Chapter 24
Resignation of Pastor Rudy Bernal; The Implications on the UIM & NFM Projects
My resignation as Director of the New Frontier Ministries, the Development Arms of the CPBC was one of hardest and painful decisions, I made in life.
These happened during the 3rd Quarter of 1988.
UIM was the flagship of the New Frontier Ministries. It was there we tried to experiment the different potential projects, skills and practical technologies that will be relevant and effective in development education, advocacy works, labor education and organizing works among farmers and sugar cane workers.
I went to my office. I sat behind my desk. I looked outside the window, outside where I can see the sky. I prayed. I asked God for strength. I asked 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 working now, and those who will be working in the future 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 30 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 or fail, in certain time.
My Resignation Letter was simple. It was addressed to Rev. Penuelito Sacapano, General Secretary. I tried today, to recollect the best I could, the wordings of my letter. It said:
“New Frontier Ministries
Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Inc.
Fajardo Street, Jaro, Iloilo City
“Rev. Penuelito Sacapano
General Secretary
“Dear Rev. Sacapano,
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 three 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 most of Panay, Capiz and Aklan. Without, the UIM 4 staff, it would be hard to implement a big project with several million budget in 3 years, with a component of 34 full time staff.
2) “Second. Presently, 30 persons are being trained as full time staff. The trainings, for 7 day, was conducted without my participations, as director. I felt, it was a pressure for me to resign, for if ever, I will be a director, without authority.
“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 to Rev. Lopez and Atty. Lobaton at the CPBC office.
That morning, I sent a telegram of my resignation to Rev. Olof Lindstrom, BUS, in Sweden. I requested him to please inform Mr. Heinz Haverkorn of EZE in West Germany of my resignation.
My Telegram to Rev. Lindstrom 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 there resignations was given by General Secretary. I felt, I cannot worked effectively, with 34 new staffs with no experiences in the kind of work UIM 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 UIM fund was ready and will be transmitted the following day to Manila. I heard, Rev. Lindstrom instructed his staff in Sweden to hold the transmission of funds for a few days. He sent a message and 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. In two days time, 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 leaders Rev. Penuelito Sacapano, General Secretary, Atty. Angel Lobaton, Presideent, Mr. Bonifacio Eslaban, Treasurer and Rev. Edwin Lopez, Chairman of New Frontier Ministries 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 coming Panay Integrated Development Project.
Mr. Liljengren and me that morning met in the hotel for some discussions. He asked me. “Rudy, I will make a proposal for CPBC. If, CPBC will agree that you work again with NFM and helped train the 34 new UIM staff, will you work again with CPBC? Under this arrangement, Baptist Union of Sweden will pay for your salary and incidental expenses while you are working with the project. It will be very difficult to train the 34 new UIM staff, without the guidance of trained UIM personnel. All the 34 new UIM staff were new. I am afraid, the new UIM project may fail. ”
I told Mr. Liljengren: “Yes, if I am needed, I will continue to work with CPBC and help train the 34 new staff, even if, I have already resigned”.
That morning, Mr. Liljengren met with CPBC officers at the office. Mr. Liljengren told me to met him at the hotel, at 12:00 PM. I will just stay near the hotel telephone, in case he will talked with me. He believed the effectiveness of UIM was due to the good training madeof the UIM staff during that time.
But the CPBC leadership was strong on their decisions. They said, the 4 UIM staff were already terminated. Pastor Rudy Bernal has already resigned. They said, nothing can be done about that anymore. Yes, nothing can be done about that anymore.”
Mr. Leo Liljengren told me that he had 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, in 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.
I think 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 time several years ago. The following morning, Mr. Leo Liljengren flew to Manila, and then to Sweden.
The following day, 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 Rev. Olof Lindstrom and tell him, that after discussion 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 and help train 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 that afternoon, also have met again with the 3 top leaders of CPBC. They realized the serious implications of their decisions. He called Hotel del Rio asking to talk with Mr. Liljengren. He was told 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 by the Secretary, 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.
That morning, the 34 staff that were training for UIM at the CPBC Board Room, for nearly a 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.
I learned, a few months later, the money for Panay Integrated Development Project, was released to National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), Bacolod City. They bought some parcels of sugar cane lands for sugar cane workers they organized. Many sugar cane lands in Negros were about to taken by banks. I heard some ot these were bought by NFSW for their members and sugar cane workers they have organized into cooperatives.
Two months later, Heinz Haverkorn sent me a note. He asked me, if I will work with NFSW. He said, I could be accommodated. It told Heinz, I will just find work here. It would be hard for met to work with CPBC again, if I my heart will be committed deep in labor education with NFSW.
I think, one reason why the CPBC have made strong demands during the talk with Mr. Liljnengren. They believed an unsigned But “contract” was already made. It will not be easy for BUS & EZE to change their decision.
These was one incident that pulled down CPBC’s development works, and took some years re-start. I learned, what we have started and lost were very hard to recover. After 3 years, all CPBC projects supported from Europe, have ended. From then on, no project funds has ever came again to CPBC, from Europe, through WCC ---like Bread for the World, EZE, Christian Aid, Stechting, Dan Church Aid and World Council of Churches (WCC), which supported CPBC, except Baptist Union of Sweden and Diakonia also from Sweden.
Few years later, with the leadership of Mr. Wilzon Guanzon, Sr., the new CPBC President, the Baptist Union of Sweden (BUS) and Diakonia 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 Children programs – the Kinderhomes, and the SAO Projects for children. After utilization of project funds, CPBC struggled hard.
On the last year of Rev. Sacapano’s leadership as General Secretary, the CPBC staff already a very limited staff. 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, respectively as President and General Secretary. in 1989, CPBC again made a break through in its development works, with the Baptist Union of Sweden coming back and assisting CPBC Relief Ministries. It was during this time, the Relief Ministry, was change to Relief and Development Ministries under Mrs. Feraz Baclagon Legita, as Director.
Part of the series The Ministry Years (chapter 24 of 48)
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