IN THE MIDST OF THE PEOPLE

Editorial note: We reserve this space for the views, opinions and reflections of any member of our community. In this issue we are running excerpts from the sharing regarding justice and peace work experience of Fr. Peter Kramer,O.Carm.)

IN THE MIDST OF THE PEOPLE

Q: How were you made aware/exposed to social realities of poverty, exploitation, deprivation and oppression?

A: Through study. It is already going back to the time, before I came to the Philippines, more especially around 1960, thanks to organization as United Nations and awareness in the churches. In the Catholic church was Vatican Council II an important factor (Peter Kramer)

Q: How did you view these social realities?

A: “Third world” realities came as an aftermath of the decolonization. Another factor was the improvement of communication, thanks to Radio, T.V., faster traveling, etc.

Q: How did the social realities affect or influence you as a person?

A: All of these influences were for me incentives to make myself available to wherever they could send me, in order to be involved personally in some way or another. It was realized when I was appointed for the Philippines in 1967.

Q: How did you express initially your solidarity with the people affected by these social realities?

A: It was in joining our programs, being set up in our parishes, in Agusan and Negros. My first assignment was in 1968 in Toboso. Credit unions were on the move. In March 1968 was a well organized congress on Rural development. The facilitator was Asian Social Institute of Manila.

Q:Did you join any organized groups?

A: We organized our pastoral set-up in our two parishes- Escalante and Toboso. Tasks were shared. I have special tasking for the Catechesis. We joined the so called, Christian Community Program for Catechesis. Bernard Rosendaal set up Christian Community seminars as preparation for the organization of BCC’s in our parishes. (PK)

Q:How did the group help you in the deepening of your awareness of the social situation and strengthening your standpoint in solidarity with the poor, deprived, exploited and oppressed?

A: Gradually grew more awareness on the deeper roots of various social problems especially in the whole of Negros within the whole sugar industry. Besides the credit unions, there came other approaches like the organization of Farmers, which helped in Negros for setting up the National Federation of Sugar Workers.

Q: Among your experiences what are those that you value most?

A: I was part of our Carmelite group. We tried to work as a team with close cooperation with lay persons in various fields of catechesis, credit unions, organizations of fishermen, hacienda laborers, etc. Being a foreigner, I felt myself more in the line of facilitator and animator, than directly being involved (PK)

Q:How did these experiences help you in transforming yourself?

A: It helped me altogether in becoming more aware about the people’s problems and the main cause of it.

Q: What are your contributions in the field of JPIC works?

A: My contribution was more indirectly. I was from the beginning responsible for financing, being the Procurator of our Commissariate and also for our programs in Negros (1968-80), later (1981-85) I was in Agusan. When I came in Manila (1985), I took over from Arnold Van Vught two special functions: being the Carmelite Representative in Justice and Peace group of AMRSP and becoming board-member of EILER (Ecumenical Institute for Labor, Education & Research), 1985-1996

If I send them away… by JPIC Collective

If I send them away to their homes hungry, they will faint on the road. Some of them have come a long distance."- Mark 8:3

Here's why: I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink.- Matthew 25:42

Fr. Jerry Sabado, O.Carm, parish priest in Sagrada Familia, Barangay Bagong Silangan, Quezon City once told us a story of a 7-year old boy who wanted to receive communion. The boy cried after he was told he could only receive communion on his due age. The boy kept on crying and said, "All I want is to eat the piece of bread, I am very hungry." In the past few days there have been about the bill entitled "An Act Providing for National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development". This will be discussed in Congress when it resumes its session come July 28. A Roman Catholic bishop issued a pastoral memorandum ordering the priests in his archdiocese to refuse communion to politicians who push for the bill, politicians whom the church consider to be anti-life and are promoting abortion.

The church has its own laws governing its life and faith expression. The letter of the Bishop is based on compliance of the Roman Catholic Canon Law.

For her part, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after meeting with Cardinal Vidal and three other bishops, stated that she maintains her stand against the use of contraceptives. Whether or not

that is her way to win the approval of religious leaders over her obliterated credibility, one can read between the lines of her position.

