have become aware of a number of schemes of planned assistance to the poor. At this stage it is all food for thought and reflection but eventually we will need to take some action of our own.

Here are two good news stories. There is a small group, almost entirely of women, who meet each Tuesday in a poor area not far from the Redemptorist Church in Bacolod, to reflect and share on the gospel of the following Sunday. Sharing with them in our broken Ilonggo and only understanding a small amount of what they say, has not hindered the transmission of a wonderful sense of acceptance and joy from them to us. These women are heavily involved in the life of the Parish and act as a leaven within their community. In recent celebrations to mark the Centenary of the presence of the Redemptorists in the Philippines, they have been very much involved. A beautiful offertory procession which would have taken them many hours to prepare was an inspiring highlight. A woman bearing the ciborium was seated on a market trolley, shaded by a full banana plant!

Each Sunday morning at the Cathedral in Kabankalan we have observed a young woman who communicates the readings and the homily, to the deaf through sign language. She is so full of life and so expressive that we were drawn to meet her. Miladdie in fact runs a small residential school for the deaf and has done so now for ten years. It is poorly resourced but she has dedicated herself to these children and to the eighty or so people in the area who are deaf. She is an inspiring person; a Filipina Edmund? She says, “If I don’t help the deaf, they will never ‘hear’ the word of God.” There seem to be many such examples of goodness among the people.

What is God saying to us through these experiences? A few messages seem to be:
• It is good to be here. We feel very welcome. The people seem genuinely happy that we have come.
• We have been told that it takes time to know what Filipinos really think. We are aware there is a level of understanding that will always elude us.
• There is a history of colonialism here which has down-played the Filipino people and their culture. It will be all too easy to do likewise – and we may well be unaware of our folly.
• The spirituality of the Brother is not well known – hardly known at all. We have a unique opportunity to share a different aspect of God’s face to his people.
• We need to go slowly (‘hinay-hinay’) and gently.

Rod Ellyard
Philippines