Military Raided and Arrested/ Invited Pastor Rudy Bernal at Cawayan, Iloilo and Brought Him to PC Headquarters in Sara

M E M O R I E S:Life and Time of Pastor Rudy Bernal,his Glimpses on History &                    The People’s Struggle for Freedom

Chapter 29  – Military Raided  and Arrested /Invited  Pastor Rudy Bernal at Cawayan, Carles, Iloilo,  Brought Him  to PC Headquarters  in Sara

Life  often  have challenges and uncertainties.

It was sometimes in November 1973,   about 4:30  A.M. when  elements of the Philippine Constabulary arrested me, rather invited me, to  go with them to their headquarters in Sara, Iloilo.  I was informed later,  by a neighbour, they   secretly  surrounded  our house, about 200 meters from the road side,  in Cawayan, Carles, Iloilo. They  stayed there silently, without any one of our family knowing they were there, from  11:30  in the evening  until  4:30 that morning.  The constabulary were there, silently  waiting, despite too many mosquitoes, to  wake- up that day.

That  morning, I came down from our  house; It was still  bit  dark. I was , carrying a small home made lantern fired with kerozen.  I usually carry a lantern in the nights to   guide my way and  helped drived  some mosquitos away. I went directly to our vegetable   gardens,   a hundred  meters from   our house. I have planted some 16 plots of Spring Onions, 1 meter wide and 40 meters  long in our gardens.

My father, mother and  younger  brother has planted other  vegetable plants – amargoso, eggplants, string beans, pechay, alogbate and pepper leaves. We plant vegetables and sell it to neighbors,

It was still  bit  dark.  I  was pulling  weeds, when I saw a man, standing  beside a coconut tree,  on the eastern side.   He was about 20 meters away. He came slowly  towards  me. He  was  dressed  in black Jacket and black pants.  He was holding a 45 caliber pistol.   

About 3 meters away, he greeted. He said “Good Morning”. I answered him. “Good Morning, Sir.”  And I stood slowly.   He came nearer    me.  We talked.   He asked my father. I told him,  father was still sleeping.  He asked my name.  I told him my name.   He  

 Then, slowly,  from around,   I  saw  soldiers,  in battle gears,  emerging from  besides coconut trees,  bamboo trees, banana trees, abocado  &  trees that surround our home. I realized 12 soldiers, all ready for battle, have surrounded our home, while we were sleeping.   

Twelve soldiers surrounded me. Two soldiers emerged from the coconut tree, where there officer who came me came from. Another two groups came out from the bamboo tree on the south side. Another group came from the side of the small hut, on the western side,  where  we  often rests  during  hot times of the day.  Two  soldiers   came out of   bamboos  planted near our house.  They   have  effectively and silently  surrounded our house that night.

The   soldiers  came   near  us.   They were holding their armalites.  Some with their barrels pointed up. Some guns muzzles were pointed on the ground.   The 11 soldiers just stood there silently   surrounding  us,  as   I and their officer talked.     

The officer asked me some questions. “Where you from UP?”  I said no. “I am from the Lyceum of the Philipines in Manila”.  “What course did you take there? I told him, “I took Political Science.”   “When did  you arrived  in Iloilo?”  I told him, I’m  in Iloilo for nearly two years”   He asked me, “ What is you work in Iloilo?”   Then he said: “Let’s go up you house. Let’s have coffee with the Capitan.”  

 My father, Restituto Bernal, Sr. was the Barangay Captain of Cawayan. He served four terms as Barangay Captain,

We went upstairs.   I called my father. I told him he has visitors.  The officer  and  6  soldiers followed us inside the house.   The  5 other constabulary   soldiers stayed down,  on   different places  near the  house.

 After shaking hands with the soldiers,  my  father requested my younger brother  to   help  brew  coffee.  My father gave   coffee to all the soldiers.  Then,   the officers told my father,  their Commander was inviting me to their  headquarters.  This was  in Sara, Iloilo, some 40 kilometers from our  village. My father asked: “What is the problem?  What crimes   have my son committed?   The officer told my father,  their Commander would like to see me.  He was inviting me to the headquarters.