As we reflect on the hungry boy who was denied communion, we wonder, would the bishops deny communion to the President whose electoral victory is marred with lies and cheating? Would the bishops deny the President and her collaborators in plundering the wealth of the people through the infuriating corruption scandals hemming her political power? Corruption has denied so many children access for basic and social services. Denying them of their basic need for today is like aborting their good future. Is this not an anti-life mechanism of the powers-that-be?

How about the death of the more than nine hundred activists, journalists, professionals, farmers, workers and human rights advocates under the effort of the government to quash the revolutionary movement by 2010? Is this not an anti-life scheme? The abortion of democracy, truth and justice spells massive killings of individuals, causing unspeakable social and psychological trauma, economic dislocation of families of victims of extrajudicial killings.

We applaud the church for its strong stance to promote, protect and uphold life. We hope it will speak stronger, mightier and with authority to condemn the corruption, extrajudicial killings, electoral fraud and cheating that deny humankind from enjoying the gift of being fully alive.

The child in the parish of Fr. Jerry represents the human face of hunger. He may not know the rule of the church about communion. But there is something that he knew very well: He must assert his right to live even just for another day. The bread in the communion would not certainly fill his stomach, but it sends a strong message to society where the rulers and powers-that- be quarrel about rules, righting the wrong by wrong deeds, amassing wealth and winning elections unjustly.

Contemplation and our work for justice and peace: (PART 2) from a biblical-theological and Carmelite perspective by: Fr. Rico Ponce, O.Carm.

Kosasih (2001:150) in his study of the Carmelite history concludes that the understanding of contemplation in Carmel as a search for God in people emerged in various documents immediately after the Second Vatican Council based on the example of the prophet Elijah “who sought to see God” (Cf. Const. 11 & 13). The prophet is seen as one who has spoken face to face with God not only on the mountain in solitude but also in the marketplace “when he is actively engaged in political and social questions”. The prophet’s struggle against injustice was based on the concrete experience of God in history, a God who listens to the cry of the oppressed. In imitation of the prophet Elijah the Carmelite Order is characterized by openness to the world of the living God, working in history. The concept of contemplative therefore, has also received a new understanding, that is an attitude, which leads one not only to openness to the world, but also that enables him to see God in the world, because God is not only contemplated in solitude but also in human history through events and people. In other words, his presence is experienced and his word is found in the world through openness to reality and to the signs of the times. The recognition of his presence and word in the world brings about a new way of approaching humankind and provides a new way of being prepared and disposed to serve people. Consequently, being contemplative requires an insertion into historical reality because of the presence of God in it.

As we journey therefore, we are taking on more and more the way of God. We are coming to a greater union with God and with his way. If we know God in this way then will do justice and live in justice. We will become a people who will be incapable of living with injustice. We will abhor the kind of injustice that degrade the human person or fail to cultivate the human person. This idea is also reflected in the latest Pastoral letter issued by the Catholic Bishop Conference in the Philippines which states:

“On the one hand, religion must not be restricted to the purely private sphere, on the other hand, the Christian message must not be relegated to a purely other-worldly salvation incapable of shedding light on our earthly existence” (Shepherding and Prophesying in Hope, A CBCP Pastoral Letter on Social Concerns, # 10).

Justice and Peace from a biblical, theological and Carmelite Perspective

Justice and peace is a favorite theme in scripture from the Old Testament, in the New Testament and through the history of Christianity. In this section I will highlight the role of Prophet Elijah in the works of justice and peace, a new way of seeing Jesus and Mary. I will pick up as well some pronouncement from Vatican II, Social Teachings of the Church, PCP II, Carmelite Constitutions, exhortations from the General of the Carmelite Order that are related to the issue of justice and peace.

Prophets of Justice and Peace

God is not deaf to the cry of the poor and neither must we be deaf. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, God says, “Is not this rather the fast which I desire: break unjust fetters, untie the thongs of the yoke, set free the oppressed and break every yoke? Does it not consist perhaps in sharing your bread with the hungry and to bring the oppressed and homeless into your own home, in clothing those who are naked without neglecting your own people?” (Is. 58, 6-7).

