OM’S CORNER
Living out Bishop Gregorio Aglipay’s legacy,
promoting and defending human dignity
T HIS May 2015, we commemorate
the 155th birth anniversary of
Monsignor Gregorio Labayan
Aglipay, first Obispo Maximo of the
Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI). We
honor the memory of this great Filipino
patriot priest and flag-bearer of the
Philippine religious revolution, whose
strong leadership charted the course of the
IFI for 38 years.
Bishop Aglipay’s theological thoughts
are a wellspring of moral and spiritual
standpoints that remain significant as we
strive to faithfully pursue the Church’s
mission and confront the challenges of our
present historical context. There is much
to be learned from this man of the cloth
whose principles were shaped by a living
faith that unhesitantly engaged himself
with the Filipino people’s collective
aspiration for national and social
liberation, and the affirmation of human
rights and dignity.
If there is a social and political principle
that would describe his character, or a
spiritual rule that would be indicative of
his life, it would be: “Serve the people!”
Throughout his priestly life, Bishop
Aglipay constantly worked toward
the benefit of the majority. Instances
abound where he had displayed complete
surrender to and preference for the pursuit
of collective good more than his personal
interests.
In his encounter with the Jesuit friars
Francisco Foradada and Joaquin
Villalonga, Bishop Aglipay indignantly
refused to yield to the compromise offered
to him – the office of the first Filipino
bishop and a large sum of money – in
exchange for abandoning the Filipino
clergy and the crusade for religious
freedom. Infuriated by the Jesuits’
insult to the Filipino clergy, and use of
indulgence to buy his allegiance to the
Roman Church, Bishop Aglipay declared,
as quoted by Professor Teodoro Agoncillo
2 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
in History of the Filipino People, “I seek
not for my personal betterment. What I
am after is justice and truth. Though you
tempt me with miter and millions, I am
compelled by my conscience to refuse.”
For Bishop Aglipay, the right to self-
governance and the right to live as a free
people of a free nation are matter of
human dignity. He believed that these
should be upheld and defended at all costs,
in all fronts of struggle. This guided his
participation in the national democratic
revolution against Spanish colonialism
and American imperialism.
Rights and honor, and freedom and
courage, form a single thread to constitute
human dignity. This, for Bishop Aglipay,
only goes to show how these should be
realized and protected. Every person has
an inherent worth and should be treated
with respect. Everyone must enjoy life
that is free from any form of oppression,
manipulation and exploitation.
Human dignity, therefore, is the
recognition and fulfillment of one’s
democratic rights.
Bishop Aglipay eloquently said these
words in the Fundamental Epistle: “A free
man is a man … with dignity … upheld
by all his rights and strengthened by his
inescapable duties ... [and] obliged to
defend [his] freedom. We are born with
the right to think freely … to govern our
own person, our family, our home and our
own homeland; we are born to do freely
whatever pleases us as long as we do not
usurp the freedom of others and violate
their rights.” His statement provides
us with a rich theological and moral
foundation for any discourse on social,
political, economic and cultural right in
our time.
“Pro Deo et Patria!” “Serve the people!”
“Promote human dignity!” “Defend
human rights!” These are all noble
concepts and principles. But what do they
really mean to our Church?
All over the country, millions of people
are without work, underemployed or
unemployed. They suffer poverty and
hunger. In rural areas, farm workers,
peasants and indigenous people are
subjected to military aggression and
violence as they fight for home, food and
land to till. Peasant leaders all over the
country face fabricated charges which
criminalize agrarian struggle while
landlord families maintain control of
thousands of hectares of land.
In the urban areas and cities, urban poor
communities continue to be neglected
and remain without access to basic social
services, while workers are repeatedly
deprived of the rights to decent jobs
and just wages. The plight of the urban
poor has turned from bad to worst after
demolitions of their communities and
massive relocations to give way to private-
public partnerships.
As a result, Filipinos endure the pain of
being separated from their families as they
seek better job opportunities abroad. They
are now the government’s biggest export,
whose remittances have kept the country’s
economy afloat. Yet, they are abandoned
in times of crisis.
Bishop Aglipay, during his lifetime,
was never remiss in advocating human
dignity at the forefront of every arena
in the struggle for national liberation
and democracy, ecumenically and
internationally. I strongly believe that
we, individually and collectively, must
constantly strive to faithfully pursue the
same.
Let us celebrate Bishop Aglipay’s legacy
with a firm commitment to the promotion
of human dignity. Let us commemorate
his life which had borne courageous and
faithful witness to the Gospel of Christ
in the national democratic struggle of
our people. We should draw inspiration
from the way he lived out our Church’s
historical heritage “Pro Deo et Patria.”
 CONTENTS

26

18 19 22
ACROSS THE NATION 19 When a tree falls: The Virgin
6 IFI clergy push on wood
for resumption of peace
talks
20
In the presence of Apo
Apang
7 Church helping in captive 22 Just like Magsaysay
soldier’s release, complain of Volume 3 Number 2 April-June 2015
military harassment
1500 Taft Avenue, Ermita, Manila, Philippines, 1000
NEWS
Ode to Mary on Belison
waters 5 IFI labor center extends
THE MOST REV. EPHRAIM S.
FAJUTAGANA, D.D.
assistance to workers
OIKOUMENE Editor in Chief

8 Church of Sweden-IFI


Social issues in Asia are focal
point in CCA event VAUGHN G. ALVIAR
celebrate 20th year of Managing Editor
concordat relations

9 Old Catholic Churches, IFI

13 Hands Off PH! IFI joins JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Independence Day rally Writer
commemorate 50 years of
full communion
Rabbis in the modern times BR. NIÑO FRANCO D. MAMORBOR
EDITORIAL Lay-out Artist

14 Workers’ dignity
24
TCR holds first journalism
seminar DEE AYROSO
HANS PIERCE VERANO
FEATURE Cartoonists
10 From antipodes to a
25 Mayflower? Luna shows way
communion that spans the JUN VINCENT M. ALAY-AY
ends of the earth 26 Canonical Journey Editorial Assistant

12 Reality check: HIV/AIDS and RT. REV. JOSELITO T. CRUZ

the Aglipayan 27 In Samal, Aglipayans REV. WILFREDO L. RUAZOL
15 The face, the faceless
celebrate culture unity Editorial Consultants

18 Three stars and a sun Live Via Crusis in Bacoor

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 3

EDITOR’S NOTE

Inspired by witness About the cover

“ ... [F]or we cannot stop speaking

about what we have seen and heard.
“
-Acts 4:20

I
f the heavens open before your naked
eyes, you would keep talking about it
for days. The case perfectly captures
the amazement that the Apostles carried
when they began spreading God’s truths.
It inspired them to brave hardship, even
persecution carried out by powerful
civilizations worshiping pantheons and
god-kings.
is Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
Our church is filled with the majesty of
the Lord. It was built on inspiration, from
laborers and revolutionaries who sought
for Filipinos their birthright; and it is still
fueled by a God that liberates, that lauds
the humble and cares for society’s most
vulnerable.
Justice is yet to be served. A month
after the gruesome fire that killed
72 Kentex workers, relatives and
supporters offer food and candles.
Photo by Manila Today

The inspiration also fueled those who Like Christianity worldwide, however, About the editorial
wrote on scrolls and tablets the narratives many followers of the independent cartoonist
from and about God. Awe brought Reina Catholic church in the Philippines have
Elena, Hari Constantino and countless lost their link to their heritage, or doubt
warriors on a crusade to find the Lord’s its dynamism as a Church. They think it
Cross. Strong faith manifested in those has been sleeping even when in truth it
who toiled that varying cultures may has only focused its capabilities on the
understand the Bible. grassroots, and veered from grandiose
and publicity. A few Independientes, like
Many of the inspired ones are now written myself, keep seeing and hearing the life of
about as martyrs, saints and historical the Church, although in a fashion far from
figures. Many are venerated in traditions, the meticulous systems of other sects.
referred back to for their acts. Contractualization is like a
For us so far, the liveliness is seen only in monstrous fire that consumes the
But thousands of years since the Lord snapshots, peeks and glimpses. It lacks a Filipino workers, as illustrated in
walked the Earth to show the Father’s centralizing force. This force is what we the Kentex blaze in Valenzuela,
majesty, many forget the prophecies, aim to become at The Christian Register. which killed at least 72 contractuals.
miracles and wisdoms he shared. We want to gather stories of beginnings, Forced to bear subhuman working
Churches lose their inspiration and instead present work and future undertakings conditions, contractuals earn by
find influence not in grace but in power, in from our readers. We want everyone to piecemeal, without any benefits or
possessions instead of godly wisdom. learn about the selfless theology that security of employment. By “endo,”
drives the free Church; the special faith or the end of contract on their fifth
These conditions change the context of that struggles with the oppressed. month, they are forced to sign a
the verse above, from human nature to a new contract to keep themselves
call for true Christians among us. TCR’s people have so far found this: The employed, or to look for another
Church faithfully and actively witnesses work.
I think this call is closer to the heart of the Lord’s will and thrives therein.
Filipinistas. To quell fear and doubt as we Our hardships are brought by the same Contractuals are estimated to
take on the challenge of evangelization, inspiration that began and sustained comprise majority of the employed
in the valiant ways of champions-turned- Christianity. We just “cannot stop labor force, who are forced to fight
heroes of Christianity, Filipinistas need speaking about what we have seen and for their right to employment, or to
not go far, because we have the grace that heard.” continue to be exploited.

Cartoonist Dee Ayroso, a member of

the IFI, writes for Bulatlat.com. She
Vaughn Geuseppe Alviar also draws Bulatlat’s “everywhere cat,”
Managing Editor Martin, in the comic strip, “Martin’s
Purrspective.”

