Bishop Serafin E. Ruperto remembered

by Levy Abad

According to Lilser Ruperto, son of the late Unida Bishop Serafin Eclar Ruperto, his father was born on February 17, 1923, in Pagsanjan, Laguna. Bishop Ruperto was known as a Pastor of the Unida Christian Church of Anabu, Imus, Cavite, since 1966. Bishop Ruel Camia of Winnipeg Unida Christian Church (WUCC) confirmed this when I met him at the Garden City food court. He also acknowledges, “Unida Winnipeg’s rootedness in the Presbyterian tradition” (Facebook page), of which Bishop Serafin Ruperto was a pioneer. In his youth, Bishop Serafin used to attend the Presbyterian Church located on Cosme Street, across Don Porong (formerly Pagsanjan Academy and ancestral house of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada), and just beside the Francisco Benitez Memorial School (FBMS).

Ruperto’s of Pagsanjan

My research on the Ruperto side of the family led me to scour early Catholic records in Pagsanjan and delve even deeper into the town of Lumban to find the oldest Ruperto roots. Pagsanjan was originally a barrio of Lumban and was elevated to a town in 1668. I also interviewed other relatives, like Ruth Ruperto, whose father, Pedro Ruperto, pioneered in gathering the family tree. Serafin’s parents were Pedro M. Ruperto (1903) and Maria Nieves Eclar, grandparents Petronilo Ruperto (1866) and Marciana Monteclaro, and great-grandparents Bonifacio Ruperto (1841) and Agatona Caballero. The furthest root is Fabian Ruperto (1821) and Maria Oalas Candelaria. Most of the records starting with Fabian Ruperto up to his grandchildren were found in the Catholic Church of Lumban, Laguna, and the rest in Pagsanjan.

Context and influence

I was surprised to learn from my research that one of the two founding ministers of the Presbyterian church in Serafin’s former hometown of Pagsanjan, Laguna, before the Second World War, was Pacifico Roldan Abad. Pacifico’s half-brother, Feliciano Austria Abad, married Juana Candelaria Ruperto, the younger sister of Bonifacio Ruperto, the great-grandfather of Serafin Ruperto. At the age of 35, Pacifico was baptized by Dr. Eugene Snook, a Presbyterian missionary, in September 1905 (Source: Several Springs, One Stream, United Church of Christ in the Philippines). Well-loved and admired by his relatives on the Ruperto and Abad sides, Pacifico was also known as an able orator, according to my grandfather Jose Ruperto Abad, a Presbyterian, who was the grand-uncle of Serafin E. Ruperto. To provide more context, the Abads of Pagsanjan were of peasant origin from Barangay Maligaya, which is near the border with Lumban, Laguna. This did not deter Pacifico from becoming a pioneer of Presbyterianism in Pagsanjan, San Pablo, and Paete. His older siblings were Col. Francisco Abad, a revolutionary martyr in 1896, and Cayetano Abad, who was the standard bearer of the Katipunan Maluningning faction and a martyr (Sources: Memoirs of General Artemio Ricarteand G. Zaide’s History of Pagsanjan). This was the family and community milieu that influenced the youth of Serafin Ruperto.

Ruperto in Imus, Cavite

Other interesting information I came across was that Bishop Serafin Ruperto, who grew up in Pagsanjan, eventually moved to Imus, Cavite in 1964 with his wife, Lolita Limuaco. It was in Imus that they raised their two children, Lilser and Finette. Bishop Ruperto passed away on July 23, 1988, leaving behind a growing mission. I am grateful to Lilser and Finette for giving me pictures and confirmation of dates in the life of their father.

Online, I found out that in 1986, Bishop Ruperto, already a retired pastor, “started to establish the Anabu Unida Kindergarten School in Anabu, Imus, Cavite, fulfilling the vision that the Lord gave him, training and educating the youth the Christian way.” Eventually, in 1996, from his inspiration, the institution’s next generation of leaders opened its elementary department, followed by the high school department in 1999, and college education in 2002 (Source: https://ucc-cavite.edu.ph/ucc-history.html). This was corroborated by my conversation with Juanito Camungol, a charismatic movement founder of El Shaddai (Winnipeg), who hails from Imus, Cavite. He told me that his children studied at Anabu Christian College.

I also learned that my relative, Lilser Ruperto, sits on Unida Winnipeg’s board as secretary. In addition, the descendants of Bishop Serafin Ruperto attend the WUCC. I am thankful to learn about the significant contributions of my ancestor, Pacifico Roldan Abad, for the birth of Presbyterianism in Laguna, Philippines and his influence on Bishop Serafin E. Ruperto, my relative on the Ruperto side. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.