Prophet Elijah as defender of the Poor

The Carmelites draw inspiration from Prophet Elijah as they participate in the works for justice and peace. Traditionally, Elijah has been taken to be our spiritual father, inspiration and model. The ideal Carmelite Elijah is the solitary prophet, standing in the presence of God, burning with zeal for the Lord.

In his letter to the Carmelite Family in 2004, Fr. Joseph Chalmers, O. Carm, the Prior General of the Order, points out that recently the Carmelite Family has rediscovered in recent years the importance of the Prophet Elijah as an inspiration in the work of justice and peace. In recent times, Elijah is seen in terms of the biblical Elijah, the prophet who stands in opposition to the idolatry of the kings and strives to rebuild the peoples standing and identity after the destruction wrought by the kings. The prophet proposes the way of justice, in opposition to idolatry and oppression, the mystical way by which the people would recover their dignity as a people through their trust in the one true God and the way of solidarity by which the victims of injustice would be cared for and brought back.

Elijah’s contemplative experience prompted him to prophetic action. He denounced without fear the actions of the powerful people of his day and he brought the light of the Word of God into situations of sin. The story of Naboth’s vineyard (1 K. 21, 1-29) is a good example of Elijah’s prophetic activity. King Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard for himself but Naboth did not want to sell his patrimony. The Queen, Jezebel, mocked her husband and challenged him to show who in fact was King in Israel. The queen had hatched a diabolical plot to accuse Naboth unjustly of blasphemy and to assume the control of the vineyard when Naboth was out of the way. The Prophet Elijah came on to the scene when Ahab had taken the vineyard into his possession and he condemned Ahab for abusing his authority. Obviously this was a very courageous step. Proclaiming the Word of God in certain situations can be very dangerous. In the Prophet Elijah, we see a man who translated his contemplative experience into prophetic action. (Chalmers 2004, #14)

Recalling my personal experience, the image of prophet Elijah has played an important role in developing my option for justice and peace. At the very young age of 17, I entered Mount Carmel

Seminary in Escalante City, Negros Occidental in 1986. My study in Escalante was my first encounter with the Carmelites. I described my stay in Escalante as my second baptism in the sense that it was the time I was introduced to the economic and political problems of the country. 1986 was just a year after the dreaded Escalante massacre which more than 20 people were killed while they were holding protest action against the dictatorship of Marcos. While studying at our minor seminary, I was also involved in student activism. We always joined march rallies in Escalante and Bacolod city. During recollections and retreats, the usual topics were how can we as new bred of religious, new bred of Carmelites in the Philippines be responsive to the needs of the Filipino people. The Carmelites in Negros during this time were often called

communists. In our exposures to the people in the barrios or villages, I found out from the people that they appreciated very much the presence of the Carmelites in Negros because they were instrumental in establishing the cooperatives for the farmers, the fishermen, the mothers and youth. We interpreted that time that our role as Christians is to be prophet and to be in solidarity with the poor people. Until now, it is still very fresh in my mind the passage of the book of Kings 17 when Elijah fearlessly denounced King Ahab because of stealing the vineyard of Naboth.

Jesus Christ in relation to Justice and Peace

From the view of the Philippine Church as expressed by the Plenary Council of the Philippines II, we Filipino Christians cannot afford to shut off our eyes from the present realities that plagued our society because it is part and parcel of our being Filipino Christians. Every Filipino Christian must be vigilant to the on-going events that unfold in Philippine society because each one is called to proclaim God’s message of love in every place.

We Filipinos are followers of Christ, his disciples. To trace his footsteps in our times means to utter his word to others, to love with his love, to live with his life….To cease following him to betray our very identity

(PCP II 1991, # 34).

But what kind of Jesus Christ do we believe in? What kind of image do we have of him? Is it the meek Christ who suffered quietly and passively? Is He the one who went to the cross like a sheep to the slaughter and without opening his mouth? The implication of this view of Christ is vivid: in order for a person to become a good Christian, he/she should suffer quietly, or he/she should carry his/her cross without making any complaint and murmuring. When put into a situation of injustice, and oppression, he/she should gladly and openly accept it.

