Chapter 2 - 2nd Year Ministry at Cawayan Baptist Church w/ Evangelism. Revivals& Land Reforms

                                                           Chapter  2

       2nd  Year Ministry at  Cawayan Baptist  w/ Evangelism ,  Revivals  & Land Reforms

It’s  now my 2^nd Year ministry  at Cawayan Baptist Church.  It was in   1973.  My first  year was an  exciting time. I tried to be creative. We  expored ways for a wider opportunity of Christian service. We were trying to explore non-traditional ministry in a Baptist church. I remembered Dr. Johnny Gumban telling us,  “never to limit our ministry within the four corners of the church. “

My Second  Year  ministry was    hard.  President Marcos had declared martial law   September 1972.  We were now experiencing a new situation in the country. There were lots of youth being arrested and killed in Iloilo and Antique.  In Manila, I heard of growing men and women arrested. In Panay and Negros more young people have gone to the countrysides, joined the New People’s Army and  started  fighting the military and the government.

Rev. Salustiano Cabahug, was the President of the Baptist Convention from June 1972-1975.  He was pastor of Bacolod  Cosmopolitan Church, the 2^nd biggest Baptist church in Negros Occidental.  Rev. Cabahug was an evangelist and a very  influential pastor in the entire Baptist Convention.

The General Secretary during this hard time in the political life of the country was Rev. Levi Lahaylahay. He was president from 1972-1974.

It was during these years,  starting in 1967,  that the revolutionary movements in Panay and Negros Occidental  were started. The first Kabataang Makabayan (KM) chapter in Iloilo was organized, I think, it was  in 1967,  the  t KM was first organized. It was at the home of Fluelyn Ortagas.

First elected officers were Alberto Espinas, President;  Josyl Jaen, Vice President; Virgil Ortigas, Chairman for Education.

Members were Fluelyn Ortigas, Rolly Lorca, Francis Monfort, Eddie Carilimdiliman and Vic Beloira.

Soon, other members came, Norman Cabangal, Romie Deprado, Boy Estandarte, Pablito Araneta, Tomas Dominado, Alex Gonzales, FabieFernandez, Elmer  Unsay, Gregorio Castigado, Ferdie Arceo and Jun Geduspaon.

Form these group  of less than 20 person, Kabataang Makabayan  members were trained and organized with the highest  kind of motivations and strength, that in less than 3 years, its militant members have chapters in all colleges and  univeristies  in Panay and Negros Occidental

Soon, there were KM chapters in  almost all high schools in  every towns of Panay and Negros Occidental. KM has also organized chapters  in city villages and slum areas. 

KM chapters were also  in  the barangays. And  softly, it reached out to the countryside villages, building  its revolutionary structures  in hinterland villages all over  Panay and Negros. .

In 1972, when  President Marcos declared Martial Law, KM and SDK (Samahaang Demokratikon Kabataan)  has organized chapters  in nearly 30% of the barangays in Panay and Negros Occidental.

My ministry was never concentrated on purely church  and spiritual activities.   It was not girded to evangelize and convert people to the Baptist faith only. 

My early exposures in the College of Theology was for a wholistic ministry –not to save souls only. It was a ministry to save lives and soul together. It was  directed to touched  lives to be fruitful,  clean and committed to service of people, specially the poor and the weak. 

We were taught by Dr. Johnny Gumban, Dean of the college, never to confine our ministry inside  the  four corners of the church.  This was a big deal.    It was  a great challenge  by the  Dean of the College of Theology, to us students.  It calls us to learn the situations of the poor. Those oppressed by feudal lords. To learn the evils  caused by US imperialisms  in our social, economic  and  political lives. And helped fight these evils and bring change in the life of people and society.

I remembered  the way of  Jesus’  teachings and methods.  There were   no church in his time.  There were  no  more  synagogues for him.     Jesus was ousted from the synagogue few weeks  after he taught and preached  there.  We found  him preaching and teaching around, wherever people were  listening  to him.  His pulpit and lectern were  in  different places  every day.

