In mid-1979, I joined the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP). SCMP was a campus based organization espousing "liberation theology." It was under the ambit of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP). Internationally, SCMP was affiliated with the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), the association of all SCM chapters around the world.
When I was arrested on June 14, 1979, SCMP was one of the NGOs that worked so feverishly for our group’s safety and release. I felt I owed SCMP that much; this debt of gratitude was one of the reasons I joined.
I also felt that, having worked as youth coordinator in the National Secretariat of Social Action (NASSA) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), I knew enough of liberation theology to be able to effectively contribute my time to SCMP. I could help by writing education materials and conducting social awareness seminars, I thought.
Spreading the "Good News" in the Academic Community
SCMP traces its roots to the campus ministerial work of the Philippine Federation of Christian Youth Fellowships (PFCYF), the youth department of the Philippine Federation of Christian Churches (PFCC), which was the precursor of the NCCP.
SCMP proclaimed itself an “ecumenical” organization of Christian youth. This meant that it catered to both Catholic and Protestant students. It assigned itself the task of spreading the “Good News” within the academic community.
SCMP was founded on December 27, 1960 at the First SCMP National Assembly held in Baguio City. This assembly was attended by 57 official delegates from 32 local SCMP units already existing. Also attending were representatives of 7 protestant churches or denominations.
SCMP formally became a member of the Philippine Left by declaring itself a “national-democratic” organization in May 1971. This change was carried out by a "Special Assembly," which adopted the slogan "Love thy Neighbor, Serve the People. Struggle for National Liberation and Democracy."
Reviving the SCMP
When martial law was declared on September 21, 1972, SCMP was declared illegal. It lay dormant for a while, with work to revive it beginning in mid-1976. At this time, contacts were established with members of the SCMP chapters in Philippine Christian University (PCU) and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
I remember some of them: Elias “Jun” Fernandez, Samuel “Sammy” Rivera, and Bong Elizalde all from PCU, and Patrick McDivitt, from UP Los Baños (UPLB). The latter was the general secretary or "gen-sec."
To acquire logistics for this endeavor, arrangements were made with the Division on Youth Ministries (DYM) of the NCCP. DYM was then under the leadership of Rev. Avelio “Ave” de Leon, who supported SCMP enthusiastically. For a long time, SCMP used DYM’s office equipment and supplies, and used its modest office on the 3rd floor of the NCCP building as a meeting venue.
In January 1978, the 7th General Assembly of SCMP held in UPLB declared the organization operational after a 6 year hiatus. The theme of the gathering was “Christian Witnessing Against Campus Repression.”
The implicit role of the SCMP in this period was to be the religious equivalent of the League of Filipino Students (LFS), which was founded in 1977. A mass organization like the LFS, SCMP aimed to recruit Christian youth in their thousands, by building chapters in campuses all over the Philippines. SCMP expressed LFS’ “national-democratic” posture by professing “living faith” that would uphold the “human rights and democratic interests” of the Filipino people through “social action.”
By this time, SCMP organizers had built three chapters and four organizing groups. I cannot remember any more in which schools these were located. An attempt was made to reorient the Christian Youth Movement (CYM) in the University of the Philippines (UP), but this was unsuccessful. I remember the SCMP expansion being lethargic in 1978 and 1979, because of the lack of good organizers.
SCMP-UP Diliman
In January 1980, more capable organizers were positioned in SCMP, to engage in chapter building. Not a few of these activists were former leading members of Student Catholic Action (SCA) chapters in Torres and Arellano high schools in Manila, whom I had met and organized in 1977.
One of the priorities in this push was to establish an SCMP chapter in UP Diliman. It happened that one of the SCA members managed to enter UP. He was given this task, and did a very good job. By year's end, there was a fully functioning, vibrant chapter in the state university
Organizers were also assigned to the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). MYF was the organization of young people belonging to the United Methodist Church of the Philippines (UMCP). Incidentally, MYF was where I met my future wife, Loida P. Buyao, who was one of its officers. The aim was to develop activists in the MYF, who were later to be concurrently assigned to SCMP.
Meanwhile, the SCMP chapters in PCU, Trinity College (TC), University of Santo Tomas (UST), Adamson University (AU), and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) were all growing. Chapters had also been established in Baguio, Dagupan, Bacolod, UP Los Baños, Dumaguete, Cebu City, Iloilo, and Davao. By 1984, the number of schools reached by the SCM in Metro-Manila alone was approximately 30.
Rev. Dave Rodriguez and Rev. Elmo Manapat: Chairman and Gen-Sec
Early that year, perhaps in February, the SCMP National Executive Committee (NEC) elected its officers. Elected chairman was Rev. David “Dave” Rodriguez, who was the head pastor of the Kamuning UMCP. Rev. Elmo Manapat, a pastor of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP), was elected gen-sec, replacing Patrick McDivitt.
I have already forgotten the others who were elected, but I remember I was chosen education secretary, while UP chapter member Noel Pangilinan was selected editor of Breakthrough, the official SCMP publication. After this election, most of SCMP’s NEC and committee meetings started to be held at Kamuning UMCP. We would, however, occasionally hold meetings at the UMCP Central Church on T.M Kalaw St. in Manila.