4 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER


IFI labor
center Social issues in Asia
extends are focal point in CCA event
assistance
to workers
BY REV. DINDO RANOJO
T
HE OBISPO Maximo Tomas
Millamena (OMTAM)
Labor Center in Iloilo City
has assisted eleven labor and legal
complaints since its founding last
January.
Apart from legal assistance, the labor
center also provided a hut-inspired venue
for education, meeting, planning and
other activities of workers’ groups and
trade unions. The center was inaugurated
last May 1, 2015.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri
Colmenares joined the inauguration
speaking on behalf of trade unionist and
workers calling for the P16,000 minimum
wage increase nationwide.
The OMTAM Labor Center receives
support from the Workers Assistance
Program of the Obispado Maximo.
TEXT BY JUN VINCENT M. ALAY-AY
S
OME 118 member organizations
from across Asia convened in
Jakarta, Indonesia, for the 14th
General Assembly of the Christian
Conference of Asia (CCA) on May 20
to 27, 2015.
The Iglesia Filipina Independiente’s
Bishop Joselito T. Cruz, Jun Vincent M.
Alay-ay and Maria Teofilina Morales
joined more than 400 other Christians
from 100 churches and 17 councils in
reflecting on the theme “Living Together
in the Household of God,” at Mercure
Convention Center.
In a series of fora called Sarasehan –
the Indonesian word for “dialogue or
discussion” – the voting delegates and
observers from 28 countries zeroed in on
emerging issues relevant to the witness of
churches in Asia, including ecumenism,
healthcare, environmental protection,
migration and human trafficking, and
peace-building.
Issues about marginalization in
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE
NEWS
indigenous and other vulnerable
communities in Asia, upholding the
dignity and rights of children in Asia and
overcoming discrimination and violence
against women have been discussed.
The outcomes of the deliberations in the
Sarasehan series were discussed for setting
priorities for CCA’s future programatic
involvement.
Other events in the five-day gathering
included program-evaluation sessions,
worship and prayer, and exposure to
Indonesian cultures and traditions, as well
as socialization.
Rev. Rex Reyes, the conference’s president
and also the general secretary of the
National Council of Churches in the
Philippines, presided over the Extra-
Ordinary General Assembly for the
Amendments to the CCA Constitution.
New members of the General Committee
were also elected and who will serve as
part of the decision-making body of the
CCA in the next five years.
5
ACROSS THE NATION
IFI clergy push for resumption
of peace talks
C lergy of the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente called on the
Government of the Philippines
(GPH) and the National Democratic
Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to
resume peace talks in their annual
regional convocation in Cagayan de Oro
City, held June 8 to 12.
“This is the prerogative of the Church. A
just and lasting peace is what God would
want for His people,” said Bishop Rudy
Juliada of the Diocese of Libertad.
Bishop Juliada is also the chairperson of
the Mindanao Bishops’ Conference or
MinBisCon.
The annual convocation was held at the
DCENT Center in Bulua, Cagayan de
Oro City. It was attended by nearly 200
ordained ministers from 13 dioceses in
Mindanao.
Bishop Juliada said it was high time
TOP:
BISHOPS lead the Holy Mass during
the convocation.
LEFT:
MINDANAO clergy express hope that peace
talks would soon resume.
RIGHT:
PRIESTS lead the community building during
the convocation.
6 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
TEXT BY JANESS ANN ELLAO
PHOTOS BY REV. LOUIE VINCENT BERNIDO
for both panels to sit together and
resume peace talks given the poor living
conditions of the people of Mindanao.
Media have reported on the rampant
contractualization of workers there, as
well as the militarization of indigenous
peoples’ communities and the toll of
large-scale mining on families and their
livelihood.
“It is our steadfast prayer that the ongoing
talks bear results beneficial to the Filipino
people; that the panels directly engage in
the peace process with deepest sincerity
and purest desire for the well-being of
the people,” the communiqué of the 12th
Mindanao Clergy Convocation read.
The GPH and the NDFP are set to
forge the Comprehensive Agreement on
Socio-Economic Reforms, which peace
advocates believe would provide relief to
the marginalized Filipinos. However, the
peace negotiation has hardly moved an
inch under President Benigno Simeon C.
Aquino III. Formal peace talks have been
in impasse since February 2011.
A special GPH delegation met the NDFP
panel in October 2014 to look into the
resumption of formal peace talks, but
during a meeting in February this year,
the NDFP was told that Aquino was
preoccupied by the Mamasapano fiasco,
a US-led botched police operation in
Mamasapano town last Jan. 25 that killed
44 elite police, 18 Moro fighters and 7
civilians.
The 188-strong MCC said: “We do not
finger-point which one is causing the
difficulty of the talks, but [our aim is]
instilling the betterment of our people
living free of violence and religiously
celebrating the goodness of God’s given
gift of Shalom – prosperity, equality,
security, safety, tranquility and abundance
in life.”
 Church helping in captive soldiers’
release, complain of military harassment
TEXT BY JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA

A PRIEST of the Iglesia

Filipina Independiente is
facing harassment and a
trumped-up case from the military for
providing sanctuary to children of the
Higaonon tribe.
Bishop Raul Amorcillo of the Diocese
of Malaybalay said Rev. Rolando Abejo,
one of their priests, is accused in the
“abduction” of two minors, allegedly
under the “pressure” of the Philippine
Army.
“The two minors were said to have
boarded a vehicle, which fetched five
Higaonon minors from the village of
Sil-ipon in Libona whom the local church
have given sanctuary to,” said Amorcillo
in a phone interview with Davao Today.
The said incident took place last April 11
at around 10:30 a.m.
In a statement, Bishops Raul Amorcillo,
Rudy Juiada, Antonio Ablon and
Felixberto Calang clarified that the five
Higaonon minors from Sil-ipon, Libona,
Bukidnon were among the 13 arrested by
police in one of its operations but were
turned over to the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) upon
learning they were minors.
Their community has been subjected
to militarization as government troops
protect large agribusiness in the area at the
expense of displacing indigenous peoples
in the community. If the government
really wants development, Bishop
Amorcillo said the Philippine Army
“should let the lumads who own the land
till it without fearing for the lives.”
The IFI bishops said in a statement last
April 11 that the priests responded to the
request of the family to accept the custody
as part of its “sanctuary program.”
“The family said a member of the Cafgu
(Citizens Armed Force Geopraphical
Unit) who filed the police blotter saw the
two children board the vehicle and that
the one who fetched them was our priest,
Rev. Abejo,” said Bishop Amorcillo.
Rev. Abejo is the parish priest of San Luis
and serves as the chairperson of Social
Concerns for the Bukidnon Diocese.
But Bishop Amorcillo said they later
discovered that the Cafgu was only shown
a photo of Rev. Abejo, who was not part
of the group that fetched the children. The
bishop said Rev. Abejo was presiding a
Mass at that time.
The bishops said the guardians’ decision
“was prompted by continued harassment
by military agents against their family
and the economic burden of taking care
of five children.” But Amorcillo said the
parents’ would not press charges and
alleged that “it was the DSWD who have
been pressuring them to file charges.” The
bishops have already met with the parents
last April 22.
Meanwhile, the bishops called on the
Philippine Army’s 1st Special Forces
Battalion under the 4th Infantry Division
“not to maliciously stain the image of
the Church whose role is to protect the
helpless, defenseless and weak, especially
children.”
Amorcillo said the whole community
of the Anlagans is “under pressure from
the Army that is now conducting its
community organizing for peace and
development projects in the area.”
The bishops said that this “has become the
usual pattern when organized community
and lumad folks uphold their rights to
defend their ancestral domain against
encroachment of large-scale mining,
agri-business plantations and many other
forms of development aggression.”
They call for the military “to stop
harassing persons and communities and
to end its alleged deceitful influence, if
not manipulation of other government
agencies, to advance their anti-insurgency
campaign – Oplan Bayanihan.”
Reposted from DavaoToday.com

Ode to Mary on Belison waters

A FLUVIAL parade serves as the highlight of
the Flores de Mayo of Filipinistas in Belison
town, Antique.

The Biray Festival, held every June 1, honors the

Blessed Virgin Mary through a parade of boats at the
town’s beach.

The celebration was begun by the early members

of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in the Belison
parish. Today, it is supported by the local government
unit and the officials of Poblacion village.