My father asked the  officer, why?   “Rudy  is  just  invited by our Commanding Officer.  He wants to see him in the headquarters.”  The name of the Constabulary officer, I learned later,  was Captain Montano

 I dressed myself. I said to myself.  “I will  join  the soliders.  I was invited by the Commanding  Officer.  I will go.  For it was   an   invitation that I cannot say ,  No.”

 Then, we go.  We   walked  to the place where  jeepney was left the night before. I joined them.  We rode on their vehicle. It was  long way to their headquarters, some 40 kms away.  After we left, my father sent a relative to the  Carles Chief of Police, Felipe Bernal,  his   cousin ,  to  inform   I was picked- up by the constabulary.

We left   about 7:30 AM.  On the way to Sara,  in the  area with  heavy sugar cane plantations,  the jeepeny stopped.  The constabularies went down the vehicle  to urinate.  One officer asked me to go  down and urinate.   But I did not. I told him I am not urinating.   But my stomach seems to burst. I want to urinate. 

 But  I have  heard  stories  in some places,  here in  Panay and Negros,  many  activists were   picked-up   by the military and  gunned down while they were urinating in the bush.  The military always said, he was gunned down for trying to grabbed his gun or  trying to run away.

At the Constabulary headquarters, I was ushered to one of the houses – the home and office of Captain Montano. I was introduced by the soldiers  to him. “ Sir,  Rudy is here now”.  Captain Montano talked to me.  Then left and went to the other room and  talked  with  several people who  came to  his office.  Three  soldiers stayed  around near me. They were all working. One was sweeping the floor.  Another was preparing breakfast.  Another soldier  repairing  the  door. Perhaps, they were watching and observing me.

They did not talked  to me. They just do their own thing. At about 10:30 AM, the soldiers served food. This were fresh fish from Carles and Estancia. Merchants  gave fresh fish to  the camp for the officers food. I eat with them.   Captain Montano later joined,  as we eat. He talk about his work.  “Damu problema di sa North Iloilo. Damu inaway” ( Many problems  in North Iloilo. Many  fightings).    He asked me some  questions. “ Diin ka nag-esuela sa Manila? San-o ka di nag-abut sa Iloilo?.  Diin ka gaobra subong?  Ano ang ginahimo mo sa Cawayan?”

 (Many problems here in North Iloilo. Many fightings. Where  did you study in Manila? When did  you arrived here? Where do you worked  here? What are you doing in Cawayan?”  I anwered softly and clearly all the questions of Captain Montano. I tried to make sure that he could get clearly  my answer. I think it  good, be honest and tell him, all what he wants to know about me.

 He told me, he heard I have been  in Sara, San Dionisio and Concepcion. He asked me about some  conflict among farmers and land owners in San Dionisio.   I  told  Captain Montano, that I am an official of the PANELFU, a labor union. I said, I led in seminars on  labor unionism and organizing. I told him the problems  between the  farmers and the landowners. But this problems were legal. But the farmers were pushing for Land Reforms.

I told him that was  a  peaceful action of the farmers to protect their rights, called for by the  new  Land Reform Law. After listening for sometimes, Captain Montano left again.  I was  left setting for  another hour. It was a hard experience setting alone, waiting for the Officer, and not knowing what was  in his mind.

About 1.30  PM we were served lunch. I told the soldiers, I’m still full. I will not eat lunch. Thanks them for the offer. When he returned, Captain Montano asked me what  organization I am a member. I told him PANELFU. And I am Pastor of Cawayan Bapist Church.  I told him also, I  am the Chairman of the Education Committee of PANELFU, a labor union duly registered by the government.  That our Legal Counsels were Atty. Nicolas Centeno and Atty. Cesar Beloria. Then he left again.