SCM members from other countries would, from time to time, be assigned to SCMP to undertake activities of their own choosing. They usually stayed in the country for several years. This came under the Geneva based WSCF’s “Frontier Internship Program.” The volunteers were called “Frontier Interns.”
Jack Lakavich and Ayako Miyoshi: Frontier Interns
There were two frontier interns in my time: Jack Lakavich from Canada, and Ayako Miyoshi from Japan. Jack opted to do staff work at the SCMP head office at the UCCP building along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA). Ayako, on the other hand, chose to stay in an urban poor community in Tondo, Manila. She even learned how to speak Tagalog, and how to use an "Antipolo" toilet.
Jack Lakavich stayed in the Philippines far longer than Ayako, who stayed only for 2 years or less. Jack, after his stint as frontier intern had lapsed, volunteered for another NGO, the Institute of Religion and Culture of the Philippines (IRCP) which was based in Muntinglupa, and was under Rev. Nael Cortez. He probably lived in the Philippines for 6 years. I remember him as one of those who worked the hardest during our group’s incarceration.
Before coming to the Philippines, Jack Lakavich was a frontier intern in Bangalore, India. Probably of Lithuanian descent, Jack, of medium build, was almost 6 feet tall, and almost completely bald. He was mild mannered, soft spoken, and sported a goatee. He always wore leather sandals and denims to work. These, together with his metal-framed eyeglasses and ubiquitous shoulder bag, became Jack's enduring trademarks.
Jack was loved by everybody. He rented a nice and spacious bungalow on Scout Gandia St. in Quezon City where he would often invite the “SCMers” to dinner. The food almost always consisted of spicy Indian dishes. I liked most his curried vegetables with chicken. For dessert, he served us licorice sticks whose strange flavor I just forced myself to like. I remember being hugely amused when I saw him using a cast-iron "caldero" cover as a frying pan.
SCMP-UP and Talakayang Biyernes
One of the brightest spots in SCMP organizing in this period was the SCMP chapter in UP Diliman. It was the biggest, most active, and most capable SCMP chapter. The members I can remember were: Noel Pangilinan, Lidy Nacpil, Jeannie Nacpil, Telly Nacpil, Elizabeth Lacanilao, Fidel Nemenzo, Leonid Nemenzo, and Tony Debuque. Many members of this chapter have gone on to carve successful careers in government and civil society.
SCMP-UP Diliman had a Friday discussion group called “Talakayang Biyernes” (TB) that tackled relevant campus and national issues. It was held over an early evening dinner at a Philippine Independent Church (PIC) chapel near Katipunan Avenue, which was under Rev. Primo Racimo.
Oftentimes, a resource speaker was invited. I recall that the hottest issue in those days was the Education Act of 1982. Other contentious issues were: the 1981 Presidential elections, the “lifting” of martial law by Pres. Marcos, and the assassination of Kalinga leader Macli'ing Dulag.
May 1980 General Assembly
In May, 1980, SCMP held its 8th biennial General Assembly (GA). It was held at the La Salette Shrine and Retreat Center in Silang, Cavite. It must have lasted three or four days. Easily, it was the biggest and most successful SCMP event since the declaration of martial law. It was a coming out celebration of sorts. Nearly a hundred “SCMers” attended, representing SCMP chapters from the different tertiary education centers in the Philippines.
I have forgotten the numbers, but attending were SCMP chapters from Baguio, Dagupan, Metro-Manila, UPLB, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Dumaguete, and Davao. The Breakthrough staff even published, on an oversized sheet of Manila paper, a wall-mounted issue for every day the GA was held. SCMP had risen from the dead as it were, and was asserting itself yet again.
The GA also elected a new gen-sec, to replace Elmo Manapat. She was Ms. Lidy Nacpil. Ms. Nacpil came from the ranks of both SCMP-UP Diliman and MYF. She later became the wife of activist Leandro "Lean" Alejandro.
Anti "Education Act" Rally
I will never forget one eventful night in mid 1980 or 1981, at the Central UMCP at T.M. Kalaw St., which was designated as a post-rally meeting place. More than fifty SCMP members, who had just attended an anti "Education Act" bill rally at Liwasang Bonifacio, descended on the place. The bill, which was to reorganize the Philippine educational system, was then pending in the Marcos-controlled Batasang Pambansa. They occupied the first 5 or 6 pews from the altar, left and right. The rally had been abruptly ended with water cannons and rattan sticks.
Most of the them were drenched and agitated. Needless to say, they so dirtied the pews and the church floor. They repeatedly cursed the riot cops who had just run roughshod over their human rights.
These teenagers and twenty-somethings each had a story to tell. To give everyone a chance, they took turns going to the central aisle at the foot of the altar to vent their anger, with defiant enthusiasm and verb. The speeches were punctuated by loud laughter, shouting, hoots, and yeas, which din was amplified several times in the cavernous church. I assumed the head of Central Church, Bishop Paul Locke Granadosin, did not mind the ruckus.
I recall Lidy Nacpil giving an agitational speech, wet hair and all, which was as inspiring as it was rabble rousing. This, I mused gladly from the sidelines, produced more SCMP activists than several months of tedious seminars about police violence.