A special nonworking holiday, it is even grander

than the town fiesta, with outstations and districts
preparing their boats and holy images. Mikmik Yanga
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 7
OIKOUMENE
Church of Sweden-IFI celebrate
20th concordat relations
BY VERY REV. ELEUTERIO J. REVOLLIDO, S.TH.D.
T
HE CHURCH of Sweden
(CoS) and the Iglesia
Filipina Independiente (IFI)
commemorated the 20th year of the
Concordat of Full Communion (1995-
2015) , highlighted by a nine-day visit of
the IFI delegation to Sweden from May
17 to 25.
Obispo Maximo Ephraim Fajutagana led
the delegation which includes this writer
(CERIA), Dr. Lito Noroña (CTEOM),
Arnel Magpili (LIFI), Pearl Harder
(WOPIC), and Rev. Wilfredo Ruazol and
Pete Pico (Central Office staff).
A Holy Mass for the concordat celebration
was held on Pentecost Sunday, May 24,
at the historic Uppsala Cathedral. The
Right Rev. Sven-Bernhard Fast, bishop
of the Diocese of Visby and chair of the
Ecumenical Department of the Church of
Sweden, presided the service.
In his homily, the Obispo Maximo
lauded the concordat relations and the
partnership between the two churches,
and the responsibilities that the concordat
entailed in the work of justice and peace
in the world.
The activities were prepared by the
CoS International and Ecumenical
8 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
TEXT AND PHOTOS
Departments and coordinated by the
Rev. Jennie Nordin and Rev. Fredrik
Lautmann.
The program for the nine-day visit put
emphasis on encounters between leaders
of the two Churches, and other activities
aimed at strengthening understanding and
cooperation.
A meeting between Archbishop Antje
Jackelen, first woman head of the CoS,
and the Obispo Maximo discussed how to
put more flesh to the concordat relations
and give more institutional expressions
to the cooperation between the two
Churches.
The delegation visited the Strangnas
Cathedral where a memorial for the Rev.
Narciso Pico, an IFI priest who was killed
in defense of human rights in Negros
Occidental, was included in the Martyrs
Chapel dedicated to the martyrs of the
20th century.
A concordat forum was held at the CoS
Church Office in Uppsala where this
writer and Rev. Dr. Christopher from the
CoS delivered their lectures in response
to the World Council of Churches’
documents “Together towards Life”
and “The Church: Towards a Common
Vision.”
The CoS and IFI concordat panel meeting
agreed to strengthen relations through
a strengthened partnership in the areas
of theological education, leadership
formation and training, pilgrimage
on justice and peace, youth exchange
program, sister-diocese partnership,
support for women priests, networking
and publication.
CoS also hosted a special dinner
fellowship with the Friends of the IFI in
Sweden. During the occasion, Bishop
Jonas Jonson recalled how the concordat
relations were first conceived during his
visit to the Philippines, hosted by former
Obispo Maximo Tito Pasco.
Rev. Per Kristiansson, who was assigned
to Aklan in the 1990s, emotionally
recalled the memories of martyred Obispo
Maximo Alberto Ramento. He mentioned
that he was wearing the shirt printed with
the words “Serve the People,” which the
bishop gave him when he heard the news
about his brutal killing in October 2006.
Thanking the organizers of the
celebration, the Obispo Maximo expressed
his “deep gratitude to the Church of
Sweden and the recently achieved
milestones in the relationship” given
expression in the 20th anniversary of the
concordat relations.
 Old Catholic Churches, IFI celebrate
50 years of full communion
A
EUCHARISTIC service marked
the 50th anniversary of the
Concordat of Full Communion
between the Old Catholic Church in the
Union of Utrecht (OCC) and the Iglesia
Filipina Independiente (IFI) last June
13 at the Saint Gertrude Cathedral in
Utrecht, The Netherlands.
“It is a journey that has given meaning
to Christian commitment to witness to
Christ in a world where God longs to be
present. Our concordat manifests God’s
presence in the world as we strengthen the of service to the world through witness
bond of Christian unity and friendship
between our two Churches,” Obispo
Maximo Ephraim Fajutagana said.
Utrecht Archbishop and Primate of the
Old Catholic Church Joris Vercammen
led the Eucharist. Obispo Maximo
Fajutagana, on the other hand, delivered
the homily.
“The Concordat of Full Communion
acknowledges that we share the same
faith,” said Archbishop Vercammen. He
spoke about the concordat as a “gift from In the midst of globalization, Segbers
God with which God is enriching our
lives and our world.”
Bishop Dick Scoon of the Diocese of
Harlem was also present in the occasion
together with other theologians, priests
and lay faithful from other dioceses of the abundant life for all.”
Old Catholic Churches in Germany and
Switzerland, among others.
The seeds of concordat relations was first catholicity. Their advocacy on justice and catholicity of the communion of local
sown in 1903, when Obispo Maximo
Gregorio Aglipay wrote to then Bishop
Eduard Herzog of the Old Catholic
Church of Switzerland. The Concordat
of Full Communion was finally forged
between then Obispo Maximo Isabelo de
los Reyes, Jr. and Archbishop Andreas
Rinkel on Sept. 22, 1965.
Today, this relationship is growing in
many aspects of partnership, including
the support which OCC gives to IFI
Workers Assistance Program (WAP)
and Task Force on Emergency Response
(TFER). Other projects include a
partnership with Switzerland-based
Partners-SEIN that supports kindergarten
schools in Bohol, the Bishop Haden
TEXT BY REV. DINDO RANOJO
Institute in Cabadbaran and the St. Paul the extrajudicial killing of Bishop Alberto
Mission in Palawan. The partnership Ramento, a staunch supporter of striking
between the two churches also paved Hacienda Luisita farmers, nearly a decade
the way for scholarship grants to ACTS ago.
women students and faculty, and
exchanges between OCC theologians and Archbishop Vercammen and former
IFI priests. Obispo Maximo Tomas Millamena
were involved as third-party depository
“The concordat offers witness to the of the peace negotiations between the
catholicity of our Churches, not the kind Government of the Philippines (GPH)
of catholicity that simply seeks to establish and the National Democratic Front of the
our identity as part of the universal Philippines (NDFP).
Church of Christ, but one that seeks to be
“The challenges of catholicity and
to God’s rigtheousness,” Obispo Maximo globalization strengthened the bond
Fajutagana added. between the two Churches, knowing that
they face a common challenge. Catholicity
On globalization and catholicity in the context of globalization means
working together. This is essential, for
Rev. Franz Segbers of OCC Germany we need to struggle together against
said the communion between the two imperialist globalization,” said Rev.
Churches played a big role in their Wilfredo Ruazol of the IFI.
advocacy for global justice and peace. The
two Churches, he added, bravely spoke “Globalization is the monopolization of
on the challenges of globalization and the the world’s rich resources in the hands
universality of human dignity. of the few until nothing is left for the
majority of the people of the world.
Globalization, then, challenges the
said that “Catholicity ... is the Churches to unite against this system of
connectedness of the global and local oppression against the poor of the world,”
[churches] celebrated in the Eucharist. Rev. Ruazol added.
... The Eucharistic vision is to transform
globalization and to prepare ourselves for Rev. Dr Martin Robra, senior adviser
a self-giving sacrifice for justice, peace and to the WCC General Secretary, said the
“unjust worldwide economic structures,
disregard for the dignity of human
The two Churches have also embarked beings and the integrity of creation are
on a dialogue on globalization and all impacting and undermining the lived
peace issues includes calling for justice for churches.”
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 9
FEATURE
From antipodes to a communion
that spans the ends of the earth
TEXT BY REV. PROF. PETER-BEN SMIT (UTRECHT UNIVERSITY/VU UNIVERSITY AMSTERDAM)
T HE FIRST contacts between
the two churches took place
in 1903, when Eduard Herzog
(1841-1924), first bishop of the Old
Catholic Church of Switzerland,
wrote Gregorio Aglipay a letter on
Dec. 1.
“You don’t know perhaps that there are in
Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Austria
similar catholic national Churches as
you have organized so happily in your
Islands. We hold the catholic faith, the
catholic sacraments, the catholic liturgy,
the catholic constitution of the church,
but we are independent from the Pope and
especially we deny the Vatican Decrees,”
the letter read.
Herzog suggested that these national
Churches should be in brotherly union
to “show the world that it is possible to
be catholic everywhere without being
submitted to Rome.”
The “communications” that Herzog
requested come to pass, resulting in the
exchange of books and publications, and
even a plan to get Aglipay consecrated to
the episcopate again by Herzog.
However, as it is well-known, in these
years Aglipay, oftentimes in cooperation
with Isabelo de los Reyes Sr., also began
to further develop his understanding of
Christianity, eventually arriving at what
he would call “religious Philippinism,” in
which Christian tradition was merged with
modern scientific insights, and elements
of Philippine heritage and culture (as it
has begun to be studied in the course of
the 19th century).
This also involved a departure from quite
a number of doctrines generally held by
Christian churches (e.g., the importance
of the Old Testament, the divinity of
Christ, the Trinity and a number of
others). Much of this was documented in
a new catechism, the “Catequesis de la
Iglesia Filipina Independiente” (Manila,
1911). Aglipay sent Herzog a copy and
received the following answer:
10 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
“I have received the book ‘Catequesis’
which you have so kindly sent me. If I
am not mistaken, this book is now the
Confession of Faith of your Church. You
know that, in geographical sense, we are
antipodes. With deepest sorrow I must
say to you that we are antipodes also in
the religious and ecclesiastical sense. You
are so far from us that even a discussion
between us is impossible.”
Herzog expressed reservations on the
“Catequesis,” saying that the “doctrines
of evolution are not in opposition to the
divine revelation of religion. Darwin
was a churchman; Häckel is not even an
authority to the naturalists.” He added
that its author did not understand the
language of the New Testament and of the
Holy Gospel, among others.
The letter left nothing to be desired in
terms of clarity.
This also applied to Aglipay’s reply, in
which he argued that he was right and
that Herzog, despite his long career as a
professor of Theology, could not see the
error in his views.
As a result, communications between the
two Churches ceased for a while. They
picked up again only after Aglipay’s death
and the subsequent doctrinal reorientation
of the Iglesia FIlipina Independiente.
Restart–Toward a paper relationship
(1947-1965)
The IFI returned to a more generally
recognizable form of Christianity
following Aglipay’s death in 1940.
This received much inspiration from
the Episcopal Church’s missionary
jurisdiction in the Philippines, which led,
after the IFI passed a new statement of
doctrine and introduced a new statute in
1947, to the (subconditional) consecration
of its three bishops by Episcopal bishops
in 1948 and the establishment of
communion in 1961.
In this context, communications between
the IFI and the Old Catholic Churches
recommenced as well. Then Old Catholic
Church of Switzerland Bishop Adolf
Küry (1870-1956), who also served as
secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of
the International Communion of Old
Catholic Churches, the Union of Utrecht,
was invited to participate in the 1948
consecration.
Though he was unable to attend, Küry
said: “I am very glad that through the
consecration of the three bishops the
Iglesia Filipina Independiente is entering
in the apostolic succession and therefore
can be recognized as a full member of the
One Catholic Church.”
The IFI was able to establish full
communion with the Episcopal Church
in 1961 and its bishops were being invited
to the Wider Episcopal Fellowship, an
initiative of the Anglican Communion
that seeks to bring together various
Episcopal-organized churches that are not
part of the Roman Catholic communion.
While the fellowship served in 1964 as a
venue where IFI and Old Catholic bishops
could meet in person, the communion
with the Episcopal Church would serve as
a catalyst for the establishment of further
agreements of communion among the IFI,
churches of the Anglican Communion
and beyond. This course of action was
taken immediately after the establishment
of full communion between the Episcopal
Church and the IFI.
In this context, the then IFI Obispo
Maximo Isabelo de los Reyes Jr. asked
Bishop Stephen F. Bayne, then ecumenical
spin doctor of the Anglican Communion,
what he needed to do next.
Bayne said the IFI must establish similar
Concordats and other agreements for
full communion with the Church of the
Anglican family, and those technically
outside the Anglican churches but
maintain close coordination. He also
wrote to the two provinces of the Church
of England and asked then Archbishop
 “ ... [I]t is possible to be catholic everywhere
without being submitted to Rome.
“
of Utrecht Andreas Rinkel to evaluate the Following the mid-1980s, a web of links Catholic Churches served as a third party
catholicity of the IFI. has been developed, initially often through during peace talks between the Philippine
the missionary and aid agencies of the government and the National Democratic
Rinkel, along with Old Catholic Church Old Catholics, in particular those of the Front of the Philippines in 2001.
of Switzerland Bishop Urs Kury, said German, Swiss, Austrian and Dutch
that the IFI’s prayer books, faith and Old Catholic Churches. In this context, Looking back, it is fitting that this
liturgy “sound as Catholic as ours.” He an exchange of theologians developed, year, 50 years of full communion was
affirmed the catholicity of the IFI and Rev. Wim de Boer (Netherlands), for commemorated and celebrated, while both
looked forward to formally establishing example, served as lecturer and student churches are currently observing the joint
communion between the two churches, chaplain at St. Paul’s Theological commemoration of the martyred Bishop
even if this would only be a relationship Seminary (1988-1990); and a series of Alberto Ramento, who as none other
of theoretical significance for the time theologians (including the Archbishop of summed up in his life and death showed
being. Utrecht, Dr. Joris Vercammen, now the what it means to be an “Aglipayan”
bishop of Switzerland, Dr. Harald Rein, and whose witness continues to inspire
After the bishops met at the Wider Prof. Franz Segbers, Rev. Dr. Remco Christians around the globe.
Episcopal Fellowship of 1964, De los Robinson, Rev. Elly Hessel, Prof. Peter-
Reyes Jr. proposed the full communion, to Ben Smit) served as visiting lecturers at Bibliography:
which Rinkel suggested a meeting between both St. Paul’s Theological Seminary and Boer, Wim H. de/Peter-Ben Smit, In
the two churches during the Conference Aglipay Central Theological Seminary, necessariis unitas. Hintergründe zu den
of Old Catholic Bishops in Vienna in a number of years as holders of the ökumenischen Beziehungen zwischen
September that year. “Ramento professorship,” sponsored by der Iglesia Filipina Independiente,
the International Bishops’ Conference den Kirchen der Anglikanischen
De los Reyes Jr., along with Bishop of the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Gemeinschaft und den Altkatholischen
Camilo C. Diel, travelled to Vienna, Churches. Kirchen der Utrechter Union Studien
where the communion was eventually zur Interkulturellen Geschichte des
forged. The first years appeared to be Between 2006 and 2008, theologians Christentums 155 (Frankfurt: Peter Lang,
of theoretical importance and had little from both churches took part in an 2012).
correspondence, mostly involving the international consultation on catholicity
bishops of the Polish National Catholic and globalization, considering their Dutton, Marsha L. (with Emily K.
Church (in the United States/Canada), common vision of catholicity and how Stuckey, ed.), Globalization and
then a member of the Union of Utrecht. they might live together as a communion Catholicity: Ecumenical Conversations on
of churches in a globalized world. God’s Abundance and the People’s Need
This changed in the beginning of the (Bern: Stämpfli, 2010).
1980s. In 2001, a youth trip from the Old Segbers, Franz/Peter-Ben Smit,
Catholic Church of the Netherlands Catholicity in Times of Globalization.
Toward Lived Communion served to expose the Dutch youth Remembering Alberto Ramento,
(1980-present) to realities of life in the Philippines, Martyred Bishop of Workers and Peasants
resulting in a lasting commitment of these (Luzern: Exodus, 2011).
From the early 1980s onwards, youngsters to the Philippines and the IFI.
communication emerged between Smit, Peter-Ben, ‘Imagining a Pilgrimage
members of the Old Catholic Churches In recent years, Filipino students were of Justice and Peace: The Philippine
in Europe and of the IFI, particularly sent to the Old Catholic Churches to take Independent – Old Catholic – Episcopal
Dr. Ilse Brinkhues-Volckmar (1923- internship programs or to participate in – Church of Sweden Consultation
2012) -- economist and active ecumenist, the annual summer school in the Old on Catholicity and Globalization,’
cofounder of the diaconal agency of the Catholic Theology (Rev. Noel Dacuycuy, Ecumenical Review 66 (2014), 214-225.
German Old Catholic Church, and spouse Very Rev. Larry Herrera, Rev. Wilfredo Smit, Peter-Ben, ‘The Road Towards
to Bishop Josef Brinkhues -- and Obispo Ruazol); and to do research and give Full Communion Between the Philippine
Maximo Tito E. Pasco (1930-2008), then occasional lectures at Old Catholic Independent Church and The Episcopal
secretary general of the IFI. institutions (e.g., the Very Rev. Dr. Church,’ Anglican & Episcopal History
Eleuterio Revollido in Switzerland in 2006 84:2 (2015), 1-45.
Pasco was present at the International Old and the Netherlands in 2013), or preside
Catholics’ Congress of 1986 (Münster, over services in the Filipino parish in the Smit, Peter-Ben, Old Catholic and
Germany) and the resolution of that Netherlands (Very Rev. Herrera and Rev. Philippine Independent Ecclesiologies in
congress concerning the political situation Ruazol). History. The Catholic Church in Every
in the Philippines is a clear indication of Place Brill’s Series in Church History 52
his impact on this meeting. In a different vein, the IFI and the Old (Leiden: Brill, 2011)

