The resignation of Pastor Rudy Bernal, coming of BUS & EZE to discuss the UIM problems, the failed negotiations, UIM Project funding stopped & GS telling 34 UIM trainees to go home...

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 48 – The resignation of Pastor Rudy Bernal, coming of BUS & EZE to to Discuss the UIM problems, the failed negotiations, UIM Project funding stopped, & the GS telling 34 UIM trainees to go home…

Resigning as Director of the New Frontier Ministries, the development arms of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, was one of hardest decisions, I made in life. This was sometimes, in the 2nd Quarter of 1986.

UIM was the flagship of the New Frontier Ministries, CPBC's development program. It was there we tried to experiment the different potential projects that will be relevant and effective in development education, community organizing, livelihood projects, people's associations, cooperatives, advocacy works, labor education and sugar cane workers organizing..

The decision of the General Secretary, the President and the Chairman of the CPBC New Frontier Ministries to terminate the UIM staff was final. That day, I sent the General Secretary my Letter of Resignation. I made an Office Secretary signed that she received my resignation letter, on the time and date.

Then, I went back to my office. I sat behind my my desk. I looked outside the window, where I can see the wide blue sky. I prayed. I asked stremgth from God. . I asked Him for guidance. I have made a hard decision. A decision that will have some hard implications on my ministry, the CPBC development ministries and the future of some, who were presently working in the New Frontier Missions.

Under the new leadership, which lacks the needed first hand experiences, in community organizing, livelihood projects and technology transfers, animal trainings and dispersals, labor education and organizing, where 34 staff were being trained wthout the assistance of the trained UIM staff, the potentials of the project to grow was limited. It was possible, that it will lose in certain given time

My Resignation Letter was simple. I addressed it to Rev. Penuelito Sacapano, General Secretary. I tried today, to recollect the best I could my letter of resignation. It said:

New Frontier Ministries
Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Inc.
Fajardo Street, Jaro, Iloilo City

Rev. Penuelito Sacapano
General Secretary

Dear Sir:

I have the honor to tender my resignation as Director of the New Frontier Ministries of the Convention, effective 60 days from today.

I have worked with the NFM for nearly 10 years and have given it the best that I knew and have.

There are two reasons, that made me decide to resign:

1) First. The termination of the 4 staff of UIM, who were trained and have lots of experiences in running the UIM program that will be expanded to some municipalities in Panay, Capiz and Aklan. Without, these UIM 4 staff that have training and experiences on the UIM ministry, it would be hard to implement this big project with several million budget in 3 years.

2) Second. Presently, 34 persons are being trained as full time staff. The training, now for 3 day, was conducted without my participation. I felt, it is a pressure for me to resign, for if I continue to be director of NFM under this circumstances, I will be a director of NFM, without authority. I will be a Flower Base in that office.

Thank you for the privilege to work with you.

Truly yours,

Pastor Rodolfo C. Bernal
Director, CPBC New Frontier Ministries

I left a copy of my resignation for who Rev. Lopez and Atty. Lobaton at the CPBC office.

That morning, I sent a telegram of my resignation to Rev. Olof Lindstrom, BUS, requesting him to inform Mr. Heinz Havercorn of EZE in West Germany.

My Telegram simply said: Dear Rev. Olof Lindstrom, BUS, Baptist Union of Sweden.

“The 4 UIM Staff that we trained and worked for 3 years were terminated by the Convention. They have only 30 days left for work. The official letters of their resignation was given by General Secretary. I felt, I cannot worked effectively, with 34 new staffs with not experiences in the kind of work were doing. I have resigned as Director of the New Frontier Ministries. Please inform Mr. Heinz Haverkorn of EZE, Germany my resignation. Sincerely, Pastor Rudy Bernal.”

I called RCPI and dictated my telegram with the address in Sweden. I asked the Operator to read to me the message and the address 3 times. I want to make sure that my message will reached clear and on time.

My telegram was received that day in Stolkholm. Rev. Olof Lindstrom was in Hongkong when my telegram was received. The initial fund was ready and will be transmitted the following day to Manila. Rev. Lindstrom instructed his staff in Sweden to hold the transmission of funds for a few days. He sent a message of the situation to Mr. Hienz Haverkorn in West Germany. He also called Mr. Leo Liljengren in Sweden and told him of the problem.

The action of BUS was fast. Mr. Leo Liljengren was advised to go to the Philippines immediately and discussed the situation and problems with CPBC leaders. Three (3) days after, Mr. Leo Liljengren arrived in Iloilo City. The following day, he and the CPBC top leadership - Rev. Edwin Lopez, Rev. Penuelito Sacapano, Atty. Angel Lobaton and Mr. Bonifacio Eslaban, Treasurer met at the CPBC office. They discussed the problem. The termination of the 4 UIM Staff, the resignation of Pastor Rudy Bernal. The training of the 34 new UIM staff that have already started. What will happen to the Panay Integrated Development Project.

Mr. Liljengren, early the previous night, while we were alone, asked me. “Rudy, we will make a proposal for CPBC. If, CPBC will agree that you work again with NFM and helped train the 34 new UIM staff under training, will you work again with CPBC?”
and help train the new staff?"

