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In Summary The Philippines is often in the news today, frequently because of the exploits of the New People's Army NPA, the guerrilla arm of the Communist party. What news reports often fail to mention is the pressure put on the average Filipino peasant farmer by members of the NPA. How does one do theology among people who are oppressed both by the government in power and a group trying to overthrow that government? Does the Bible have anything to say to people caught in this situation? Abigail Ramientos Harootian, who has worked among such people, says that indeed there are answers, albeit answers which may prove uncomfortable to those unaccustomed to living and working amidst political upheaval.

"So you're Ka Abing! Word has been going around that your troop has come up here. Are you just passing through?... How many days are you staying? At long last I've met you, Ka Abing. We've heard of your 'victories' in Barrio Latagan. Someday, the same thing will happen here. That day will come when we peasant farmers will receive justice-the downfall of the landlords. I believe this will happen... people like you will help make this happen."

I was startled (and speechless!) by this greeting I received from one of the peasant-folks at our fieldwork site. In 1985, my classmates (from the University of the Philippines) and I conducted a survey to explore the feasibility of an appropriate socio-economic project in a remote barrio in Quezon Province (southern Luzon Island). On this occasion we stopped at a certain household for a drink and rest from trekking ragged mountain trails and rivers. The greeting I received was shocking and scary.

Apparently, I was mistaken for a female guerrilla leader with the same name as my nickname. Although my classmates and I were not carrying weapons (like a typical guerrilla troop would), and though we were not dressed like guerrillas, still we were thought to be members of the New People's Army. The NPA is the guerrilla arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines. The assumption among Filipino peasants living in remote areas of the country is that only the Communists would take all the trouble and sacrifice to visit them in their isolated communities. Since my classmates and I were believed to be guerrillas, we were heartily received in this peasant-farming community.

Why is the NPA accepted and supported in this remote, serene, and small farming community? Why do these people embrace the insurgents with open arms when the insurgents stop at their homes? Why are the peasants willing to give aid to the members of the NPA? These were difficult questions for me to answer, yet other questions posed even greater difficulty. For example, as a Christian, what issues should I consider in view of attempting to present an authentic Gospel witness to this peasant-farming community? How is Jesus Christ relevant to these peasant farmers who have totally given up hope on the existing socio-economic-political system of the Philippines, and instead, have placed their hope for liberation in the Communist rebels?

Historical and Cultural Background

The particular community I have described (somewhere in Quezon Province, one of the NPA-infested provinces in the Philippines) is representative of most peasant-farming communities in the Philippines. Most peasant communities are considered "territories" of the NPA and have been included in the NPA's zone as "conquered."

Peasant-farmers are tenant farmers-that is, they do not own farmlands, even though they do all the work to produce a harvest In exchange for the peasants' homestead on the land, landlords or landowners exact a monthly rent equivalent to 65-70% of the total money gained from the harvest. When a tenant receives 35%, he is consisted extremely lucky. This traditional agricultural system of the Philippines benefits the landlords at the expense of the tenants and makes it impossible for tenants to purchase land and become landowner-farmers (Tai 1974:34-36). What is more aggravating is that most landlords in the Philippines are absentee-landlords who do not live on their own farmlands. This arrangement makes it virtually impossible for landlords to be available to assist peasants in producing a harvest, e.g., providing fertilizer, pesticides, extra manual labor, etc. The landlord or his trusted representative visits the farmland only at harvest in order to collect the 70% of the total harvest earnings. The 30% that the farmer is left with is not even enough to cover the production expenses he has incurred!

The peasants, like most Filipinos, are nominal Roman Catholics who are secularistic. They believe that as long as one lives harmoniously with his fellowmen and does good deeds, one will also reap good fortune or good life. They think that to believe in God is enough. It does not matter what religion one has as long as that religion causes one to relate well with people.

For the peasants, religion is not found in the performance of sanctioned religious rites-like going to church. Besides, for the peasants, going to church is impractical. Peasant farmers usually live in communities far removed from the towns with political and religious centers. To take 1-2 hours to travel by foot or passenger jeepney just to go to town seems a great loss to the peasant receiving meager earnings from 12-14-hour workdays. If, by chance, the peasants do have a few hours of free time, they would rather use this time for rest or leisure-anything that takes their minds away from their burdensome work.

The guiding Filipino proverb by which the peasants perceive life on earth is "Whatever you cook, you eat." This is synonymous with the Scripture, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously" (2 Corinthians 9:6). This proverb guides one's social relations or conduct, spiritual outlook, and financial expectation from his labor. But the proverb has not held true for these peasants. The peasant gives 100% of his time and effort, but he gets a meager 30-35% of the total harvest earnings. Herein lies the attraction of the New People's Army.

Due to the growing unrest of farmers nationwide, the land reform program in the Philippines was established in the late 1970s. This program supposedly seeks to redistribute land equitably and rationally. Its goal is that farmers will receive land transfer certificates and thus gain ownership of the land they and their ancestors have worked. But peasants have lost their trust in the government's land reform program because of breakdowns in program implemention. Peasants are still, to this day, landless.

It is not surprising, then, that the NPA, with its promise of "land to the landless" through revolutionary means, is accepted by the Filipino peasants. It is the hunger for land that the Communists have exploited to win the peasants' faith and confidence. The country's agrarian reform has failed the peasants, who have therefore come to believe the NPA's claim that only violent agrarian revolution will make the landlords give up all or some of their lands. For now, the NPA acts as the active executioners of the agrarian revolution, but the NPA hopes the peasants will eventually follow suit and revolt with them.

Theology of Vindication

Christian theology (at least, the Kind of theology I have been exposed to as a middle-class Asian Christian) has treated very lightly the fact that God vindicates (cf. Isaiah 34:8; Na-hum 1:2; Romans 12:9). Many theologians treat the vindication of God against injustice in a soft and lenient way, failing to explore many of the related issues. For example, how is God's vindication fulfilled? Is it through violent means or "accidental" and natural calamities? Cannot the oppressed, as they follow Christ and become His instruments, do anything concrete to bring about God's vindication for themselves?

Throughout the Bible God shows a definite sympathy for the poor and oppressed. Jesus Himself felt this heartbeat of God, and He lived out God's concern for the poor and judgment on the rich. The Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20ff), for example, has much to say about judgment and vindication. Jesus declares, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God...." He also speaks "woes" to the rich, e.g., "Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry...."

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Abigail F. Ramientos Harootian, a Filipino, recently received her B.S. in Community Development from the University of the Philippines in Manila. She is currently employed at the William Carey International University in Pasadena, California.


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