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 11

FEATURE
Reality check: HIV/AIDS and the Aglipayan
H IV/AIDS is a reality for the
Iglesia Filipina Independiente
(IFI).
Last April and May, this “reality” sent me
to summer youth camps and congresses
involving over 700 Youth of the Iglesia
Filipina Independiente (IFI) in the
dioceses of Iloilo, Koronadal and Siargao.
It is part of a concerted effort by the
IFI and other members of the National
Council of Churches in the Philippines
(NCCP) to use traditional activities
to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS and
responsible sexual health.
I facilitated several workshops on what
is now unfolding to be an epidemic.
One was Pro-Safer practices, Access to
treatment, Voluntary counseling and
testing, Empowerment, or Pro-SAVE,
which tackles the basic facts on acquiring
and diagnosing the disease. Meanwhile,
the Anti-Stigma, Shame, Denial,
Discrimination, Inaction and Misaction,
or Anti-SSDDIM, tackles the judgment
of HIV-positive persons, thus negative
impacts like denial and depression.
On all three occassions, I usually left my
contact details for questions the youth
might want to ask privately. Conversations
were initially disturbing, as matters
surrounding sex are taboo in our culture.
But I found courage to continue, because
now the young faithful were narrating
their personal encounters with sexual
violence and people living with HIV.
One person who reached out knew
someone who had died due to AIDS. I
was shaken. It was heartbreaking that
12 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
TEXT BY JOHN RYAN MENDOZA
the person struggled in silence – and it is
heartbreaking still that others continue to
keep it all in.
The discussions revealed to me that
there is a need to break myths and
misconceptions on HIV/AIDS. SSDDIM
– prejudice against or apathy – in
discussions on gender, sex and sexuality in
and among Churches is a great challenge
to our response to the prevention of new
HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.
The bottomline is the fear produced by
the falsities and the persecution. This
perpetuates the continuing increase in
HIV/AIDS cases in the country.
Engaging the youth on issues about
gender, sex and sexuality is key in
increasing knowledge and positive attitude
toward sexual health. This is a sustainable 2007, 9 in 2012 and 17 in 2014
way to reach the country’s ultimate target
of zero new infections and deaths, and
zero cases of discrimination, especially
among the youth in our churches.
We urge everyone to be part of our
#PreventionNOTCondemnation
campaign.
John Ryan Mendoza is a registered nurse. He
is the HIV Program Coordinator of the NCCP.
Born and raised as a Roman Catholic, he chose
to be part of the IFI after college, when he felt
more affirmed of his gifts and graces as an
openly gay man and indigenous peoples’ rights
activist.
BY THE NUMBERS
25,648 Cases from January 1984 to
May 2015
748 New cases in May 2015 alone, making
the month 51 percent higher than May 2014
and the highest monthly increase since 1984
21 New HIV cases daily in 2015, from 1 in
93 Percentage of cases that were
asymptomatic when reported
>25 Percentage of increase in HIV/AIDS
cases between 2001 and 2009, per UNICEF,
making the Philippines one of only seven
countries with such uptick
82.81Percentage of Filipinos who never
got tested
1Position of the Philippines in a ranking of
growth in HIV/AIDS cases
TOP:
AS ONE. Members of the NCCP Churches
condemn prejudice against people living with
HIV/AIDS.
LEFT:
BISHOP Ephraim Fajutagana gets
an HIV test.

‘Hands Off PH’
IFI joins Independence Day rally
T
HE IGLESIA Filipina
Independiente (IFI) joined the
commemoration of the country’s
Independence Day in a rally in front of
the Chinese Embassy and the United
States Embassy last June 12.
“We were never genuinely free. The same
exploitative conditions remain, if not
worsened, from the time the Church was
proclaimed until this very day,” said Rev.
Jonash Joyohoy, president of the Council
TOP:
IFI FAITHFUL join a national call for genuine freedom.
Rabbis in modern times
R abbi.
This special title, for Jewish
religious teachers is what about a
dozen Filipinistas claimed after a
10-day training on educating children
about the Church and the Bible, in
Sibalom town, Antique.
This batch, trained at the Parish of Sts.
Peter and Paul in San Jose Buenavista
village, added to an elite group that
faced children of the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente in this year’s Vacation
Church School, an annual summer
program of the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines.
Bien Nallos began the program for rabbis
TEXT BY JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
of Priests and one of those who joined the
rally.
The rally was organized by Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic
Alliance) and Pilipinas Nagkakaisa para
sa Soberanya (P1NAS), a broad coalition
of academicians and former statesmen
that has been conducting efforts to stir
patriotic fervor against China’s bullying
over the maritime dispute in the West
Philippine Sea, and the US’ longtime
TEXT BY JUN VINCENT M. ALAY-AY
in his home parish, the Parish of Peace
and Good Voyage in Villar village, after
setting his eyes on the ordained ministry
five years ago; but has persisted on
improving it even when the other goal has
not worked out.
The course orients the prospective teachers outstations across Sibalom.
on a special module, running through
IFI history, the life of Obispo Maximo
Gregorio Aglipay and the Nicene Creed,
which to Nallos is an intensive outline of
the faith in itself.
The module uses 10 Bible stories, narrated remarked. And this enjoyment will soon
verbatim and later analyzed.
The program ensures candidates get
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE
NEWS
aggression and plunder to the country.
Members of the IFI also joined the protest
action in Iloilo City, where President
Benigno S. Aquino III was visiting for
the commemoration of the Independence
Day. Rev. Marco Sulayao said three
seminarians were hurt when the police
violently dispersed the indignation rally.
Last year, the Supreme Council of
Bishops (SCB) issued a statement against
the Enhanced Development Cooperation
Agreement (EDCA).
“The answer is in your hands,” said
former Sen. Rene Saguisag, a convenor
of P1NAS and one of the so-called
Magnificent 12 who voted against the
RP-US Bases Treaty of Friendship back
in 1991.
SCB president Bishop Rhee Timbang
told The Christian Register the Church’s
revolutionary roots should inspire faithful
to take action on such a very pressing
issue.
training on lesson planning, Bible study
tools and the structuring of lectures,
Nallos explained.
The program is proving effective as the
number of rabbis has increased. This
year it accommodated 450 pupils in 12
“We now have a VCS theme song, in
Karay-a,” the active lay minister said.
“I enjoy doing this because I learn
something new every year,” Nallos
translate to a second module and a plan
to adopt the program across the Antique
diocese.
13
EDITORIAL
Workers’ dignity
N O ONE NEEDS to die trying to
earn an honest living.
But this is not true for 72 contractual
workers, who made slippers for a living
and died in a big factory blaze. They
screamed for help through windows
protected by iron grills that trapped them
to die.
Kentex is a slipper factory located in
Valenzuela City, a premiere city in
Manila’s economic map. The city is a
production city where capital reigns over
workers who enter their labor into contract
to earn a living. It is a city where capital
wealth is produced and corporate profit is
accumulated out of the workers’ exploited
labor, as they surrender themselves to poor
working conditions and low wages.
While their killing is horrifying, it is
equally disturbing to imagine how these
workers lived their day-to-day life in
extremely dire conditions. The Kentex
tragedy is a sad reminder of how capital
14 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
accumulates profit through the
exploitation of labor. It represents the
corporate greed and capital that exploited
labor and production, and reduced
workers’ dignity into commodity.
Millions of Filipinos are without work,
totally unemployed or underemployed.
They suffer poverty and are denied the
means to a decent life. Joblessness gives
birth to contractualization which makes
workers vulnerable to all forms of labor
rights violations and abuses, even death.
The Iglesia Filipina Independiente was
born out of the Filipino workers’ struggle
for dignity–dignity of labor, dignity
of life and dignity of being a worker.
Our forebears have strongly laid down
the foundation of this mission when
they proclaimed the Church that pays
honor to the importance of the labor
movement in the historical process of
social emancipation and the formation of
a Philippine national democratic society.
There should be no vacillation on this
historic mandate and legacy.
But workers today are confronted with
the daunting challenges of worsening
poverty and hunger. They struggle to
survive and they sell their labor power and
their capacity to do so. The exploitative
relations of production in a capitalist
society aggravate their misery, and they
suffer dehumanization for being exploited,
domestically and globally.
Being a Church that stands up for the
defense of human labor against the
unrestrained acquisition of wealth in a
global capitalist society, we continue to
promote workers’ rights, not only to form
union and for just wages, or to assert their
right, but to uphold their humanity based
on the dignity of human work.
Let us pray for the 72 Kentex workers
who were burned to death, and may their
memory–their life made miserable by
capitalist exploitation and the neglect of
their rights–set our spirits on fire to firmly
live our historic birthright as a Church that
upholds the dignity of human labor and
promotes workers’ rights.