I told Mr. Liljengren: “Yes, if I am needed, I will continue to work with CPBC and train the new staff, even if, I have already resigned”.

Mr. Liljengren told CPBC, that BUS will pay my salary for the next 3 years. My salary will not be taken from the allocation of the UIM budget. It was his way to make it easy for CPBC, in case another person was already assigned as Coordinator of the UIM project.

But CPBC leadership was strong on their decisions. They said, the 4 UIM staff were already terminated. Pastor Rudy Bernal has resigned. They said, nothing can be done about that anymore.

Mr. Leo Liljengren told me that he have acceded to the termination of the 4 UIM staff. But the new staff, must be trained with my presence and guidance. He said, it will be difficult for the new project to succeed, in line with the project proposal, if there was no one, who have the experiences of UIM implementations, of the new UIM project.

Because nothing more can be done, at about 12:30 that noon, the CPBC-BUS meeting was ended. Mr. Liljengren did not took lunch with the CPBC leaders anymore. He went back to the hotel. I met him at the hotel for lunch. He told me the sad decision that was made. He said, the CPBC has rejected all his proposals. There was nothing left but go back to Sweden the following day. Germany’s EZE and Sweden’s BUS will have to make the decision, on the Panay Integrated Development Project.

After our lunch, he asked me to find another hotel where he could see the island of Guimaras and the sea. Some years ago, during his first visit, he and Rev. Lindstrom went to Guimaras Island. They were accompanied by Pastor Rodio Demetillo for sightseeing on the island. Later however, Pastor Rodio Demetillo was taken by uniformed people, and was never heard of again.

Perhaps, Mr. Leo Liljengren wants to feel the sea breeze and calm his heart and mind. He needs the cooling effect of the sea and looking at the mountains of Guimaras Island, which he visited quite a number of years ago. The following morning, Mr. Leo Liljengren flew to Manila, and then to Sweden.

The following day, about 4:30 PM. Rev. Edwin Lopez visited me at home. We have a conversations. He asked where Mr. Leo Liljengren was. I told him, he left very early that morning. He was in Manila and tomorrow, he will be flying to Sweden. Rev. Lopez asked me if I could communicate with Mr. Leo Liljengren and tell him, that after discussions yesterday with the CPBC leaders, they have decided to accept Mr. Leo Liljengren’s proposal – that I will be employed again as Director of the New Frontier Ministries, that the 4 terminated UIM staff be taken back and I will helped in the training of the 34 new UIM staff. I told, Rev. Lopez, I will try. But I knew, it will be hard.

Rev. Sacapano, after the end of the meeting with Mr. Leo Liljengren, about 3:30 PM,, after they have talked of there decision, realized the implications of the decisions made, called Hotel del Rio asking to talk to Mr. Liljengren. He was told that Mr. Liljengren had checked-out an hour ago. He called other hotels but he was told, Mr. Liljengren has not checked- in. I was later told that CPBC leaders have made some realization. But it was quite late.

Three days letter, Rev. Sacapano received the telegram from Sweden. The Panay Integrated Development Project will not be implemented. The fund intended for UIM will not be released.

The 34 staff that were training for UIM at the CPBC Board Room week, were told by Rev. Sacapano that the project will be stopped temporarily. Meantime, they must go home. They will be notified when to come back. The project ended, before it has started.

This was one incident that pulled down CPBC’s development works, and took some years to recover. After three years, when most of the funds for the projects were used that were supported by agencies in Europe with the World Council of Churches (WCC), no funds has ever came to CPBC again from Europe, like - Bread for the World, EZE, Christian Aid, Stechting, Dan Church Aid and World Council of Churches (WCC), until today.

Assisting CPBC was BIM, Australian Baptist World Aid and Baptist World Alliance. Few years later, with the leadership of Mr. Wilzon Guanzon, Sr., the new CPBC President, the Baptist Union of Sweden (BUS) and Diakonia of Sweden came and became partners again of CPBC in some of its ministries.

When I resigned, the different projects of the New Frontier Ministries has an amount of about P3,600,000 that was in the CPBC Treasurer’s office. It did not include the the Children programs – the Kinderhomes, and the SAO Projects for children were on diferent accounts. After utilization of project funds, CPBC struggled hard.

On the last year of Rev. Sacapano’s leadership as General Secretary, the CPBC, has a very few staff that remained. . Support from Local Churches have gone down very low.

When I was called by the Convention leadership thru Mr. Wilson Guazon and Rev. Delbe Dianala to assist CPBC as Special Assistant to the Relief Ministries, with Mrs. Feraz Baclagon Legita, newly appointed Director of CPBC Relief Ministries, the project funds in the Treasurer’s Office was only, P21,000 that comes from NCCP.

Under leadership of Mr. Wilson Guanzon and Rev. Delbe Dianala, CPBC again make a break through with the Baptist Union of Sweden and Diakonia, coming back assisting CPBC Relief Ministries. It was during this time, the Relief Ministry, was change to Relief and Development Ministries under Mrs. Feraz Baclagon Legita, Director..