In order to embrace the struggle for justice and peace, we need to highlight the political dimension of Jesus’ ministry. As a prophet, we have to see Jesus as someone who clashed with both the religious and the civil authorities of his time. As

described by the letter of Fr. Jusayan and Fr. Pierik:

“Like Jesus had his public life, in which he took calculated risks for the sake of the poor and the downtrodden, so also we are to have our own public life in the service of redemption of our own oppressed brothers and sisters (Jusayan and Pierik 2006).

Breathing the same spirit as theologians who are being challenged and confronted with the reality of poverty, oppression and injustice, we have to become analytical and critical of our situation in society. We can ask the questions: How a message of hope can be offered to oppressed people. Does Jesus have nothing to do against injustice and oppression? We have to discover a new way of seeing Jesus. The first thing we can ask is “What did Jesus Christ really want to bring and what did he actually bring to us?” Waltermire (1994, 24-25) suggests that for liberation theologians like Boff, what Jesus actually proclaimed was the kingdom of God. And this kingdom of God demands personal conversion and restructuring of the human world. It demands a complete turn-around of one’s lifestyle, which in turn affects the world around him/her. The conversion that Jesus demands is a 100% liberation from legalism. Jesus condemned the Scribes and Pharisees not because they were evil people. In fact, they did what the Law and society required to be called good. But they failed to do the essence of the law which is: love, justice and mercy. We have to see that Jesus is not actually meek and passive. In fact, Jesus on many occasions got into trouble with the religious authorities in His time because of His radical interpretation of the law in favor of those people in need and people who were poor (Fabella 1999, 214). We have to see that what is enunciated in the Gospel is that Jesus opted for the poor. He preached that the reign of God was near. He called blessed those who hunger and thirst for justice. He fed, healed and welcomed outcasts. Finally, the death of Jesus on the cross was not a passive death. The cross reveals that God identifies with the one unjustly executed rather than with the rulers and perpetrators. Far from legitimizing suffering, the cross shows that God is in solidarity with the victims and that God opens the possibility of their own engagement, both interiorly and exteriorly against the forces of oppression. We have to see of Jesus as a liberator. He is on the side of the oppressed to free them. With these view of Jesus, we can provide a new image for the oppressed people. They may lift up the low self-image of the oppressed. They make them realize that they are of great worth, the privileged focus of God’s care. We have to see that Jesus is neither the passive victim nor as the dominating lord, but He is the liberating Word of God who is in solidarity with the poor (Ponce 2006, 52-56). (To be continued in next issue)

Landlessness is Death to the Farmers by: JPIC Gollective

Alongside crisis is the continued struggle of the poor farmers for genuine agrarian reform. Faced with feudal bondage and poverty, land grabbing has been a normative scheme of the landlords and a legal tool to amass land and wealth. But for the already victims like poor peasants, the wealth and richness of the grabbers spells death to them.

In Montalban Rizal, Mang Gadioso Cuyag is about to lose 2.3 hectares of land planted with root crops and fruit-bearing trees. Mang Gadioso started cultivating the parcel of land in 2007 after Mayor Peng Carpo awarded him with a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA). But he will lose the property and livelihood, along with 200 other farmers due to technical deficiency. According to Rubilyn Sarmiento, a member of the local farmers group PANAWAGAN-POP Association, before the 2007 elections, hundreds of farmers were awarded by Mayor Peng Carpo with CLOA. It turned out that the distribution of CLOA was only meant to win votes in favor of Carpo. Months after Carpo was elected, the farmers started to receive notice of eviction.

Worried by the threat of demolition, PANAWAGAN-POP ASSOCIATION had sought the help of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement in the Philippines). When they reported their case to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the farmers were shocked when they were told them that the CLOAs were technically deficient because there was no signature of Mayor Carpo. When confronted, Mayor Carpo merely told the farmers to blame the Department of Agrarian Reform) instead.

The case of these farmers in Montalban, represent the stories and struggles of farmers all over the country. In an interview by Gentle Breeze, Daning Ramos of KMP blamed the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the government for the massive confiscation of land and cancellation of the CLOAs.