The face, the faceless
No matter how far from one another, Mary Jane Veloso and the workers that perished in a factory fire in Valenzuela are
connected -- they are all Filipino laborers, dreamers
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JANESS ANN ELLAO
I
N A COUNTRY that deploys
its people more than it generates
decent-paying local jobs, the fate
of Mary Jane Veloso and at least 72
Kentex workers are not isolated cases.
The 400-page Philippine Development
Plan 2011-2016, dubbed the “Social
Contract with the Filipino People,”
acknowledged that majority of the
Filipino people were not benefitting
from economic growth. It declared that
President Aquino’s economic policies
and projects would be directed toward
“inclusive growth.”
Years later, with less than a year to
go before Aquino’s term ends, Ibon
Foundation executive director Jose
Enrique Africa said in his testimony
before the International Peoples’ Tribunal
in Washington D.C. on July 17 that there
remained 66 million Filipinos struggling
to survive with under P125 per day.
LEFT:
THE FAMILY of Mary Jane Veloso, a single
mother, continues to hope for her freedom.
RIGHT:
VELOSO just became the face of OFW issues.
FEATURE
Africa, in a statement, acknowledged that at only 2,800 daily.
the country’s average economic growth
was higher than some Southeast Asian In the face of such attacks on the rights
countries, but he nevertheless noted that and welfare of Filipino workers, Obispo
under the so-called “inclusive growth,” Maximo Ephraim Fajutagana said it was
the country has also recorded the highest the primary task of the Church to look
numbers in un- and underemployment – after them, especially those from the ranks
4.3 million and 7.9 million, respectively, as of the peasants and workers.
of 2014.
“It is the DNA of the Iglesia Filipina
Africa said: “...[T]his only highlights the Independiente (IFI),” the Supreme Bishop
exclusionary character of the country’s said. “It is the very foundation of our
growth.” existence.”
Add those figures to the meager daily The face of labor migration
minimum wage – at only P481 in the
National Capital Region, a far cry from a Protesters were resting during the vigil
chief executive officer’s P194,521 – and outside the Indonesian Embassy in Makati
you see a country ripe for the diaspora. City at dawn, April 29. Some were lying
around, others sat on the ground and
As of 2013, at least 10 percent of the gathered in small circles. But the standstill
country’s population was working abroad. was broken at around 2:00 a.m. by cheers
With about 4,500 Filipinos leaving every and tears from protesters. Migrante
day, the Philippines has deployed more International chair Garry Martinez had
Filipinos abroad than generated local jobs, just announced the stay of execution of
“ ...[I]t was the primary task of the Church
to look after them [Filipino workers],
especially those from the ranks of the “
peasants and workers.
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 15

Mary Jane Veloso.
“We said that only the people can save
Mary Jane. We fought a good fight, we
would like to think it was the best fight
that we could ever wage, and because of
this, we have prevailed,” Martinez said, in
tears.
The stay of Mary Jane’s execution is
one of the biggest news of the recent
times. Many called it a “miracle,” the
government claimed it was their legal
handiwork. Still, members of progressive
groups and church workers said it was a
product of the perseverance of the mass
movement, both here and abroad.
Mary Jane’s ordeal has brought to the fore
the dire living conditions in the country.
On April 25, 2010, Mary Jane, a single
mother of two, left for Kuala Lumpur. She
held on to a promise by her godsister and
16 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER
recruiter Ma. Kristina Sergio
that a good-paying job was
waiting for her abroad.
There was none. From Kuala
Lumpur, she was sent to
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where
she was held at the airport
for carrying 2.6 kilograms of
heroin, secretly stashed in the
bag her recruiter lent her.
Six months later, she was
sentenced to death by the
Sleman District Court in
Yogyakarta.
From then on, her family has
pleaded government agencies
for help. Every time they would
visit the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA), the case officer
handling Mary Jane’s case
would either be out for lunch,
in a meeting or on vacation. For
five years, they were virtually
kept in the dark.
Overseas Filipino workers
group Migrante International
soon offered assistance. Mary
Jane’s mother Celia said she did
not think twice and immediately
accepted the offer. They brought
Mary Jane’s case to national
and international attention.
Later, with the case already too
big to brush aside, the family
learned that only a court-
appointed lawyer and a student translator
were provided to Mary Jane during her
trial. The services of law firm Rudyantho
and Partners were retained by the
Philippine Embassy in Jakarta after the
court already meted out her death penalty.
The Velosos also learned that for three
years and eight months – from the time
the Indonesian Supreme Court upheld the
death sentence in May 2011 to January
2015 when the Indonesian lawyers filed a
petition for a judicial review – the judicial
track to save Mary Jane from death row
was on an impasse.
“
The Kentex fire ... showed the
indifference to, neglect and
exploitation of workers.
Instead, the Philippine government relied
solely on clemency from then Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono.
(He was replaced in late 2014 by Joko
Widodo, who declared illegal drugs as a
crisis.)
“In the five years that we were dealing
with the DFA, I could count with my
fingers the number of times that their
officials initiated a call to update us on
my sister’s case,” said Maritess Veloso-
Laurente, Mary Jane’s sibling. “But the
number of times that I called them for
updates? You can include my toes and it
still would not be enough.”
At the height of the campaign to save
Mary Jane, her family sought the blessing
and support of the IFI.
“I was very frustrated when I learned
the case,” Obispo Maximo Ephraim
Fajutagana recalled. “Her intention in
leaving the country is the same with nearly
everyone who wants to work abroad. She
would endure the pain of being separated
from her loved ones in her search for a
better job abroad.”
The stay of execution was granted because
Sergio came out of hiding on April 28,
seeking police custody. The Indonesian
government stopped the execution in
the nick of time to give way to legal
proceedings in the country, said Edre
Olalia, Mary Jane’s lawyer and National
Union of Peoples’ Lawyers secretary
general.
As of this writing, charges against Sergio
were already filed in a Nueva Ecija court.
Also facing wraps for illegal recruitment,
qualified trafficking and estafa are Julius
Lacanilao, Sergio’s partner, and a certain
“Ike,” who remains at large.
Mary Jane is still on death row. The fight
to save her life continues.
The faceless of labor
Life is not a bit better for Filipinos
working in the country.
“
 “ Proclaimed by workers in 1902, the IFI enshrined its
commitment to the welfare of workers in its Church “
mission statement.
Role of the Church labor that Filipinos had to go through
under the Spanish rule to this day when
Obispo Maximo Fajutagana said it was they are treated as mere commodities.
Less than a month after the stay of
unfortunate that every time the Church Unjust practices served to distort God’s
execution of Mary Jane, Filipinos were
spoke on transgressions against workers, image and likeness, which He imparted to
stunned by a news report – at least 72
some would be quick to respond that the human beings, he said.
workers dead in a fire that gutted a slipper
IFI should just mind what the Bible is
factory in Valenzuela City last May 13.
teaching. Responding to attacks against Filipino
workers, the Dioceses of Iloilo and Tarlac
The Institute for Occupational Health
“They think that it is contrary to the have launched the Workers Assistance
and Safety Development (IOHSAD) said
teachings of the Gospel, but it is not,” Program this year. The IFI also launched
in a fact-finding report that the Kentex
he said. Proclaimed by workers in 1902, its Mission to Seafarers to provide
Manufacturing Corp. had no functioning
the IFI enshrined its commitment to the assistance to seafarers and their families.
or proper fire exits. The factory also had
welfare of workers in its Church mission
no proper smoke or fire alarms, or regular
statement. “Social action is an activity inherent to
fire and safety drills.
the Church. It is sending out in the service
“In the minds of the founding fathers of of the Kingdom of God to promote an
The slipper factory, the report also
the IFI, concern for human development atmosphere where people can enjoy a
stated, committed grave negligence in
has always been there. Their cry and bigger share of the gifts of civilization for
their mishandling of a dangerous and
struggle were for liberation from the development and fulfillment of their
flammable chemical by not properly
the bondage of colonialism, slavery, potentials as human beings,” said the
labelling or storing it. These chemicals’
oppression, degradation, injustice, human statement on Church mission.
explosive reaction to sparks from a
indignity and dependence,” the statement
welding activity on the door of the
on Church mission statement read. “Nothing has changed. This is the reason
main entrance began the tragedy, initial
the Church continues its advocacy to serve
investigation revealed.
The Obispo Maximo noted that there was workers and fight with them for their
hardly any improvement – from the forced rights,” Obispo Maximo Fajutagana said.
The IFI was among those who extended

“
help and solidarity to the grieving families
of the Kentex workers who died.
Nothing has changed. This is the reason the “
“It looked safe from possible thieves that Church continues its advocacy to serve workers
would be coming from the outside, but it
was really impossible for anyone to get out
and fight with them for their rights.
of that building,” said Rev. Dindo Ranojo,
program coordinator of the IFI Central
Office, when he visited the site of the fire.
Reports said that aside from disfunctional
fire exits, the windows were covered in
wires, so it was impossible for the workers
to escape through them.

