Since
1936, the Catholic missionary Society of the Divine Word or SVD been officially
in-charge of the ecclesial responsibility for the whole Mindoro island and in
1950’s, the SVDs been active to support the Mangyans in many ways. Jurg
Helbling and Volker Schult wrote, “The [SVD]
missionaries helped the Mangyans with credit and medical care and they
supported them in dealing with settlers, traders and provincial officials as
well.” (p.156; “Mangyan Survival Strategies”; 2004; New Day Publishers). This
blog entry is my humble tribute to pioneering SVD missionaries who worked utterly
with the Mangyans of Mindoro particularly former SVD priest Antoon Postma, the
time-tested clerics in Fr. Ewald Dinter, SVD and Fr. Dennis Flynn, SVD, to cite
just three. Here’s a rejoinder: This lowly blogger is not an alumnus of a
SVD-run school or in any way connected to the congregation. That is for the
record.
Well,
Postma is known for his various works about the Hanunuo (an ethno-linguistic
group of the) Mangyans especially their distinct culture with his all-inclusive
documentation. He is no doubt a world- renowned authority on the subject for he
lived with them for more than 50 years and he is an anthropologist. On the
other hand, Fr. Dinter is best known for his charismata in dialogue and “inculturation”.
He is a recipient of Saint Joseph Freinademtz Award, one of the six categories
of the SVD Mission Awards bestowed some years ago during the Centennial
Celebration of SVDs presence in the Philippines. Fr. Flynn, a
Filipino-American, as a little boy, spent the most of his youth in the
Philippines, including the war years 1942-45 and later entered an SVD seminary
in the US and eventually ordained a priest in October 1961. A year later, he
was assigned to the Mindoro missions. Fr. Postma left priesthood in 1989 and
Fr. Dinter came to Mindoro in 1966, while Fr. Flynn established Mangyan, Inc.,
an NGO, in 2003 focusing on modern upland agriculture and all of them are still
connected with our brethren in the mountains.
When
Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose (AVSJ) was created January 27, 1983, her
Mangyan Mission, later known as the Vicarial Indigenous People’s Coordinating Office
or VIPACO, together with religious congregations of nuns, holding dear to their
mandate, facilitated programs and projects towards gaining equal opportunities
and treatment, right to self-determination, protection of indigenous culture
and arts, ancestral domain and sustainable human development of said indigenous
peoples or IPs. The late Bishop Vicente C. Manuel, SVD, DD, having a degree in
Sociology and a big heart for the Mangyans, who described them as the ”poorest of the poor in this forgotten half
of the [Mindoro] island” was into
conviction that such ministry need not be confined to band aid solutions and
dole outs like scholarships and mercy missions. Bp. Manuel’s SVD brothers
struggled with the Mangyans against aggressive activities detrimental to the
upland ecosystems. The Mangyans are the proximate stewards of God for our
forests and mountains, as what the cleric often reminded us lay faithful.
Bp.
Manuel, during his tenure has appointed three SVDs to said diocesan ministry.
First was Fr. Wim Leijendekker,
SVD, followed by Fr. Ramon “Monet” Bosch, SVD and later, Fr. Rodrigo Salazar,
Jr, SVD. Fr. Salazar, a personal friend, believes that that large-scale mining
is a threat to the livelihood and environment of the Mangyans. True enough, for
all its seven sub-tribes, land is life.
The
present Episcopal Vicar for the Indigenous Peoples of AVSJ is Fr. Fernando
Suarez, MMMP who was appointed by another SVD prelate, the Most Rev. Antonio P.
Palang, SVD, DD,- his bishop protector, to the position sometime in 2014. This
was years after Suarez was incardinated to the vicariate. But we are still
about to hear Suarez’ and/or his local ordinary’s official position on the
recent reinstatement of Mindoro Nickel Project’s (MNP) Environmental Compliance
Certificate or ECC by the DENR reportedly upon instruction of President BS
Aquino III.
Despite
the fact that the SVD missionaries I have mentioned differ in so many ways, in their
approaches, programs, strategies and ways of evangelizing towards their mission
for the Mangyans, they are true to their prophetic role, to say the least, in
bringing The Word to the (Mangyan) world. The Catholic principle of Unity in
Diversity is fully animated by and in them.
As
I have told you, I am in no way connected with the SVD, though, now it can be
told, I once tried to enter SVD’s Christ the King Seminary in 1978. I passed
the entrance exam but for “quasi- secular and semi-worldly” reasons, I did not
return to enroll (further elaboration is immaterial!).
Seriously,
like them, I work with the Mangyans and a
missionary in my own right. We all are, actually..
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(Photo:
Mangyan Inc.)
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