He preached  on the waysides.  He preached on the shores by the sea.  He preached riding on a banca, while being tossed by the waves. He preached wherever  people  were to  hear him. He preached to  a dead Lazarus. And brought him to life.

I learned the wisdom of Jesus teachings, when some years later.  Some years later, when I was pastor of Maao Central Evangelical Church,  I  preached, taught  and led prayers  of  hundred sugar central  workers  on the picket lines in La Carlota City, Negro Occidental. I joined  sugar cane workers  in prayers,  as they worked to strengthen the workers  strikes  led  by   the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW)  in Bacolod City.

One time, back on  3^rd week of April  1973,  a  representatve  of the Gospel Team came to us.   They were  requesting we hold a Vacation Church School  and Evangelistic meeting   in our church on   May  15  to 22.  That was the last schedule they have for  the  summer. It was a team from the  Convention Baptist Bible School (CBBC), in  Bakyas,  Bacolod City.

There  were 5 members of the team. The church decided we will accept them. It will helped in the education and development  of the children and youth.  We will also have  a  one week  evangelistic meeting.

We called our  May  activity,  a  Revival Meeting. We will helped  revived  the church. We will also  bring revival to the  life of our community.

Our Revival Meeting  was done with the  5  members, Gospel Team.  Only two members I can remember now.  Miss Nilda Jocson and Mr. Margarito Sancho.  They were  young, commited and hard working  young people.  They have special talents. Two were good guitarist.  They were all good singers.  They can sing solo. The can sing duet. They were also dramatists. And their Evangelist was the youngest of  them, Margarito Sancho.

At  7:00 PM to 10:00 PM our  Revival Meeting  goes.   And continued the next 7  nights.  We have mobilized all our members to invite all to attend.  Since, last  year, we were able to assist farmers  to immunized their chickens  on   “Avian Pests’ ,  their chickens were not attacked by the disease.  They responded to our invitations heartily. Many attended.

We  prayed for the success of our Revival Meeting.  We  asked the Gospel Team to  join the deacons  for prayers.   The team prayed  in the mornings. In the late  afternoons, the Team  with the Board of Deacons,  joined.   We go to a secluded place  on the rice fields  for an hour of meditations and prayer.  We do this every afternoon at 5:00 PM.

During the first  3 days of  our Revival Meeting,  more than 300 youths, adults and  older children attended  the meetings.  There were  group singings, lead by the Team leaders  with  guitars. There  were Special Music.  There was a drama  on some days.  And Pastor Margareto  Sancho preached.  He has no  training  on Homilitics yet.   But he was a bombastic speaker.  He preached with power.  I can felt it. I looked straight on  his eyes. There  was focus  on his eyes. There was power on his voice.

But I cannot understand well his message. It   lacked    coherence.  He has no outlines. He just preached.  And his message just came out of his    lips. When he extended his invitations on the 3^rd  night,  under  a Quartett’s song, “Pass Me Not O Gentle Saviour”,  some  40  people—men, women and youth—came forward  to   our  makeshift altar. Some were  sobbing .  Some  were wiping tears from  their eyes. They were touched by the Gospel message and songs.  

On the  4^th  night, there was an increased in attendance to about 400.  Pastor Margarito Sancho preached again. 

That   afternoon, together with the Gospel Team and Deacons, they went to the rice fields to pray.   They asked God for more  power to touch the hearts and minds of  those who attend our revival meeting.

 Pastor Sancho preached. At the close of   his message, he  invited  his listeners  to  come and accept Jesus Christ as   Lord and Saviour. There were about 60  who came forward. Some were sobbing.  One old man,  my  friend, about 70 years old,  Mr. Federico Bullos with  his wife, came forward. There were tears  in his eyes. I have not seen an old man attend a religious meeting and wept.  I believed it   was  God  at work in our small village in Cawayan.

The Revival Meeting  was concluded on the 7^th  day. It  has brought some sort of  spiritual awakening for many of our people in the village. On the last day of our revival meeting, after his message, Pastor  Sancho,   asked all those who  came  forward the last 4 days,  to  come  forward to the   altar.    He will pray for all of them. Nearly 150  people came –women, men,  youth and some children.  Pastor Margarito Sancho prayed with  them.  He entrusted them to the Lord.