The Kentex fire, the Obispo Maximo said,

showed the indifference to, neglect and
exploitation of workers.

Big-business owners become “unmindful

of the best interests of the workers,” he
said. He also scored the government
agencies that allowed the factory to
operate even with the wrong practices.

“It is very painful. They lived and died

under such dire circumstances. They
worked hard all their lives to provide for
their family,” Obispo Maximo Fajutagana
said.

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 17

FEATURE

Three stars and a sun

TEXT BY VAUGHN GEUSEPPE ALVIAR
PHOTOS BY KUH NOBLE DELA VEGA & JULIUS ANDRES BANIAGA

L
newfound concept of nation was
ONG before the heyday of the muffled by shady American legislations,
three stars and a sun, many fair the Santacruzan found a new role in
ladies of the Iglesia Filipina spreading the word. The nationalist
Independiente have already worn their church used it as an instrument to show
nation in one of the most anticipated their transformed theology – one of a
traditions dotting the Catholic liberating Lord.
calendar.
Titles like Reina Hustisya and Reina de los
The Santacruzan has been scouting the Martires met nationalist fervor, and were
most beautiful women in town to parade indigenized to reflect Philippine struggles.
in gowns made of the most splendid
fabric, retelling yearly the successful In August 1907, when the American
crusade by Reina Elena and her son King goverment in the Philippines enacted
Constantine to track down and bring the Flag Law, denying Filipinos the right
Jesus’ Cross to Constantinople, the capital to use the flag waved in Kawit, Cavite,
of the nascent Catholic Church. among other emblems, the IFI took an
unequivocal stance that we fondly go back
The centerpiece among the sagala usually to today.
wears an immaculate white gown wrapped
in elaborate detailing of gold or silver. In disgust, the clergy wore flag-inspired
Composing her court are a lineup of vestments and placed the Philippine flag
Tondo, Manila
Biblical characters, and of the descriptions on the altar. Especially in the Tagalog
of the Virgin Mary, poetic or based on the region, devotion to the indigenized
Litany of Loreto – queen of the flowers, Birheng Balintawak only intensified.
of the seas, divine shepherdess and many
more. Then, one May, a woman puzzled and
later captivated onlookers, as she wore
Other ladies would represent the ideals of the red, blue and white colors of the
Christianity or aspects of the Philippine Philippine flag, with the sun and the three
culture – Reina Moro, Reina Fe and Reina stars finding their place on her gown – She
Caridad, for example. was Reyna Banderada. In other places,
she held the flag with her hands, or was
Many scholars speculate that the followed by a host of men bearing the
Santacruzan and other grand spectacles many flags of the Philippine Revolution.
like processions on the Holy Week or
patronal feasts had been used to lure This addition, still used by many parishes
natives into Christianity, thus becoming today, was a precursor for the infusion of
major tools for evangelization. other nationalist sagala, such as Reina
Balintawak and Reina ng Simbahang
The IFI adopted the tradition, believing Pilipino.
such pomp and pageantry was well
deserved by the woman who braved The Aglipayan Reina Banderada is a
judgment to bring to the earth the Savior vanguard of nationalism, who reminds us
of the World. that we should wear the three stars and a
sun on our sleeves, generations before we
But, when in the early 1900s, the learned to print them on clothing.

Luna, Isabela

18 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER

 When a tree falls:
The Virgin on wood
E nshrined at the altar of Santa
Cruz parish, Diocese of
Laguna, is a holy image which
draws many devotees from all parts of
the Tagalog region - a piece of wood
with an image of the Virgin Mary
holding the infant Jesus in her arms.
The image has been called the Birhen
Maulawin (Virgin of Maulawin).
Stories tell of a strong typhoon in 1909
that caused a Maulawin tree to fall to the
ground. The lumber was transported from
the hills to the village for carpentry. But to
everyone’s astonishment, the image of the
Blessed Mother and the Infant Jesus was
discovered on the trunk when the log was
sawn. When the trunk was photographed,
a sharper, clearer image of the Blessed
Virgin and the Infant Jesus appeared.
Poor people as they were, the owners or
caretakers of the piece of wood presented
it to the newly established Iglesia Filipina
Independiente (IFI) – or Aglipayan
Church – in Santa Cruz, which people
called the “Church of the poor.”
On June 4, 1911, a huge number of
Aglipayan devotees gathered for a
thanksgiving Mass in honor of the Blessed message that the Filipino people’s struggle
Virgin. The date soon became the feast
day of the Birhen Maulawin, patroness
of the IFI in Laguna. Though the years,
thousands of devotees testify about having
miraculous experiences of healing from
sickness and answered prayers with the
help of the Birhen Maulawin.
“Santa Cruz Cathedral, which is
home to the Birhen Maulawin, has
become a pilgrim site to those who seek
God’s goodness through the motherly
intercession of the Blessed Virgin,” said
Rev. Richard Arroyo, dean of the Santa
Cruz parish.
“Miracles happen when God breaks
into history, be it about our personal or strengthening their faith and knowing that
communal experience of God’s saving
love,” he added.
TEXT BY PRECILLA S. PALOMIQUE
For some priests, the Birhen Maulawin
strongly signifies an affirmation of the
historic mandate of the IFI.
“The image of the Birhen Maulawin
embodies an affirmation of the IFI
as a Church fighting for the Filipinos,
especially for the poor,” Rev. Dindo
Ranojo, a priest of the Diocese of Laguna,
told The Christian Register.
Rev. Ranojo added that “the Blessed
Mother has repeatedly appeared to
different generations, appearing each
time with a different face to God’s
people, throughout Christian history.
The Birhen Maulawin disclosed herself
to Filipinos at a time when their right to
self-determination and independence had
been violently snatched by the colonial
Catholic Church and imperialistic US
government.”
For the Rev. Dante Camingawan, former
parish priest of the Santa Cruz parish,
the Birhen Maulawin is a sign of God’s
protest against oppression and injustice in
the world. “The significance of the lady
“
on wood can be seen as carrying God’s
for independence is a rigtheous struggle The story of the
Birhen Maulawin
against political domination and social
and racial discrimation.”
Far from espousing fanaticism and tells and reflects
religious superstition, Rev. Ranojo sees
the Birhen Maulawin as a religious icon the story of people
and symbol that gives expression to God’s
concern for the common people.
who find their
“The story of the Birhen Maulawin tells
living through the
and reflects the story of people who find
their living through the humble work of
their hands,” Rev. Ranojo said. “Miracle their hands.
“
humble work of
is God acting in human history. The
true miracle of the Birhen Maulawin is
in giving hope and courage to people,
whatever happens, God will always be
with them.”
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 19
FEATURE
BELOW:

In the presence
THE FOLLOWING of Apo Apang grew from
the Aetas that saw her in the wilderness to
millions.

of Apo Apang BOTTOM:

THE AGLIPAYAN Church hosts the original
image of Ina ng Poon Bato.
Conflicts and questions are many around this Zambal patroness,
but the faith is ever so intense

TEXT BY VAUGHN GEUSEPPE ALVIAR

PHOTOS BY ERIC MORTERA

N
O DETAILED history
surrounds the image of the
Holy Mother enshrined in the
Iglesia Filipina Independiente’s Loob
Bunga church in Botolan, Zambales.
The date of arrival, or even the
exact date of make, may have been
documented for many images of the
Virgin Mary, but not this one, with a
skeletal history of only 28 words.
“Unang nagpakita ang Ina ng Poonbato sa
mga katutubong Ayta sa silong ng mayabong
[na] punong kahoy at may malaking bato sa
silong nito sa bundok ng Botolan, Zambales
(Ina ng Poon Bato first appeared to the
native Aeta under the shade of a lush
tree, under which was a boulder),” says a
marker just in front of the church.
“The flames gutted the house instead,”
said Cariño. “The image was unburnt
and ... the wife got burns.”
In repentance, she touched the image
and was miraculously healed, he said.
“That began the belief that touching Ina
would help solve one’s afflictions.”
The natives built a shrine in their place,
Poon Bato, the entrance of which had
big rocks, thus the name.
When the Augustinian Recollects began
their mission in Zambales in 1607, they
heared about the worship, historical
documents note. They soon located
Poon Bato and were agog to see that
what they had dismissed as pagan ritual
had a Marian centerpiece.

“Call her Ina ng Poon Bato,” devotee “Until now, no one can say how old the
Franklin Cariño said, taking off from image is,” said Cariño.
that. He went on to explain that the
more popular name Ina Poon Bato was
an erroneous shortcut.

Cariño, the president of the Apo Apang

Council since 2002, added a certain Pan
Dalig to the narrative, “pan” being the
Zambal term for “older brother.”

“Pan Dalig and other tribesmen went

to the mountains to hunt,” he began.
“When they were resting under a tree, he
heard a woman’s voice, instructing him
to catch a wild cat, bring it home and
then go back to that spot under the tree.”

He did just that, Cariño said, “and when

he returned, he found the Virgin Mary
on top of a boulder. Upon the voice’s
instruction, he brought it home.”

The wife, however, was disappointed by

the take-home and, very angry, threw the
image into the fire.

