Chapter 36
We Expanded “Hour of Discovery” Radio Broadcast & Started Publishing Ministry
In 1991 – 1994, CPBC was under the leadership of Atty. Alex Espino, President and Rev. Delbe Dianala, General Secretary.
Atty. Alex Espino encouraged me to participate in the works for social, political and advocacy works. By that time, I was serving as Project Assistant for CPBC Development Ministries. We worked to strengthen CPBC nationwide, with Rev. Delbe Dianala heading the leadership trainings in some part of the country – Negros, Iloilo, Aklan, Romblon, Mindoro, and Western Mindnao.
During that time, I also assist Rosal-Ortega Farmers Cooperatives that was operating in Libacao, Aklan linking with Convention Baptist Churches in Aklan. We worked with communities on practical farmers’ training, livelihood development, community organizing and advocacy for political change.
It was during this time, that efforts were made to fight erosion and landslide, that destroyed people’s crop every rainy season. The efforts to start planting of trees to fight erosion was started by Rosal-Ortega Farmers Cooperative, linking with the Department of Energy and Environment and the Bureau of Forestry.
In 1991, two strong typhoons hit the Philippines , Typhoon Yunya (Deding) and Tropical storm
Caitlin (Ising) with deadly forces. Typhoon Diding, that hit Luzon, was followed immediately by the colossal eruptions of Mount Pinatubo that changed the situation in the country –with Pinatubo ashes, hidden above the clouds, affected much the country when rain came, with polluted rain waters.
These was followed by Tropical Thelma known in the Philippines as Typhoon Uring. These was one of the deadliest typhoons in the Philippine history. It sunk the passenger ship. MV Don Juan with passengers from Manila to Iloilo City with many reported dead and missing.
In Occidental Mindoro, the Development Ministries Director Feraz Legita with the General Secretary Delbe Dianala, CPBC Secretary Deborah Dean, Pastor Fred Jacildo, Mrs. Evelyn Espinosa, Treasurer, myself and two other staff, came to assist church memhers with relief assistance and training. We arrived in Mindoro that afternoon.
To reach the place, we have to pass a very big tree that was blown down by the wind across the river. We have to walked on its trunk, whose dimension was about 4 meters around. We reached our area after hiking more than 2 kilometer, as the road was unpassable. We stayed during the nights in the houses of our church members. Here pastors from neighboring churches came for fellowship, study and release of relief assistance.
The following day, we proceeding to another church in the other town. We met with pastors from the neighboring churches, the Treasurer, Mrs. Evelyn Espinosa released to them the assistance for the families affected by the typhoon.
The following day, we proceeded to another village, doing the same think, trying to strengthen our members, who were affected deeply with the storms. We have to help them with relief assistance and strengthen their hearts and spirits with Biblical reflections, songs and prayers.
Five days after, we have to go to another village, where we can get a bus for Calapan. We took a banca with gasoline engine around 4:00 AM. We were on the boat for about 40 minutes. Then, the boat stopped. We’re still more than a kilometer away from the shore. The water was shallow.
The banca cannot move anymore. We have to walked to the shores. But the walking was hard.
The mud was deep. It was above our knees. Sometimes, it reached our thighs. It was very hard walking in a deep mud, reaching up our thighs, a distance of more than a kilometer to the shores.
But we moved on –with our General, Rev. Delbe Dianala, nd also our Secretary. We moved on, slowly walking on the mud, as the sun was peeping on the eastern sky, seemingly smiling and laughing with us. We reached the terminal. We took coffee. Then we rode the bus to Calapan, Mindoro. That’s an experience we met. But this were ordinary experiences working with the Convention Baptists, whose members, some were living in far-flung villages.
We met some pastors Calapan. We have our meeting and sharing. We have our Bible Reflections and prayers together. The Treasurer gave the assistance to the churches affected with typhoon. Then, in the afternoon, we road a boat to Batangas. We road another bus to Manila. We reached Manila 9:00 PM. We went to a hotel. But there was no vacancy. We have to set on the side of the hotel, while Pastor Fred Jacildo was going around, looking for a hotel room.
After a long searched he found a hotel that will accommodate us. There was only 1 room available. But the management allowed to accommodate us, 9 of us in one room. They provided mats and pillows. The four girls were in two beds. The two ladies, on the floor between the beds.
The three of us gentlemen, were on the floor with our Secretary General, Rev. Delbe Dianala. We were served dinner about 11:00 PM. We were tired. But radiant. These were some little experiences in the services of the Lord and our church people. And, it was great!
In 1992, CPBC and Diakonia’s Regional Office in Thailand, re-established relations. A Project, “Aklan-Capiz Baptist Integrated Education and Development Projects” was started in 1992-1995. These was followed by another project, “Aklan, Capiz, Central and Southern Negros Development :Program Phase 11”, for 1995-1997.
These was followed by Diakonia supported projects, Phase 111, Phase 1V, Phase 5 and Phase 6 continued from 2992 until 2006, that continued for 14 years.
A special project for the tribal minorities, “Bukidnon Tribe Development Program” in 1997-2003, was started.
Through this different projects, that were implemented for the church and communities, we were able to strengthen the Convention ministry to the people in Negros Occidental and Panay Island.