When, I started my ministry in Cawayan Baptist Church a year ago, I told myself  “I will lessen  my

 involvement with labor education and organizing.”  But  a new development came that calls me to involved again.  The  tenants  on the farms that a big businessman was leasing from landlord,  were agonizing from the hard  situations.

The tenants were pressured to give-up or  surrender  their farms so that it could be planted with sugar cane.  Some farmers have surrendered their farms.    Then, the husband of one of the tenants was killed by the security guards  of the farm  leasor.  He seemed untouchable. He was not arrested.   Martial law was just implemented. The situation in the village was  was hard.

I  decided again, to make organizing part of our ministry.  We organized a farmers association. One of our objectives was: “To educate and train farmers on good farming practices. To learn skills so that the would be able to fight and protect the farm they were working as tenants.”

We worked  with the Department of Agrarian Reforms so that the land they were now farming could be given to them under the Land Reform Program.  “We decided to  fight for Land Reforms  in our village.   It was a risk we have to take. By this time, the martial law regimes, have organized the Samahang Nayon of President Marcos. It was his way to reach the farmers.”

The Department of Agrarian Reforms was organized with some lawyers assigned  in the Northern Iloilo. We decided to work within the  limited freedom of martial rule.

The tenants in Cawayan, Carles demands  and worked for implementation  of Land Reforms. They demanded that the land tenanted by them be put under land reform  so  they can be awarded the lands  they were farming in the future.

The farmers headed by Jose Bullo, Vice President and other officers,  Martin Bullo,  Federico Bullos,  and  a woman Salvacion Geguera. They have 14 farmers together in the group.  They pushed for Land Reforms.

When harvest came, in October 1973, the farmers  sent a letter to the  landlord, telling him: “ Sir, we will implement Land Reform in   our farms.  Please  implement the fair sharing system now.  After harvest, we will gave you your share of 25 per cent of the harvest. We will get the 75 per cent share as leaseholders. You come on said date, to get your share. If you fail, your share of 25 per cent,  we will deposit of the Treasurer Office at Carles Municipal Hall. Thank You.”

When harvest came,   the farmer  got  the 75% share. They  deposited the 25 per cent share  the  landowner’s share  in the Municipality of Carles. 

That was how the tenant farmers in Cawayan, Carles implemented Land Reforms in  the  village. 

During that time,  I was leading the efforts for the implementation of Land Reforms  in our village. Working with me was Mr. Romeo Bellosilo, a teacher at Cawayan Elementary School. My name circulated in several villages in the town, with the farmers getting 75% share of the harvests.  It was a little success.

Some farmers in nearby villages came. They want to implement Land Reforms in their villages. At least, a leasehold system be made, enabling them to get 75% of the harvest.  

One early  morning,   sometimes on the 3^rd Quarter of 1973,  at about 5:30  in the morning, I went down from our house, carrying a small lantern  to our  gardens, about a hundred meters from our house. I worked in the plots for nearly 30 minutes.  Then,  I saw a man, behind the coconut tree.  He was 4 meters away. He was  coming towards me.

I slowly stood up, still holding the lantern, that gaves a faint light.  He greeted me. I answered  him. He came near me. He talked as he came  nearer to me. He stopped, when were a about a meter  near each other. He asked me my name.  He asked several questions. I answered him.   While we were talking,  I heard cracks of armalites bolts being released from around – behind the  trees, bananas, growing bamboo, a vacant hut.   And   11 fully armed soldiers  came  near  and surrounded  me and their  officer.

By this time,  a mild  6:00 AM sunlight was  pepping softly  on the eastern horizon.

Around me were Philippine Constabulary soldiers. They were standing  around me with their officer, the barrels of their Armalites pointed up and some pointed down.

Then,  their commanding officer asked me  to go up our house.   He said, he  will  request  my father, the Barangay Captain  Restituto Bernal Sr., for coffee.