20 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER


But historians claim that she could be the
oldest image of the Virgin Mary in the
Philippines, over 400 years old – a note
that appears multiple times with a rather
woeful claim: that a defecting priest in
the late 19th centruy supposedly stole the
image from the Roman Catholics, later
awarding it to the IFI.
The alternative history is one where the
image belonged to the laity instead of
the institution – and where the believers
took it with them when they found the
IFI more representative of their faith.
Although this may be the less popular
tale, the Aglipayan fold more often refers
to the image by her indigenized name,
Apo Apang – “Apo” in Zambal means
“oldest” and Apang is a local nickname
for “Paz,” derived from the original title,
Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje.
The church facade declares, “Apo Apang
Shrine,” instead of the usual “Ina Poon
Bato Shrine.”
The discrepancies characterize oral
history. Dalig is named Djadig in
another account, for example. Loopholes
of this sort might never be mended.
But for the Aglipayan faithful, these
questions are stark compared to their
Apo Apang’s powerful mysteries.
She is known to have survived unscathed
the Japanese inveders’ attempt to burn
her in the early 1940s. She is also
credited for sparing Botolan from the
post-Pinatubo lahar.
Cariño noted that a Filipino pilot
had become a monthly visitor when a
silhouette of Mary appeared to him in a
RIGHT:
BELIEVERS generously provide gems and
fabric to adorn their beloved image of the
Virgin Mary.
flight, prompting him to maneuver his
plane up.
“If he had gone straight, he would have
rammed the plane into a mountain,”
said Cariño. “He did not know it was
Apo Apang until a voice told him in
a dream to go to Zambales. He asked
around. He wept when he saw her.”
A ready testament of the many miracles
is a room to the side of the church,
where Celita Crusado, 65, Cariño’s older
sibling, maintains a walk-in wardrobe,
containing what could be hundreds of
clothes for the miraculous image and an
amazing collection of precious stones.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years,” she
said, as she carefully ran a needle on a
maroon cloth, which she notes will go
to the Black Nazarene there. “All the
fabrics and gems are donated by those
who’ve seen wonders.”
She and her younger brother are two of
eight siblings who hold or have held key
roles in the shrine, Cariño explained. He
said their devotion was passed down by
their mother.
He said all their efforts were paying
off. Apo Apang has helped the church
complex improve. It now has a Calvary
Hill behind it, among many other
features. Near it is a candelaria.
On her feast day, Jan. 24, devotees
would build up into a kilometric line
if only to see the original image. Some
devotees would dab their handkerchiefs
on the image, others would oddly let the
processing people step on them.
“The number of devotees increases
yearly, especially since about five years
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE
now there is a weekly Mass, an IFI priest
who visits,” said Cariño. Before then, no
IFI priest was assigned to the sprawling
Aglipayan community.
The community still dreams that there
be a priest stationed in the shrine, he
admitted, “because when people come
asking for the Sacraments, we can’t hold
them. Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic
shrine just below us has its own priest.”
But then again, he said, what was more
important is the undying love of the
faithful, who many times before have
proven the intensity of their faith.
The Roman Catholic image, made in
1981, is known to have survived the lahar.
The original image did not get to that
point, he revealed, because the natives and
the settlers of what was Barangay Poon
Bato brought it with them when they
evacuated.
Soon, with Poon Bato cordoned off, they
would settle in Loob Bunga and again
build the image a home.
Before Pinatubo erupted, he also revealed,
influential people offered to take the
image and build a grand church for her.
He and the Aetas promptly refused.
A taller Roman Catholic replica was made
afterwards. The first Roman Catholic
shrine that was swept by the lahar was far
grander than their own, and so is the one
now, he also admits.
“No matter how hard it may be, we at
Loob Bunga and our Aeta brothers want
her with us,” he said, however. “Even if
she stays in this, her little home, she’ll be
OK. After all, this is the church of the
poor.”
21
FEATURE

Just like Magsaysay

Zambales Academy is getting back in shape little-by-little with the “President of the Masses” as its yardstick

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY VAUGHN GEUSEPPE ALVIAR

P RESIDENT Ramon Magsaysay

wrote in his resume that he was
the salutatorian of Zambales
Academy’s (ZA) Batch 1932 – a
forgetable detail until you learn that the
a portrait of him at the principal’s office or Philippine folk dances like the skilled
his figurehead at the school grounds.

There is a certain pride shared by the

thousands of ZA alumni, the principal
Binasuan and the grand Singkil in school
and even provincial events.

School enrollment declined overtime

academy is owned by the Iglesia Filipina said, while handing over the transcript of because public high schools mushroomed
Independiente (IFI). a speech by the Batch ’94 valedictorian. across San Narciso, but it is experiencing
a slight uptick. Some 52 members of
The “President of the Masses,” known “I was ready and well-equipped before Batch 2015 were replenished by 80-plus
far and wide for opening the Malacañang leaving the portals of our beloved alma freshmen.
to picknicking families and before then mater,” concluded accountant Christopher
facilitating the surrender of rebel-peasants, Ferareza, a summa cum laude of the For Perez, who had won a campus
was produced by an IFI school, now Far Eastern University and now a pageant, high school became a landmine
looking to him as its most outstanding partner at auditing and accounting firm of worthwhile experiences. “I do not
alumnus. Punongbayan & Araullo, speaking to the regret enrolling here because there are so
graduates of Batch ’07. Mona Valisno many activities.”
If past experiences equipped him for his and Jose Arañas, commissioners of the
meteoric rise from bus mechanic to the Commission on Higher Education and the Aside from making sure that the school
most powerful Filipino, and after his Bureau of Internal Revenues, respectively, year is jampacked with campus activities,
tragic death into the icon of a well-known are also notable alumni. Many prominent the staff of 22 personnel and five
award-giving body, some of the young local leaders list ZA as their high school trustees, mostly Aglipayans and alumni
Ramon’s experiences, he spent running alma mater. of the school, also expose the students
around campus or looking out from the to life outside its gates – as ushers and
generous windows of what must now be “My mother and father always tell me marshals during fiestas, heroes in outreach
an iconic schoolhouse, standing since the about how great ZA is,” said Student programs and environment warriors in
school began in 1922. Government Organization president cleanup drives.
Roselle D. Perez, about how she was
The studentry of over 300 should be convinced to enter the school. The couple Perez and the other officers are also
inspired by the shared experience, said and one other child graduated from the continuing a fund-raising project, where
principal Emelinda Collado, herself a institution. the students pick up used tin cans to sell to
member of ZA’s Batch 1981. They are junkyards.
reminded when they look at a tarpaulin One of the many things the parents and
showing Magsaysay and the 39 other other alumni would fondly recall is the ZA Giving back finds meaning in the tuition
members of Batch ’32 at their library, see Barangay Dance Troupe, which performed scheme, which subsidized half of

22 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER

Perez’s dues, and according to Collado,
generously gives discounts to most all its
students -- through government subsidy
and yearly fund-raising programs.
“We refuse to call our beneficiaries
indigents. We use the word privileged,”
she explained. The students pay off by
reaping awards in several tilts held by the
Department of Education and the local
government.
But with the K-to-12 program about to go
full-scale in the coming years, ZA is set to
recalibrate its systems.
Collado’s expertise in accounting – offered
as an elective, believe it or not – meets
the academic track, which also includes
business and management courses.
A topnotch room for technology and
livelihood education ticks off the
requirements for the new curriculum’s
food and beverage and cookery sections
under the technical-vocational track and
the school can finally build an IFI chapel
on campus, where the school can hold
their first-Friday Mass.
Management is currently enjoining OPPOSITE PAGE:
ZAMBALES Academy is the oldest private
members of the alumni association to
school in its province. It considers Ramon
donate. Collado is organizing a dinner for Magsaysay, known for his pro-people
a cause for the parents and alumni, and policies in government service, as its most
also managing a program to track ZA’s outstanding alumnus.
products.
TOP:
THE SCHOOL boasts an enormous repertoire
“I promise to cooperate in plans to better of folk dances, spanning generations.
the facilities,” said Perez, who dreams to
be an anaesthesiologist someday. “I want
to help the school now and in the future to BELOW:
provide the needs of its students.” STUDENTS are taught to be well-rounded
students with activities in and out of the
classroom.
“I want the school to be better-known,”
said Collado, meanwhile. “When people
hear ZA, I want them to say: ‘Wow. ZA
students are good.”
Just like Magsaysay.

However, the tech-voc track also needs

facilities for electronics and information
and communication technology – its
computers are already outdated.

To meet all these needs, the administration

is scouring to improve its infrastructure.
The main building was rehabilitated in
2009, and a building beside the principal’s
office is now being renovated. Plans are
underway for the canteen, schoolhouses
and other buildings.

ZA plans to plant fruit-bearing trees in idle

land on campus, in an effort to maximize
its resources. With a bayanihan program
– a student bringing in 10 hollow blocks –

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 23

NEWS

TCR holds journalism seminar

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY BR. NIÑO FRANCO MAMORBOR

T
HE IGLESIA Filipina held by Janness Ellao, a writer for both
Independiente’s official TCR and Bulatlat.com, and Dee Ayroso,

“ ... [N]othing
publication held on May 22 and an editor of Bulatlat.com, respectively.
23 its first-ever journalism seminar,

can go wrong attended by 20 aspiring contributors

from at least 10 Luzon dioceses.
when plans “The goal is to spread the word about
and thoughts The Christian Register (TCR) through
seminars across the country. TCR wants
are committed
to God.
“ to represent the IFI, and we want it to
get people to write for us,” said Vaughn
Alviar, the managing editor. “This is long
overdue. There are stories to tell, and
we’ve breathed new life into TCR.”
The Christian Register revives a
publication of the same title, released from from Laguna. “I’ve already written some
1952 to the 1970s, and wants to carry
ABOVE: feature stories and news articles from all
ALVIAR challenges the participants to
write stories about local stories of culture,
of currently 46 local churches.
struggle, heroism and pride.
“We want to inform the millions of IFI
faithful about the goings-on in the Church
and also to provide a picture of the
Pro Deo Et Patria battlecry we’ve been
standing for since the inception of our
Church,” Alviar said.
Workshops on layouting and
photojournalism were held by experts
from Pinoy Media Center. Alviar and
Rev. Ramil Aguilar, chaplain of the
Aglipay Central Theological Seminary in
Pangasinan province, provided seminar-
workshops on the history of mass
communication in the IFI and its role in
the Filipino church’s life.
“This is my first time to have a formal
study on journalism,” said Precilla S.
Palomique, one of two representatives
articles, poems, song lyrics and had one
unpublished book of literary writings ... so
the seminar meant a lot to me.”
“What are most important to me are
structuring the news, the do’s and dont’s
of writing and, my favorite part, proper
feature writing,” she said. “To sum up,
this seminar, for me, alleviates my know-
how beyond doubt.”

