WHO WE ARE...

It was in February of 1958 when a nine-man delegation of American Passionist missionaries arrived in this southern part of the Philippines.  At that time, the high migration influx of settlers from the northern and central parts of the country gradually drove the indigenous people away from the lowlands.  Responding then to the latter's plea "to come and help our people" these Passionist pioneers, pretty soon, chose IP ministry as one of their treasured apostolates.

Presently, the Filipino Passionists continue to carry on what the original missionaries had begun.  And the scope of this apostolate has even expanded quite significantly through the years - from the original two IP communities in the early 1960's to the more than fifty (50) mission communities scattered all over the mountains of South Cotabato and Sarangani provinces.  

Together with its mission partner, HANDS (Health Assistance and Neighborhood Development Support), Assumption Mission has been engaged in the following concerns in one way or another:

• evangelization
• IPs education both formal (thru its mission schools) and non-formal
• livelihood programs
• provision of potable drinking water
• medical and health programs
• promotion of sustainable agricultural practices
• environmental protection
• preservation of IP culture
• scholarship program for deserving IP students - elementary, high school and college levels
  
  You may write us at: mableela@dadbulol.com
  OR at:                      cmip_mission@hotmail.com
  
  THE B'LAANS
  
  (Note: This article is part of the introduction in the booklet "A close encounter with the B'laans- a primer," by Fr. Roberto Wapaño, CP)
  
  
  
            I came across the term Blaan when I was a kid. I often heard it from our “Paisanos” who would come home to our place for a vacation from Mindanao. They had then settled in such places as Polomolok, Dadiangas also known as General Santos City, or in Koronadal also known as Marbel or even in Davao like Calinan.
  
  They would always refer to the Blaan tribe as “Lu-og” (wild people) from whom they had acquired land by “swindling” or by driving them out to the mountains using scare tactics. The image of the Blaans thus formed in my mind are people who are uncivilized, non-humans, dirty and wild; who just like wild animals are to be feared and must be captured and chained.
  
  In 1972, I entered the Passionist Seminary in Marbel, Koronadal,South Cotabato. I brought with me this image of the Blaans. My first chance to see them took place at the Koronadal public market. Initially, I was struck by their exotic appearance. Their manner of dressing was foreign to me, so with their black teeth. Some have no teeth. They have black penciled eyebrows, big holed earlobes with dangling earrings and were always chewing “mama” (betel nut). Their lips were red and they spat out reddish saliva.
  
  The males have bolos (kris) tucked at their waist while their women were loaded with many things on their heads and babies snugly carried in a sling cloth at their backs. The “wild” image of them cautioned me not to go near. Yet I was awestruck and filled with wonder at seeing this weird group of “Lu-ogs.” I kept staring at them but from a distance for fear of being hacked to death. Nothing of the sort happened to me, though. I went back to the seminary filled with fascination, hoping to meet them again, this time in a “close encounter.”
  
  In the seminary, I often heard the expression “daw B’laan ka man” (you are like a B’laan) spoken in a derogatory tone. This is uttered every time one appears dirty or undisciplined or lazy. It seemed to me that all that are filthy and undesirable were referred to the B’laans. I asked myself “are they really these?”
  
  During my Third Year in the seminary, the community went up to the Passionist B’laan Mission in Bolul. There I had the opportunity to meet and mingle with them. I discovered that they were not any different from the “Absaya,” the B’laan term for the lowlanders. They were very hospitable, friendly, and warm; not the wild picture that I had in mind. They were poor, yes. Just like the lowlanders, some were clean and some were dirty. They were even more disciplined than the lowlanders. I discovered too that they were peace-loving people and very generous to a fault.
  
  It was then that my vocation to be a Passionist Religious Missionary became more intense. I would say by hindsight, that the exposure to the B’laans was the decisive point of my vocation. It was at this instance that I said to myself and to the Lord, “No turning back, no retreat, no surrender.” I promised to myself that given the chance, I would like to work in the B’laan Mission when I get ordained. There was no “if” with regards to my vocation. It became very clear to me what I wanted to do with my life.
  
  Sometime in 1979, during my Pastoral Year, I spent a couple of months in the B’laan Mission. All those disparaging ideas about them were gone, except for the observations I had, confirming the idea that B’laans generally are lazy. They while away their time doing nothing, just sitting or roaming around aimlessly. They have no worry about the future, about providing for themselves and their families. They seemed to be dependent on someone or something, I did not know. I was so intrigued by this that I told myself, given the time to stay longer with them I would study their behavior of dependency that somehow made them “lazy.”
  
  In 1988, this opportunity came. I was stationed at St. Gabriel Passionist Seminary in Marbel, South Cotabato when the director of the B’laan Mission was murdered. A B’laan member of the Para-military group called CAFGU was the hit man. Fr. Carl Smith, CP was accused of being a communist and a coddler of cattle rustlers. The fact was, before his death, he was negotiating for the surrender of those branded as “cattle rustler.” He had some of them in his custody, pending investigation and court litigation. He was outspoken in denouncing the injustice and exploitation done by loggers, ranchers, and other encroachers. Often enough they were backed up by local politicians, police and military personnel against the B’laans. For this he was branded as communist. It is ironic that a B’laan who was one of those who benefited from the Education and Health Programs of the Mission was used to kill him.
  
  With Fr. Carl’s death, the directorship of the Mission was left vacant. I was appointed to the post by the late Fr. Harold Reusch, CP, Provincial Superior. “A dream come true,” finally for me! I stayed as director of the B’laan Mission for eight long years; climbing, hiking, horse riding, literally falling from the horse and crawling back to mount again in order to visit the different B’laan communities scattered throughout the mountain ranges of South Cotabato. My job consisted of maintaining what has been put up by the Mission, and / or introducing new projects and programs with the B’laans.
  
  Looking back, it seems only yesterday that I have been there. Time flies so fast; I did not notice that the eight years at the prime of my priestly life were spent with the “Luogs.” They were years not of wastage and loss, but of gains in terms of my growth as a person and as a missionary.
  
  Fr. Roberto Wapaño, CP
  First Filipino Director
  Assumption Mission
  
  

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