Chapter 34 –Election of Rev. Moley Famillaran CPBC President
This was May 1976. Four years, after President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law. In Negros, Panay and different parts of the country there were continued and intensified human rights violations, killings and military abuses under President Marcos and Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile’s rule in the country.
In the midst of growing social, economic and political concerns brought about by imprisonments of thousands and thousands of people under President Marcos’s martial rule, the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches General Assembly met and will elect the President, Vice President and 7 members of the Board of Trustees that will helped programs responsive to the of the Baptist churches and the problems of poverty, human rights violations and repressions in the country.
Bacolod Evangelical Church, the venue of the assembly, is the biggest Convention Baptist Church in Negros Occdental. It is located at Rosario & San Juan Streets, in Bacolod City. Here delegates, from Panay, Romblon, Mindoro, Manila & Luzon and Mindanao converged for the assembly. .
Across Bacolod Evangelical Church was Bacolod Elementary School, a wide and big school in the City. The school assisted CPBC by opening their classrooms as housing for delegates - where delegates slept, take baths & showers, have fellowship and sharing before and after the session in the assembly.
Rev. Pamplona was the minister. He was pastor of BEC for about 25 years. He was one of the respected pastors holding big pastorates. The 3- days General Assembly was filled with delegates.
At Central Maao Evangelical, we have 5 official delegates. They will have the right to vote officials of the Convention. We have also 8 delgates who were visitors. They cannot vote. They came to listen, learn and have fellowship with the assembly.
Our choir will sing in the assembly together with big churches - Bacolod Evangelical Church, Bacolod Cosmipolitan Church, Bakyas Baptist Church, La Carlota Evangelical Church and other churches that will provide music for the assembly.
The group that led CPBC before 1976 for some years, were committed church leaders
and pastors. At the top of this leadership includes, Mr. Johnny de la Fuente, Rev. Levi Lajaylahay, Rev. Malvar Castillon, Atty. Reinero Noledo and Rev. Dr. Masa., They were spiritual and committed Baptist leaders. But most remained voiceless under the growing repressions of the Marcos regimes/
A group of young pastors and church leaders were looking for change. They were young, with visions and dreams for the future – Rev. Sammy Formelleza, from Romblon and current Coordinator of Center for Education and Research (CER) Rev.Larry Leysa, Promotional Secretary of Iloilo Kasapulanan. Rev. Eliseo Fantilaga, of Capiz and Coordinator of NCCP in Western Visayas, Pastor Tony Elequin of Antique, Domngo Bernal of Aklan,
In Negros Occidental, the group were headed by Fred and Victoria Bat-og, Baptist Youth leaders, Rev. Esfe Tandog, Provincial Minister of Negros Kasapulanan and Pastor Rudy Bernal of Central Maao Evangelical Church, with the church radio program, “Hour of Discovery”over DYHB in Bacolod. These pastors and church leaders have transformational minds and leadership that can touched and reached some pastors and leaders of the churches in the Convention.
We attended the Assembly ready to work for change. During the last 2 years, we were involved in seminars by the Center for Education and Research (CER), trying to educate church people in leadership and formation. Some young pastors were involved in the training, then headed by Rev. Conrad Brown.
I cannot remember the people who led the worships services, those who led workshops and those who preached the messages during the assembly. But for us the call the was clear. The need for change in the leadership of the Convention. A leadership with new visions, clear directions and capacity to mobilize the churches to respond to the problem of grave poverty and resist the growing repressions and human rights violation in the country.
The decision was made. To participate in the change of leadership this year. They made plans to mobilized delegates to the assembly.
They called on churches in Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique and Negros to help send delegates to the Convention with money for transportation, registration, food and snacks during the assembly.
To assist some delegates who have difficulties to buy their food at the assembly mess halls,we organized a group who will cooked food for some of the delegates. One room in the Elementary school was requested where food can be cooked for some delegates who have difficulties for food.
It was a great event, the CPBC assembly of 1976. But we have not identified a possible candidate for President yet. .
After scouting the potentials in the assembly, it seems, no one has the capacity to defeat the candidate who was running with the backing of the CPBC administration. Fred Bat-og suggested to make a team of 10 pastors and church leaders to visit Rev. Moley Famillaran and asked him to provide the needed leadership.
We came to him at his office at Bacolod City Hall in the afternoon of the First Day. Rev. Famillaran thanked the group for there effort and help. But he did not accept the challenge to run for President.. He said: “I am busy with my work as Secretary to the Mayor. I have to be at the office every day. It’s difficult to take responsibility with the Convention. It’s not easy to be President of the organization.” He requested the group to find another person to run for CPBC President. We returned to the assembly, a bit sad.