In one of her visits, Mrs. Els-Marie Carlbacker of Diakonia, invited Mrs. Feraz Legita and me to attend a seminar in Chiang Mai Thailand. We joined the participants from different Southeast Asian countries – from India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand. Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
We worked together planning for strengthening of the development works among church members and the community with education, skills training and advocacy works. It was a 5 day seminar-workshop, designed to strengthen the capacities of participants who were leaders of their church developments works and NGO’s in their countries.
We were all partners of Diakonia in developments, cooperatives and advocacy works. It was a great learning opportunity, setting with leaders of development and advocacy groups in Southeast Asia.
Mrs. Carlbacker has another plan for me in that meeting. On the 3rd day, she asked me to join her and met a group, an NGO that have a radio ministry in Chang Mai, Thailand. The have unique ministry, designed to maximize their radio ministry.
She introduced me to the group. They produced recorded educational materials – Cassette Tapes, CD’s and VCD’s that were distributed to churches, NGO’s, associations and communities in Thailand. I was their only guest that day, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They shared some of their technologies on Cassettes, CD’s and VCD recordings, production, packaging, marketing and distribution processes in Thailand.
It was an exposures that opened my mind more on the power of mass communications, reaching out to mass audiences with follow-up materials, recorded on Cassette Tapes, CD’s, VCD’s.
They gave me additional knowledge in broadcasting with printing and publishing skills that I would need.
That night, after our evening session, Mrs. Carbacker came to me. We talked. She said. “Rudy, I saw your interests in radio productions and publishing. Diakonia will support efforts along that directions. Include that need in a Project Proposal we will prepare for November, for implementation on January.
These will provide you the needed money to buy needed equipment to improved your broadcast and publishing ministry.”
I thanks, Mrs..Carlbacker and Diakonia, They gave us the opportunity for the expanded program for broadcasts and publishing through Altterative Resource Development Center, Inc. w
When I came home to Iloilo City, two weeks later, I sat with Hesther to conceptualize the project and the needed equipments that we will need to expand Hour of Discovery broadcasts and start ARDC’s printing and publishing works. Hour of Discovery was one of the most listened religious radio program in the Western Visayas. It has a wide listening group –the members of the Convention Baptist Churches, our ecumenical groups related with the NCCP, farmers association, labor unions, fishermens groups we have helped organized and provided with livelihood assistance, militants who were members of Kabataang Makabayan and even some of those in the underground movements, were listening were listening to our radio broadcast.
“Hour of Discovery” through DYFM Bombo Radio reached a very wide area of coverage. The churches, cooperative and farmers association members in Aklan listens to Hour of Discovery. Our broadcasts in northe western area, were heard in most of Capiz, Romblon, Palawan and part of Mindoro. In the eastern & southern areas, it reached Negros Occdental and Occidental, Cebu and Leyte.
In a conversations with Pastor Samuel Antonio, an NPA officer, operating in South Negros, who later returned to the folds of the law, after 11 years as revolutionary fighter, said: “During the hard days in the underground, while we were fighting with the army in the hinterlands of Southern Negros, I often listened Sundays, to Hour of Discovery messages for strength and spiritual sustainance. Many of my comrades in the revolutionary movement, also listened to Hour of Discovery.”
But there were changes in DYFM-Bombo Radio management. For years, we paid P5,000 monthly, for a 15-minute broadcast aired every Sunday at 5:30-5:45 PM. But, starting the following month, the station demanded, we pay P20,000 monthly, for the 15 minutes broadcast once a week.
We feel, we would not be in position to pay the broadcast costs anymore. With prayers and thanksgiving, in the last Sunday of August 2005, we closed “Hour of Discoery” Radio Ministry. With a heavy heart, we bid good bye to our listeners all over the Western Visayas.
Baptist Center Church, with Rev. Prudencio Banas, also stopped their DYFM broadcast. “Hour of Discovery” became history in September 2005.
I thanked God for the opportunity to serve our people by helping open their minds and see the realities under an oppressive economic and political situations, under the oligarchs and elitests government. Our people, little by little saw the truth and situations. They were joining hands to work for change.
Some reflections we have on “Hour of Discovery” Radio Ministry, which were printed in pamphlets and produced in produced in 1994 were:
1. The Apple Tree and the Spade - a Reflection by Rev. Birgit Karlson, General Secretary, Baptist Union of Sweden.
2. Human Rights: Dialogue Between the Farmers and Military held at the Provincial Hall of Iloilo – By Pastor Rudy Bernal
3. Celebacy and the Married Priests – By Pastor Rudy Bernal
4. Selling Women’s Flesh: Last Way Some Women do to Live -By Ms. Lucy Francisco, Officer of Gabriela Women’s Party, Iloilo
5. Sisterhood is Powerful! – By Rev. Liza Lamis, Coordinator, Women’s Program of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).
6. The Love Road –By Rev. Olof Lindstrom, Secretary for Information & International Relations of the Baptist Union of Sweden.
7. The Baptist Youth & the Politics of Change - By Pastor Rudy Bernal
8. A God Who Cries! – Rev. Gunnel Andreasson, Swedish Baptist Union, Secretary for Asia and Eastern Europe.
9. Never Remain In the Temple –Pastor Leo Claridad, Faculty Member, North Negros Baptist Bible College.
1. The Storm of Galilee – Rev. La
Verne Mercado, General Secretary, NCCP, Manila.
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Part of the series The Ministry Years (chapter 37 of 48)
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