Coming of the Baptist Union...

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 44 –With BUS Assistance, We Planned, Organized and Implemented North Iloilo Relief & Rehabilitation Project for Typhoon Ondang Victims in 14 Villages of 4 Municipalities in Northern Iloilo…

In about 4 months, after the visit of Rev. Olof Lindstrom and Mr. Leo Liljengren in November 1984, the Baptist Union of Sweden informed us, they were sending the assistance to CPBC’s New Frontier Ministries for Typhoon Ondang's 14 villages from 4 municipalities in North Iloilo.

Other international organizations, world churches and NG0’s from most part of the country and around the world came and assisted some towns in Northern Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Antique. Different countries came and worked together to assist victims of grave calamity. It was the first time in my Christian ministry that I saw such disaster and the united efforts of different organizations from many countries assisting victims of disasters.

After I received the telegram from Rev. Olof Lindstrom of the coming assistance, I talked to the General Secretary, Rev. Penuelito Sacapano and Atty. Angel Lobaton, President on the plans, processes, scopes of the relief and rehab assistance. We looked into the possible staffs who will be involved for 3 years – their training, experiences, organizing skills and proximity to the coverage areas. All staff we called were members of the churches of the Baptist Convention.

We discussed the assistance we will provide for relief. There was a 2nd level, rehabilitation, which we will undertake for the villages. We explored organizing them as a kind of a village cooperatives, with assistance of P500 per member. This will be increased should need arise as we implement the project.

We also discussed the materials we would provide to help the housing needs of the families totally and partially damaged by the typhoon.

We ordered nails, of different sizes that will be used and the number of kilos needed. We look into several thousand pieces of whole bamboos, each family will be provided 7 pieces, 11 pieces and 15 pieces of whole bamboos. We sent some persons to the different municipalities –Maasin, Janiuay, Badiangan, Calinog, Lambunao, Tapas, Bingawan, Leon, San Miguel and Alimondian to get available bamboos. We negotiated for the costs per bamboo. We decided to get two trucks to transport the bamboos from the municipalities of origens to the different villages in Batad, Estancia, Balasan and Carles.

As we looked at the thousand of fallen coconuts in this four municipalties, we decided to make use of the fallen trees. We negotiated for the fallen trees from owners, and made this as Coco Lumbers, specially for the major house's portions – “sentas” and “sukogs” of the houses. We will make ” 2 x 5 x with house lengths” of Coco Lumber,

We planned together with those who have experiences in making coco lumbers. We decided to buy 5 Electric Chain Saws, gasoline operated to make Coco Lumbers. We identified 10 experts Chain Saw operators, two persons in charged of each Chain Saw. They will work 8 hours a day, so that there will be little time, for the chain saws to cool down, every two hours to minimize possible damages to the equipment.

Assisting me in planning where were Pastor Rex Abanilla, Pastor Raffy Lamputi, Ms. Betty Solacito, Social Worker, Ms. Susan Panes, an agriculturist and Ms. Lorna Lapido, a nurse.

Handling the finances, relief assistance in cash, operational costs, staff salaries were the Business Office of the Convention, headed by the Treasurer assisted by the Assistant Treasurer, in charge for releasing of cash and other funds.

I visited the area with some of the staff and considered the municipalities and villages that were not yet serviced and assisted by the different agencies serving in north Iloilo. We also considered the places where we have the needed personnel we can easily mobilized.

We targeted 2 villages in Batad, 6 villages in Estancia, 2 villages in Balasan and 5 villages in Carles, for relief and rehabilitation assistance.

After reporting the situations and needs with the General Secretary, we decided the assistance and scope of services for relief assistance for each family affected by the typhoon. Nearly, 2,400 families were affected.

The project was assisted and supported by the Baptist Union of Sweden and EZE in West Germany. The villages selected were areas where other agencies have not come and provided support assistance.

The project has a component of 8 staff-- Betty Solacito, Social Worker, Pastor Jessie Albestor, Coordinator, Susan Panes, Agriculturist, Lorna Lapido, a Nurse, Evelyn Saavedra, Social Worker, Melinda de la Cruz, Teacher, Pastor Rex Abanilla and Ms.Fras Ortiz, organizer. Partime Staffs were Ptr. Delfin Domingo, Pastor Anting Coloso, Ptr. Raffy Lamputi and Ernest Carvajal.

The project provide half sack of clean rice per family. Also some amount later for their other needs. We got the rice from the Lopez Rice Mill in San Dionisio, Iloilo.

We purchased several thousand pieces of bamboos from Maasin, Janiuay, Badiangan, Pototan, Calinog, Lambunao, San Miguel, Alimodian and Leon with some 10 -15 pieces of bambos per family to help rebuild their small homes. We bought 5 Chain Saws and mobilized 10 operators to cut fallen coconut trees, making them coco lumbers to provide families with coco lumbers to them rebuild their destroyed homes. It has a community organizing and cooperative development works. It provided cash for basic needs.

The Rehabilitation aspect of the Project succeeded to organize the victims as an association, a kind of a village cooperatives, 15 villages, each village with the members. They have their officers, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Auditor. The President, Vice President and Treasurer were the Signatories for Release of Funds. Each member, were were provided P500., cash, deposited in their names in a Bank Accounts under the name of the their association. The amounts were deposited in Balasan Rural Bank, Balasan, Iloilo which could be used, either for individual use or group loan assistance. There was program for repayments.

The Project could have helped the typhoon victims recuperate more, if it was implmented right. But the CPBC leadership, under Rev. Penuelito Sacapano, General Secretary, Mrs. Sampaguita Juarez, Project Director and Rev. Edwin Lopez, Chairman, New Frontier Ministries Committee, got / borrowed the Bank Account Deposit Passbooks of the 14 associations and did not return it to the groups.

They kept it at CPBC Business Office. And the fund of P500 for more than some 2,500 people, allocated for rehabilitation assistance, for income generating project of members of Ondang typhoon victims, for capitalizations, were never used by victims.

I resigned as Director of CPBC’s New Frontier Ministries, when the 4 UIM Staffs, trained as coordinators for a new project, the Panay Integrated Development Project (PIDP), a UIM project was terminated by the CPBC President, General Secretary and the Chairman of the NFM Committee. My resignation, was made, when the newly recruited staff for the project, 34 people for possible full time works, were given training by the 3 top leaders, without my participation as Director.

I felt, it was a pressure, quite a stong pressure on me to resign, and leave the leadership of the Convention. I will be Director of the 4th Program of CPBC without authority and power. I will become a “flower base” in the CPBC Office, if I continue as Director of the New Frontier Ministries. That day, I gave my letter of resignation to Rev. Penuelito Sacapano. Also, on that day, I sent a copy of my resignation to Rev. Olof Lindstrom in Sweden.