After discussing the situation that night, the group felt, there was no one, but Rev. Famillaran to run for President with potentials to win. The group decided to visit him again and request him again, to make himself available for the presidency of the Convention. On the 2nd day, another team of about 15 leaders were delegated to see Rev. Famillaran with a final request to run for CPBC President.
Fred Bat-og said: “We come to request you to run for President. We believe you are needed by the hour. If you will not, we will not pushed you. But we will have no candidate for President in this assembly.”
Rev. Famillaran looked at all of us. He said: He was making a hard decision. He said: “Ok, I will ran. I will file my candidacy. But I will not campaign. I will just visit the assembly, on the 3rd day, for about an hour to show my face, met some friends and shook hands with some who were in the assembly.”
We shooked hands with Rev. Famillaran. We told him, we were happy with his decision. We asked one to pray. Pastor Tony Elequin prayed for us all. He prayed for Rev. Famillaran. When we left the office of the Mayor that afternoon, we feel the elections of the CPBC President will be one of the challenges of the time.
Most of the delegates were busy in the assembly hall at Bacolod Evangelical Church.
There were beautiful singing. There were sermons during the assembly, by well known speakers. Different choirs sang on different times of worships. Our choir at Central Maao Evangelical Church also sung a piece. We were all touched by the musical renditions of the different choirs.
There were food available in the mess hall of the assembly. In the Elementary School, some delegates eat their food prepared by the group’s cooks. There were excitements during the 3 day assembly.
The campaigns for elections of the CPBC leaders – President, Vice President and Board of Trustees was felt. It was a strong and hard campaigns. Mostly done in whispers and by raising of our hands, in a kind of salute. It was the first time, I participated in the election of the Convention. I felt, it was a great spiritual experience, being an active part in the elections of CPBC officers. I felt, deep inside me, God was working in each of the delegates minds and hearts. He works with-in me.
An hour before the casting of votes, I met one of the CPBC Board member, running for re-election. He said: “ Rudy your group were campaigning. It.s bad.” I said, of course, we campaign. This is election days. We need to present an alternative person. And an alternative program." He looked at me. I smiled. Then, I laughed. And smiled with me..
The election held that afternoon was a solemn process. It was the election of the President, the Vice President and 7 members of the Board of Trustees.They were men and women, who offered themselves in the service of the Lord, thru the leadership of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches. It was holy process. For elections, right elections are holy exercises. It calls for high and deep commitments. For the President, Vice President and Members of the Board, were not paid salaries for their services. They were all volunteers. All of them accepted the call of Jesus for leadership through the CPBC.
At 7:30 PM, the result of the election canvas was announced. Rev. Moley Famillaran was elected President of the Convention. Also elected were the Vice President and members of the Board of Trustees.
That evening, Rev. Meley Famillaran, was installed as President. Also installed were the Vice President and the members of the Board of Trustees.
Rev. Famillaran was elected President, in one of the crucial period of our country’s history –when the country was struggling and many people were suffering under President Ferdinand Marcos martial law regime,.
The election of Rev. Moley Famillaran CPBC President was a new milestone for the
Baptist Convention’s ministries. There were major changes and directions made during his leadership.
In the first 3 months of his term, with the new General Secretary, they led in the Program Planning Process that looked deep in the ministry of the CPBC and tried to worked and mobilized the 3 Programs of the Convention-- Evangelism, Christian Education and Stewardship to be more relevant to the needs of the churches.
He started a pilot program on Urban Industrial Mission (UIM), in Insular Lumber Company (ILCO) in Hinobaan, Negros Occidental that soon became the 4th program of the Convention, the New Frontier Ministries, the development arms of CPBC.
Rev. Famillaran with the General Secretary, worked to address the issues of Human Dignity, Human Rights violations and worked to help alleviate deep poverty suffered by the people.
After serving for one term as President, Rev. Moley Familiaran accepted the God’s call to serve as Pastor of Cosmopolitan Church a member of the United Church of Christ in Philippines (UCCP), Together with NCCP, it stood strongly against human rights violations and other abuses of the Marcos Martial rule.
In the 1980’s, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), the Philippine Independent Church (PIC) together with more than 20 organizations were tagged by the military as communists fronts. These were hard and dangerous times to work for peace, justice and human rights. But many in the churches, in journalism, labor, peasantry, professionals, students, out-of-school-youths, lawyers, physicians and nurses, fishermen stood for peace, justice, freedom and resisting human right violations in all parts of the country, until the dictator fall.
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