OFFERMANNS VERSION

CARMELITE PRESENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES:
SITUATIONER FOR THE COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
(Crispin Offermanns, Manila, September 1987)

(This Historical Report was given as a Situationer as indicated above in the Council of Pronvinces of the entire Order of Carmelites held for the first time in the Philippines)

The first Dutch Carmelites arrived in the Philippines in December 1957, some 30 years ago at this moment. Their original mission was twofold: (a) to establish the Order in the Philippines (prospects for Dutch Carmelites had grown dim); (b) to assist the local Church in the Philippines especially in view of a shortage of priests that time.

During the first decade of our presence in the Philippines, our pastoral approach followed the traditional, Spanish-inherited practice. Already at that early moment, we were struck very deeply by the deep poverty of the common people, a topic much discussed among us. At first, our Pastoral Services were predominantly sacramental. In addition to traditional parish work, we soon got involved in the establishment of schools in order to establish closer links with the people and to supplement the often inadequate performance of the so-called public schools. By dong so, we hoped to improve the job-security for students, and in this way reduce the poverty of the people somewhat.

A change occurred in the second half of the 60’s, then we engaged increasingly in what is now called “social action apostolate”. More and more efforts were made to grasp the social situation of the people more thoroughly, and to find a relevant basis for our socio-pastoral option. In 1969, we held our first annual convention of the Carmelites (Chapter) and made a stock-taking. New initiatives were taken. This annual event, which started out years back as our annual retreat, became a very important tool in the consolidation and formation of the group ever since. At that stage of our presence here, we experimented with church-initiated cooperatives, especially among the fishermen. First steps were taken in labor apostolate. We had our share in the organization and education of the small farmers. Furthermore, we were instrument in the introduction of Christian Community Seminars (a forerunner of BCC). We initiated Family Life Apostolate, undertook Lay Leaders training for the giving of Bible services in the barrios, etc.

We had started formation of seminarians as early as 1963 (high school level in ages 13 years and up). This was later changed in 1972 in which year we dropped the lower level seminary (highschool ages 13-17 years old). From that year on, we started with College level. The last part of philosophy and theology studies were done in Manila.

Inspite of all these efforts we had not yet hit the basics. In these years, we discovered later, we were still assuming that the problems of countries of the Third World such as the Philippines were caused by underdevelopment, and that the answer should be: to eliminate poverty by letting the people share in Western welfare or dole-out projects.

A major turn started taking place when in September 1972 Martial Law was declared by Ferdinand Marcos. In its wake followed a wave of arrest and violations of human rights, paralizing much of our apostolates. Several of our co-workers were imprisoned or fled to the mountains. Some went into hiding, in order to escape the military and police forces. In our reflections and discussions during that time, we gradually analyzed and concluded that Martial Law was actually the consequence of an economic system that dominates the Western World and that in fact subjugates the Third World countries to the First World. In short, Martial Law as we see it now as declared to control labor and student unrest, to promote exploitative export, to favor the TNC (Trans national Corporations). Indeed, at that stage, we discovered that the real cause of poverty was the exsiting exploitative structures and systems.

Hence, in the mid 70s we arrived at a more common understanding of the situation in the cointry and as a group we developed a new vision: more stress should be given to the “service to the people” rather than “maintaining institutions”. Many of us at that time became actively involved in Justice and Peace work in various forms: Alay kapwa (Lenten campaign: “serve your neighbor”), Basic Christian Community Organization, Community Based Health Programs, apostolate among the Tribal Filipinos, Labor apostolate and conscientization work in various sectors, including church sector people.

Gradually, we became convinced that only the organized poor will be successful in the struggle for liberation of the people from oppression and exploitation.

In 1978, after much reflection and discussion of our experiences, we formulated our option for the poor in a Position Paper to be presented to the Dutch Carmelite Chapter in that year. In this document, we expressed as our common conviction that we had no other choice but to stand on the side of the poor; there was, according to us, no neutrality possible in such stand. Early 1981, Martial Law was “lifted”.

Although we established new communities in the early 80s, we also returned Toboso parish and the local school to the Diocese of Dumaguete and were forced to phase out Iligan.

In 1982, we made an attempt (second one) to establish a General Formation Program (theology level) in Manila which would be the sequel to the collegiate level formation (since our 1978 vision adjusted to a more contextualized format).

The annual convention of 1985 endorsed a new type of membership in our Carmelite Family in the Philippines. We call them Associates. Originally, we agreed to this form in case some Carmelite got married and yet wanted to stay related to the Carmel group out here. In 1985, we laid down conditions and principles under which such form of participation in Carmelite life in the Philippines could be experimented. The concrete first venue for such association is the local Carmelite community. After some years of positive experience, most of the associates participate also now in the Annual Convention.

In February 1986, we lived throught what the wold now know as the “Edsa Revolt” when Mrs. Corazon Aquino was swept into the leadership position by “People’s Power”. After the first few euphoric months were over (realse of some political prisoners, freedom of speech, the Freedom Constitution, democratic space, 60 day ceasefire), certain developments have evolved that have caused anxiety and concern among the people and us. Inspite of the fact that last Februaryh 1987, we finally got a new Constitution and last may we had elections, we recall just a few incidents: the murder of Labor Leader Rolando Olaia (still not solved), the massacre of Mendiola, the counter-insurgency program called LIC (Low Intensity Conflict), the rise of the Vigilante groups mushrooming especially after February 1987, the rise of fanatical groups used in the couner-insurgency drives, the anti-communist hysteria, etc. What worries us presently very much is the worsening plight of the poor (socio-economic situation), and increased militarization. We ask ourselves the question: counter-insurgency for what? It seems that the all-out drive against the danger of atheism, but the ever-worsening socio-economic situation of the majority of the pole, Poverty!!!

During our 1987 Annual Convention, we have again renewed our commitment to the cause of the suffering Filipino people and selected areas of special concern:

(A) strengthening our brotherhood: we still lack some adequate for a and the right atmosphere (outside those of the annual convention) where we can share on gut-level our motivations, hopes and anxieties. The most challenging issue is not, whether we have uniform ideas and feelings on issues, but to share and continue sharing our views and feelings.
(B) Attention for contextualized formation for our candidates. There is need for a comprehensive synthesis of our experiences in this field, especially during the past 10 years, in order to arrive at the unified vision and systematic approach in our efforts. We should be clear on our identity and our own prophetic vocation in the Philippine reality, so that we may provide ministries that serve the authentic needs of the common people.
(C) New forms of participation in Carmelite Life. This refers to the associate membership. At this stage, we have more thoroughly reflected on various forms of participation in our group by various persons attracted by our option, vision and commitment to the struggle of the Filipino people. Therefore, we have to have a critical look at the present structures of the Carmelite Order in the Philippines as to its appropriateness for such vision or option.

Inspite of the hardships of the Filipino people and the increasingly disappointing leadership of the country that is being dictated and even controlled by other (even outside) forces, inspite of the failure of Edsa event to bring about essential changes, we continue to dream of a Carmelite group, united in heart and mind in the unselfish service to the suffering people of the Philippines. In such a way that many will feel attracted to join this group.