Captain Montano went to the other room again. He met with the other soldiers. Only  one soldiers was left in a room near me. He was doing some works around.  Later, in the afternoon, at about 3:00 PM, Captain Montano came back.  He talked to me again.  He  told me I can go home.  But  I will   come and see him  every end of the month. He said I can go now. He  offered me some money for  my fare. I politely said, I  have some amount for fares. He extended  his hands and shakes with me.   

When I arrived home, the officers of our association and the church have met. They said, they will send some members in the camp, if I did  not return.  

 And at the end of the month for  two  months,   I go to the PC  headquarters. It was to say, to say hello to Captain Montano. We often  talked  for some minutes and he told me,  I can  go home.

According to Teresita Villanueva, the store owner,  she  was  in her store,   the  night when  the constabulary came.   Miss Villanueva said: “The constables  left their vehicle about 40 meters away from my store.   The soldiers arrived about 11:30 PM  and went  direct  by foot towards our   home about 250 meters away.”

  That means, the soldiers have surrounded our home secretly from 12:00  midnight until 4:30 AM,  when I went down, with a lamp to my garden.  The constables were really patient waiting, with their guns  ready with so many mosquitos around during the nights.

The following month, I did not report to his office. On the 2^nd  month, on the 6^th day,  a constabulary officer came, Seargent Subron.  He’s  a friend.   He came and told me Captain Montano was asking that I come to the headquarters. He wants to see me again.

I visited Captain Montano again. He asked why I did not come. I told him, I have a conference  with the leaders of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches in Camp Higher Ground in Barotac Viejo.  He told, me in case I cannot come to see me, to send him a note. I can just write a note and gave it to the Conductor of Garnet Express.  Then he told me, he wants to see me every 3 months. I went home and continued with my ministry, as  Assistant Pastor of Cawayan Baptist Church. I am almost  under custody  of  the Philippine Constabulary.

One day,  I went to Carles Municipal Hall.   One  hallway, I met the  3 soldiers  who, several months ago, picked  me   in Cawayan. We have started some conversations. And as we were  talking,  one    told me that I was allowed to go home that day.  He said, they plan was to arrest and sent me to the stockade in Camp Delgado. But they observed me, while setting in the room. Theywere studying me and  my reactions.   

They  said: “ You are calm. You are not angry. You seemed  not afraid. We thought you were a  peaceful person. And, if we released  you, you wil not  run away.  We recommended you to   Captain Montano, to send  you home and report at the end of the month.”

As I looked back into this experiences, I think, prayer and trust in God  was the strength of my involvement.  I have committed myself  to a peaceful, but  strong and militant struggle in defence of our  people’s rights. And  I have surrendered my life to God.  He  will take care of me.  I will just  do the best of my life and leave all other in  His care.  That was my 2^nd  arrest. It was a hard experience, being  picked-up, arrested or invited by the military.

After working at Cawayan Baptist Church for about two years, I resigned. I  want to see some new challenges in the ministry that will reached  out to the wider communities in the Baptist Convention and the country. And, I am looking forward, that I will not be raided, arrested or invited  by the military to their headquarters, again.

Reflecting on the night our home was silently surrounded by the soldiers, waiting for me nearly the whole night to come out, there was a certain kind of feelings that I  can’t  understand. It bothers me.  It was my helplessness    under suspicion by powerful a government and   military forces, meeting unarmed civilians. 

For a little mistake,    made during military or  police raids,  can send  one  out-of-this world forever.   It was    during times like this, when  human rights  where often violated,  and  a  human life  costs only a single  bullet,  that we all must worked for the defense of human rights. The principles of which were guarded by the Philippine Constitution and the constituions of almost all countries of the world.

But my experiences made me admit, that  some police and military officers and men have also of good  hearts and mnds. The worst soldiers has a heart.  Except for some who were really trigger happy, police and military people  moved with calculated risks.  Civilians, I think must move under that circumstance with calmness and soft confidence.

In  momets like this, we need   the  presence of God.  He guided  and  taught me what to think and say. He taught me how to  stand  calmly with faith, even my hearts  has fears.    He whispered  to have confidence, in   moments of difficulties. And it helped.