By Herbert Vego
IT was a significant date for Philippine Christianity yesterday, celebrated as the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.
No less than Pope Francis led a Mass celebrating that milestone at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
If truth be told, however, what transpired on March 16, 1521 — recorded in history as the day when Ferdinand Magellan “discovered” the Philippines – was hardly a Christian event to crow about. On that day, the Portuguese conquistador and his Spanish explorers, representing the then mighty nation of Spain, anchored on Mactan island with a cross in one hand and a sword in the other.
Magellan preached Christianity to the natives, most of whom could not be persuaded. According to recorded history, native chieftain Lapu-Lapu and his men eventually killed Magellan in a seashore battle using bladed weapons.
It was not until 44 years later in 1565 that Spain, through Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, succeeded in colonizing the archipelago which would be known as the Philippines.
Alas, it was not meant to be a unifying development. In his 1995 book Outcry for Change the late Ilonggo author Eugenio Galido chronicled a number of well-researched conflicts between the Spanish-run civil government and the Church.
Since I had the honor of editing that book before its publication for posterity, let me summarize some controversial tales that Galido had cited.
While sailing to the Philippines, Legaspi had a heated argument with his friar partner, Urdaneta, who wanted them to go to New Guinea instead.
Proceeding as Legaspi willed, they encountered hostile natives in Cebu, forcing them to move to Bohol, only to find similar resistance against Christianity, too.
Worse, the establishment of a Spanish colonial government triggered a prolonged rift between church and state.
Guido de Lavezaris, who succeeded Legaspi as governor-general of Cebu in 1572, competed with his friar counterpart, Father Rada, for authority.
The first Bishop of Manila, Domingo de Salazar, had just assumed his post in 1581 when he publicly denounced the governor-general, Ronquillo de Peñalosa, for wielding “too much power.”
In 1633, Governor-General Diego de Salcedo disdained the rebellious nature of Archbishop Poblete. And so when Poblete died, Salcedo forbade the tolling of the bells and the embalming of his remains. Enraged, the clergy convinced the powerful Inquisition to seize Salcedo and send him to Mexico to face charges.
In 1635, Governor-General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera raided San Agustin church in Manila to arrest a fugitive soldier suspected of murdering a girl. Archbishop Ramon Guerrero tried to intervene but in vain. Angered, Corcuera locked up the bishop and the murder suspect in Fort Santiago.
The friars found the opportunity to avenge when Corcuera’s term ended in 1644. They found a sympathetic ear in his successor, Diego Fajardo, who had Corcuera jailed in Fort Santiago for five years – a case of the jailer becoming the jailed.
The government-friar clashes worsened in 1717 under the administration of Governor-General Fernando Manuel de Bustamante. Against the wishes of all religious orders, he squandered government money in rebuilding the fortifications in Zamboanga. He imprisoned people on the pretext of “conspiracy against me.”
Having found a common ground for unity, the friars and hundreds of Filipinos mobbed Bustamante, killing him and his son.
To mend the church-state feud, Spain appointed an archbishop, Manuel Rojo, concurrent governor-general in 1761. However, he ruled for only a few weeks and recommended Simon de Anda as successor.
However, when Anda returned to Spain for a courtesy call with the king, he denounced Rojo, the bishops and the friars in the Philippines for being more interested in money than in saving souls and in interfering with governmental functions.
In 1863, Archbishop Felipe Pardo refused to obey the royal decree of Governor-General Juan de Vargas, prompting the latter to go to court, the Royal Audiencia, which consequently sent the defying friar to Lingayen, Pangasinan for exile.
Fast-tracking to the present, despite the constitutional separation of Church and State, both exert influence on each other. The only difference is that the Church not only refers to the Roman Catholic majority but to a few other politically-influential religious groups, including personality cults.
A YEAR OF FEWER FIRE ACCIDENTS
THIS month of March being fire-prevention month, we would like to congratulate Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and MORE Power President Roel Z. Castro for their joint efforts in keeping the city a safer place to live In.
In the previous year 2020 – the first year of MORE Power’s service as the new power distribution utility in the city – the Bureau of Fire Protection registered a total of 151 pole fires.
“That’s certainly a big improvement,” MORE Power spokesman Jonathan Cabrera commented. “in the same one-year period in 2019, there were 218 pole fires that had wrought havoc.”
Credit also goes to the Public Utilities Group of Iloilo (PUGI) – a safety organization made up of employees of MORE Power and the telecom companies – for their participation in eliminating spaghetti wires and illegal octopus connections that had in the past triggered big fires.
It’s so frustrating, however, that despite the well-intentioned drive of MORE Power to maximize energy distribution at the least cost, their technical men occasionally find themselves in harm’s way.
Last Monday, for example, three of them got mobbed by four youngsters at Javellana Extension, Jaro while trying to disconnect the line of a delinquent customer whose accumulated debt had hit P26,000. It has allegedly been months since they last paid their power bill.
Based on CCTV footage, one of them was detained and could face charges in court.
Ay ahay, naghinulsol man kuno sia.
While we feel sorry for victims of disconnection, it may be justifiably argued that if they are allowed to repeatedly delay payment, their bills would further balloon and result in financial losses to the utility.