The two-day seminar included The participants also joined the issue
newswriting and feature writing lectures, planning for this second quarter, covering

24 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER


the months of April, May and June,
zeroing on local traditions of the IFI,
among other topics.
Palomique was assigned a feature story on
Birhen Maria Maulawin, the patroness of
her home parish, the Cathedral in Santa
Cruz, Laguna. Others were assigned
special reports on their dioceses and IFI
programs.
“We have high hopes for TCR,” Alviar
said. “We want to be able to buy a printing
press, so the IFI can self-publish and also
produce its ordo calendars, missals and
Bibles. We also want to revive the mass
communication channels of the Church,
down to the parishes, missions and
outstations.”
“I still believe and will always believe
that nothing can go wrong when plans
and thoughts are committed to God, so
there’s nothing to worry about at all, as
we always place our trust in His mighty
power,” said Palomique. “All we need is
our commitment. Thus, TCR will be a
great achievement for IFI.”
“There are so many possibilities,” Alviar
concluded.
Mayflower?
Luna shows way
BY JULIUS ANDRES BANIAGA
T HE AGLIPAYAN Church
in Luna, Isabela, joined
municipal festivities that
amplify the pomp and pagentry of the
Mayflower, dubbed Flores de Luna.
Through the fest, only on its second
year, the town conducts the novena in
honor of the Virgin Mary daily from
the first day of May until the 29th,
with the Youth of the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente participating prominently.
Participants bring images of the Virgin
Mary to the homes of the faithful in all
barangays, for them to offer their prayer
intentions through Her intercession.
Then, beginning on May 30, the entire
town throws a spectacle that puts the
Iglesia Filipina Independiente and the
Roman Catholic Church front and
center.
Eucharistic celebrations mark the
May 30. It is then followed by the
Santacruzan of the IFI in the morning.
The Roman Catholic fold holds theirs in
the afternoon, meanwhile.
Both parades bring a splash of color to
the streets of Luna, with queens and
beauties qeueing up for the procession
dressed in either Filipiniana or grand
long gowns, all framed by extravagantly
decorated arcs.
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE
The celebration concluded on the last day
of May with a street-dance parade,
participated in by all barangays and the
two churches.
Breaking the sight of dancing crowds
are floats from each barangay, with
breathtaking adornments and a crafted
image of the Virgin Mary.
The IFI and Roman Catholic Church also
joined the parade, taking the images of the
Immaculate Conception and the Lady of
Visitation, respectively, aboard their floats.
The IFI’s Immaculate Conception is the
oldest image of the Virgin Mary in town.
“Our second celebration of Flores de
Luna is once again as colorful and festive
as our last celebration,” said Jaime
Atayde, municipal mayor of Luna. “Let’s
continue to strengthen and live our faith
and honor Mary, mother of Jesus, and
continue to support this festive celebration
in the years to come.”
The Obispo Maximo Ephraim Fajutagana
said in a pastoral letter: “She whom God
honored is to be honored by us all. Mary
continues to exhort us in these troubled
times to give shape to our faith even
amidst the most difficult of situations with
joyful and thankful hearts. Let us celebrate
her life by proclaiming our hope in the
Good News of Christ and in coming of
His kingdom of justice and peace.”
25
NEWS
‘Canonical journey’
On their way to the Ordained Ministry, interdependence is weapon of IFI seminarians

BY SR. JEWEL TUMALIUAN

“
The essence
of sharing
M OST people think the
seminarians’ four-year-
long challenge of study
and formation culminates in the
“We had differrent sets of teachers so we
learned a lot from SPTS seminarians and
vice versa.” he explained. “We shared
what we learned from our classrooms.”

between the two

graduation rites. But in reality, there’s
that brief period where our mettle is
seminaries, that tested still.
was the most This year, 23 seminarians who graduated
from the two regional seminaries of
meaningful in our “ the Iglesia Filipina Independiente took
a defining turn in their route to being
experience. ordained ministers of the church.
The 11 graduates of the Aglipay Central
Theological Seminary (ACTS) went to
Jordan, Guimaras for their review from
May 4 to 8. They were joined by 12 more
graduates from St. Paul’s Theological
Seminary (SPTS).
“Learning was fun during our review,
especially when we were with the
seminarians from St. Paul’s” said Br.
Franco Mamorbor, from ACTS.
“The essence of sharing between the two
seminaries, that was the most meaningful
in our experience,” he concluded.
The seminarians also shared their
memorable experiences, traditions and
culture, as they spent most of their free
time together, if not studying, just talking
about their cherished memories.
Two days after the last review date, the 23
met at Iloilo City’s Holy Rosary Prayer
and Spiritual Center for the canonical
exam, May 10-15.
On the first day, seminarians took their
examination on Homiletics, or sermon
delivery. The Theology exam and
interview occurred in the morning and
afternoon, respectively, of the second day.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:

BROTHER Gemar Luyas, from ACTS, trying to concentrate as he prepares his sermon outline for the first part of the examinations; the seminarians
together with ACTS rector. Very Rev. Dr. Eleuterio Revollido, sharing smiles after spending a day of reminiscing the history of the Church; seminarians
pose with the Very Rev. Fr. Larry Herrera after the celebration of the Holy Eucharist to start the first day of exam.

26 THE CHRISTIAN REGISTER

Exams on Ecclesial History, Scriptures,
Applied Theology I and Applied Theology
II were given on the third, fourth, fifth and
sixth day, respectively. Seminarians spent
their morning reviewing in smaller groups
as exams were given in the afternoons.
“The exam was difficult,” said Br. Mardy
Fernando of the Diocese of Bataan and
Bulacan, from ACTS. “The questions
were unexpected.”
“Isa sa mga tanong ay kung paano namin ika-
counsel ang isang magulang ng isang biktima
sa Mamasapano Massacre,” he added.
“Actually, when we opened our test
papers, magkahalong tuwa at kaba ’yung
naramdaman namin – tuwa dahil essay
type ’yung questions, kaba dahil practical
applications, hindi mo alam kung acceptable
na answer sa perspective ng canonical
chaplains ’yung sagot mo o hindi,” said Sr.
Shiela Mei Faderogao of the Diocese of
Romblon and Mindoros.
“Pero ... lahat ng takot, kaba at hindi
kasiguraduhan ... nalabanan talaga namin
’yon sa pamamagitan ng ugnayan, damayan
at tulungan sa pagitan ng mga seminarista
mula sa dalawang seminaryo, said Brother
Mamorbor. “Sabi nga ni Br. Jade Mark
Dodoyco ng SPTS, ‘Ang ACTS at SPTS
[seminarians], malakas ang chemistry.’”
What we learned is this: Hardships and
challenges could be overcome through
nurturing interrelatedness, mutual
responsibility and interdependence.
www.facebook.com/tcr.ifi
thechristianregister@gmail.com
In Samal,
Live Via Crusis in
Aglipayanos celebrate
Bacoor
culture, unity
BY JAYSON TANJUAKIO
T
BY PATRICK JOSEPH C. BUGAY
HE TRADITIONAL Senakulo
A
is a major theatrical attraction
GLIPAYAN faithful in
Samal town, Bataan, on on Semana Santa, but the
April 24 assembled at the Diocese of Cavite would add its Live
town’s covered court to celebrate Via Crusis.
through dance the 374th founding
In cooperation with the parish in San
anniversary of the town.
Antonio, Cavite City – which traditionally
holds the practice – the Bacoor cathedral’s
Members of the Parish of St. Catherine
outstation in Piñahan village held a local
of Siena – including the parish council,
version of the Live Via Crusis, which
WOPIC, Layman, YIFI and the IFI
dramatizes the Stations of the Cross,
Senior Choir – shone in varying
instead of the Senakulo’s life and death of
concepts and costumes in the Aglipayan
Jesus Christ.
Cultural Night, themed “Sari-saring
Sayaw, Sama-samang Galaw.”
The reenactment started with the Last
Supper, with scenes acted out in different
Mayor Generosa Malibiran Dela Fuente
venues.
threw in her support to the activity, in a
message and a special ballroom dance,
People lined the streets to watch each
one of many by special guests that night.
and every scene, all coupled with sound
effects, costumes, props and superb
The youth of the parish also performed
acting by alreay professional senakulista.
in a theatrical production the history
Following the procession was a form of
of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente,
penance for them.
in the end echoing the message of the
program: “Sa sama-sama at nagkakaisang
Community and church members
Aglipayano, nakasalalay ang pagpapatuloy
participated as Roman Soldiers with
ng simbahang maka-Pilipino.”
colorful painted masks and armors.
The Samal church is under Rev. Jaime
They roamed the streets of Piñahan,
H. Enriquez.
Dulong-Bayan and Mabolo 1 and 2 with
local drummers to announce the activity,
A SNAPSHOT of the Live Via Crusis in Bacoor. held in the afternoon.
The members of the outstation pushed
for the Holy Week attraction to more
effectively remind the people of Jesus’
sacrifice on that torturous day in
Jerusalem and also to raise funds for the
continuous construction of the chapel
through sponsorships.
In the morning, these Roman Soldiers
roamed the streets of Pinahan, Dulong
– Bayan and Mabolo 1 and 2. There are
soldiers, chained Barabas and Hestas with
the drummers in town. They paraded in
the streets to let people know that there
will be an event in the afternoon and that
is the “ VIA CRUSIS” live.
The chapel council headed by Rev.
Armando Casim, the laymen and the
youth sector agreed to the showing of the
Photo by Jayson Tanjuakio
reenactment in 2016.
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 27
 THE COVER
“BROWN RACE”
Filipino values are, for the most part, centered at maintaining social
harmony, motivated primarily by the desire to be accepted within a
group. The main sanction against diverging from these values are the
concepts of “Hiya”, roughly translated as ‘a sense of shame’,
and “Amor propio” or ‘self-esteem’.
Now we are in the modern age or so called COMPUTER AGE let’s not
forget the values and tradition that we inherited from our ancestors.
“SA ISIP SA SALITA at SA GAWA”.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
JASON LUNA TANJUAKIO
A visual artist from Bacoor Cavite a home grown talent natural born
artist a young achiever and won in different art competition. He is a
volunteer mural artist from Non Government Organization. He draw
and paint from his imaginative ideas into a work piece of art. His
advocacy to promote and inculcate the core value of being a true
blood Filipino not only for words but thru actions .