Filipino church activists, Development and Deace 1970s to 90s

	Coffin-carrying rally disrupts the opening of Philippine Week on June 11, 1984.

by Levy Abad

Researching Filipino church activism led me to Teodoro “Ted” Alcuitas, who arrived in Winnipeg in 1969. In the ’70s, Ted immediately got involved with church-related programs, particularly with St. Edward Parish on Arlington Street, where most of the Filipinos in Winnipeg attended church services. Filipinos, coming from a predominantly Catholic country, flocked to St. Edward since it was nearest to where they live in the West End.

I asked Ted Alcuitas about the church organizations he got involved with when he arrived. He shared that he connected with at least two organizations. First, the Winnipeg Filipino Project (1975) (see Winnipeg Filipino Project, Pilipino Express, L. Abad) and Development and Peace (D&P founded in 1967). He and his wife Cora were invited by Fr. Sam Argenziano to attend an orientation of D&P, and from thereon, he served as a coordinator of D&P for St. Edward. Ted eventually became a key person for the Winnipeg Filipino Project. D&P is the social action arm of the Canadian Catholic Church, Caritas Internationalis.

To provide context, the Filipinos arrived in the early 60s from a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country. The economic milieu is agricultural and pre-industrial, where most of the land is controlled by feudal lords while lacking genuine industrial development, with the compradors ruling in cahoots with foreign monopoly capital.

Given this situation, people go abroad to look for better opportunities. In 2006, for instance, 6,000 Filipinos went abroad as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), a clear manifestation of the labour-export policy of the puppet governments. The numbers were worst during the Marcos dictatorship (1972-1981). All this led to the Filipino diaspora, precarity and exploitation.

In 1962, doctors and nurses arrived in Winnipeg, and from 1968 to 1975, batches of garment workers arrived, radically increasing the number to almost three thousand. In 1972, the number of Filipinos in Winnipeg was only 1,211. Based on Cris Aglugub’s article “A Brief History of the Filipino Community,” by 1973, the number went up to 1,593; 1977 - 10,000; 1981 - 11,660; and 1987 - 25,000 to 30,000.

This increase in population, the opportunities and social issues that arose out of it, such as exploitation, racism and discrimination, led to organizing and activism, specifically church activism. To address this, the Catholic Church, through its social action arm, Development and Peace (1967), encouraged the formation of the Winnipeg Filipino Project (1975) to empower the growing Filipino community, both in the ecclésial (sacraments) and social sense (human dignity, social justice advocacy and solidarity). In my previous article in Pilipino Express titled “WFP: Revisited,” key personalities who became involved with church activism were Ted Alcuitas (ATOM Chair 1984), Cora Alcuitas, Elmer and Nimfa Arbilo, Arturo “Art” Dizon (1st ATOM Chair) and Purita Dizon, Monina and Al Relano, Pablo and Rose Jalalla, Bert and Gloria Penaflorida, Jimmy and Luisa Pagsuyuin and Steve and Betty Tuazon. These individuals will be involved with Development and Peace, the Winnipeg Filipino Project, the August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) of Winnipeg and numerous solidarity and social justice projects of St. Edward’s Church.

Some events that were organized by the D&P through the Winnipeg Filipino Project and the August Twenty-One Movement - Winnipeg were the following (Rhythms and Resistance, L. Abad, pp. 131-133):

• Visits of progressive church leaders and resistance personalities during the 70s to late 80s.
• The visit of Jaime Cardinal Sin (Archbishop of Manila), initiated by Cardinal George Flahiff, June 21-22, 1988.
• Demonstration at the Philippine Consulate, 330 St. Mary’s Avenue, September 21, 1983.
• Protest Rally marking the first anniversary of the Aquino assassination, August 21, 1984.
• Slide presentation on “Hamletting” or harassment of peasant communities, November 21, 1983.
• Coffin-carrying rally disrupts the opening of Philippine Week on June 11, 1984. One of the signs says, “Shame on you Mayor Norie for aligning with the Marcos dictatorship.”
• Agapito “Butz” Aquino’s visit to St. Edward’s Churchin Winnipeg on December 9, 1984.
• Martyrs Day, a mass for Justice and Peace in the Philippines, August 21, 1985.

This activism was inspired by the Development and Peace organization in promoting human dignity, justice, and peace, both here in Winnipeg and in the Philippines. This article is a tribute to all church activists in our Winnipeg diaspora for serving God and our people in trying to pave the way for a just and humane society. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!