“Even if farmers have CLOA and Emancipation Patent (EP), the land can be confiscated if the farmers have unsettled debts with the Development Bank of the Philippines ( A state- owned bank that manages the payment scheme of farmers who want to own a land. They pay at 6 percent interest per year for 30 years),” Ka Daning pointed out.

In Bukidnon, a province in Mindanao , Southern part of the Philippine archipelago, 800 farmers were evicted even if they carried CLOAs and EPs. In Hacienda Looc in Nasugbu, province of Batangas ( Southern Luzon province ), 3,000 farmers are being threatened with eviction. In Hacienda Sta. Isabela in Isabela ( Northern Luzon province ), at least 5,000 families almost lost the land if not for their unity to defend their rights.

The plight of farmers proved that the CARP did not truly uplift the poor. It is in this light that the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) must be pushed in Congress to ensure free distribution of land.

While many of our farmers remain landless, at least 1.5 million hectares of lands are to be planted with sorghum and hybrid rice under the RP-China agreement. Under this agreement, many farmers are threatened to lose their farm lands. According to KMP, the vast tract of lands will cover Cagayan, Isabela, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac. It is deplorable that the government is selling out our land to foreign powers while our farmers remain poor and landless.

Land is is life for the farmers... The prophet Amos once said “Cultivate the land, so that life may flow in the countryside.” Land is the root of the conflict between big landowners and the poor farmers. In their quest for justice, many farmers have shed blood as they fought for their rights. Based on the data of the human rights group KARAPATAN, of the 888 victims of extra-judicial killings under the Arroyo watch, 54% were farmers, fisher folks, agriculture workers and indigenous people. Also, of the 185 victims of enforced disappearances, half of it came from the peasant sector.

The poor are crying out: Land to the tillers! Implement genuine agrarian reform! Stop the killings of peasants who feed the nation!

Let us join the farmers in their cry for land and justice. Let us do our part to bring their issues to the attention of the JPIC international and human rights watchdog groups worldwide that can help generate pressure to stop these gross violations of farmers’ rights.

Ka Bel: Following the Liberating Mission of Jesus by JPIC Collective

ANAKPAWIS* HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE CRISPIN ‘Ka Bel’ BELTRAN will be best remembered for his prophetic witnessing. As a modern prophet, he inspired his people to continue to hope, dream and aspire for a more humane society while he also denounced the structure of sins in the corridors of power. Proclaiming the gospel of liberation and denouncing the structures that enslaved the people are the best attributes that characterized a true prophet. Ka Bel exposed the rottenness of a corrupt regime after another. At a time that the people are reeling from extreme poverty, Ka Bel exposed another scandalous bribery in Congress involving a hefty P2 million offer for him to endorse a fake impeachment complaint against Arroyo. Ka Bel resisted the bribe which could have afforded him to buy a mansion for his family, free from the leaks of the rainy season. Then he would have ceased to be a poor Congressman and never be forced to climb up his leaking roof and fall to that fatal accident. He was an example of a true servant leader who always thought about the plight of his people.

Contrary to an old saying that power corrupts absolutely, Ka Bel showed us that power, when used to empower the weak is a liberating experience. He used his position in congress to push for bills that could uplift the plight of workers and the poor. With the high prices of rice and other prime commodities, his bill for the P125 legislated across the board nationwide wage increase continued to be blocked by majority of pro- Arroyo members of Congress. He lamented that the capitalists in Congress have placed roadblocks in every step to take to favor the poor and the marginalized. He was worried that while the ordinary people could hardly cope with the skyrocketing prices of commodities and services, the fight for dignified wage is being threatened with violence in the work place. Union leaders and members are killed, harassed and threatened in the picket lines and communities

Ka Bel proved what a true representative of the people means. He lived a simple life. He never abused his position to gain wealth for his family. Ka Bel lived up to his vow of poverty. His expression of poverty is gleaned from his relentless pursuit for the dignity and rights of the workers. Ka Bel did not take the path of other labor leaders who sold their members by accepting bribe in exchange for the rights of the workers. In fact, he died poor. While majority of our congressmen have become so rich, Ka Bel remains poor. Even to his death, he proved to be a man who could lived-out his principle of simple living..

Ka Bel lived his life carrying the message of Jesus “I am here to serve, not to be served.”

Ka Bel exemplified the image of a true Christian. His works must inspired many of our church people; laity, religious, priests and even bishops. Though he became a lawmaker in the midst of the chamber tainted with corruption, he did not abandon the cries of the poor and oppressed, instead he lived in their midst, in their struggle; Ka Bel showed us the real picture of a true Christian faith for the reign of peace based on justice. When Ka Bel relentlessly spoke about the deplorable plight of the workers and the poor being stripped of their dignity, Ka Bel showed us how to be a Christian. His works must be emulated by many, especially the religious who professed to follow the footsteps of Jesus and in proclaiming the gospel of truth, justice, and love. His works should draw inspiration for those who professed that they will serve God with a pure heart that is always ready to feel the plight of the marginalized. Then with their vow of poverty and obedience they will live a simple life and in a concrete solidarity with the people of God. What ka Bel showed us is how to live our life following the liberating mission of our Lord Jesus Christ entrusted to the church.

Now that he has joined our martyrs in the kingdom of God. May his death beckon for the passing of the mission. Let us remember that above all else, we must serve the people no matter what the cost.

*Literally means Toiling Masses. Anakpawis is a political party representing the marginalized farmers and workers.

Caravan for Truth, Justice and Change

Summer 2008 was meaningfully spent by the Justice and Peace ministry of the Order of Carmelites in Manila through active participation in the “People’s Caravan for Truth, Justice and Change.

As a concrete response to the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for “communal actions” and to form “circles of discernment” at the grassroots communities including parishes and Basic Ecclesial Communities and lay organizations, the People’s Caravan aimed to deepen the people’s awareness on corruption issues under the Arroyo administration and to affirm their vital role in destroying the culture of corruption in our country.

Bro. Gilbert S Billena, O.Carm, a student friar volunteer of the Justice and Peace ministry, together with representatives of the Interfaith Justice and Peace Network (IFJNet) immersed in some parishes and communities in the dioceses of Caloocan and Novaliches to facilitate prayer and reflections on the current issues besetting the country. The People’s Caravan also facilitated a process wherein the grassroots communities especially the youth could express their dreams, aspirations and struggle for change through arts (visuals, skits etc).

During the prayer-reflections, participants shared experiences of different levels of responses among the church leadership and parishioners. Thus it was articulated that sustaining the pursuit for truth, justice and change requires constant reaching out with the grassroots communities.

One of the caravan initiators asked, “We already see, hear and feel the effects of corruption that really kills the people but where are our church leaders who will take the lead to motivate grassroots communities to fight corruption?”

Indeed, the challenge continues especially among church people to embrace the mission of educating and organizing the people to exercise their role and power as sovereign people in this time of grave crisis in our nation. ###

O.Carm. joins Inter-faith Rally for Truth and Justice

The shameless cover up of truth on the NBN ZTE deal and other corruption scandals under the Arroyo administration has moved the people to declare “Tama Na, Sobra Na, Kumilos Na!” (Enough is Enough! Act Now!) This was the cry of the Filipino people before God and the whole nation due to the myriads of scandals in the government. More than sixty thousand people from various sectors converged at the February 29, 2008 prayer rally at Ayala, Makati City. The inter-faith gathering was a living statement against the “morally bankrupt Arroyo administration.

Fr. Jerry Sabado, O.Carm became the main Master of Ceremony in the first part of the interfaith rally. Prayers and messages were offered by Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Mo. Mary John Mananzan, OSB of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, among other leaders of faith-based and sectoral organizations.

the student friars actively participated in the campaign for truth and accountability by joining mobilizations, noise barrage, forums and prayer rally as a concrete response to express the demand for change in the corrupt-ridden administration and rotten system in the government. The O.Carm community in Manila including the workers were in full force in the said rally. According to Bro. Froilan “This mobilization is our expression of our solidarity with the people against the darkness of deceit