Former Bishop of Boac, now Bishop at the Diocese of Imus, Rey Evangelista speaks up on Halalan 2022

My thinking is that God sent Leni to make us realize that there is innate goodness in the Filipino. Each Filipino has the ability to rise above oneself. I am beginning to think that God never meant for Leni to win.  Her mission was to waken us up. If Leni won, do you really think she would be able to change the mindset of our government?  I think we would expect so much more from her that we will complain about each and every mistake or problem that she is unable to solve. We will castigate her as an inutile leader as in the same manner we castigated PNoy.

Former Bishop of Boac, Most Rev. Reynaldo Evangelista's message on the outcome of Halalan 2022:

Message from Bishop Rey Evangelista, now with the Diocese of Imus:

Sometimes we have to look beyond the obvious.  We prayed that Leni would win but she didn't. At least in the Comelec count, she didn't. But she won the hearts of the people. She won them enough to stay in the sun for hours, enough for them to campaign and spend for campaign materials, enough for them to bring or prepare food to share with others, enough for them to clean up after each rally and so many more things that you would  never expect a Filipino to do.

My thinking is that God sent Leni to make us realize that there is innate goodness in the Filipino. Each Filipino has the ability to rise above oneself. I am beginning to think that God never meant for Leni to win.  Her mission was to waken us up. If Leni won, do you really think she would be able to change the mindset of our government?  I think we would expect so much more from her that we will complain about each and every mistake or problem that she is unable to solve. We will castigate her as an inutile leader as in the same manner we castigated PNoy.

I think God used Leni to show us that if we unite we are capable of great things. Sure, we tried hard but we still lost the election. But you see, whatever we do, we will lose the election because the dice were loaded in the first place.

But we gained character, we saw people volunteer their time, money and themselves for something beyond them. And it was wonderful. God showed us that if we get together and worked together, things happen. We may not win elections but the feelings of joy and wonderment were priceless. And just maybe, that brief moment was actually a glimpse of heaven.

(Viber post of Bishop Rey, Diocese of Imus)

Also read:

Moriones: Those who forget the past... (with Bishop Rey)

Boac Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista is Pope Francis' first appointee in the Philippines

Boac Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista now Bishop of the Diocese of Imus

Pope Francis names first appointee in PH

ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 04/08/2013 6:57 PM | Updated as of 04/09/2013 2:55 AM

MOST REV. REYNALDO G. EVANGELISTA, D.D., Bishop of Boac

MANILA - Pope Francis has named his first appointee in the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines, a CBCP News report said.

Boac Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista was named the bishop of the Diocese of Imus, which was left vacant by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

The 52-year-old native of Batangas is a member of the Permanent Council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the report said.

He is also the chief of the CBCP Commission on Vocations and a member of the Commission on Seminaries.

The Imus diocese covers the entire province of Cavite. It is, however, a “suffragan” of Tagle’s now Archdiocese of Manila.

A suffragan is an “assistant” to the main bishop.
 

Boac: Cityhood next?

The newly inaugurated Boac Municipal Building

The town fiesta of Boac, Marinduque was marked this year with the inauguration of two buildings, a project of the administration of Mayor Roberto M. Madla. The first was the Fire Station Building in Brgy. Santol and the second, the new and fully air-conditioned Boac Municipal Building.

Bishop of Boac, Most Rev. Reynaldo G. Evangelista and Mayor Bert  Madla

Based on remarks conveyed during the event attended by several hundred guests from barangays and various local government offices, the occasion served as an opportunity to look back at the time when even the idea of building a bigger government house for this growing municipality was met with skepticism. Madla, previously elected for three consecutive terms until his term expired explained that annual allocation for the construction of a new building was undertaken by the municipal government, yet even with funds sufficient to start construction nothing was done. Upon election for a new term as mayor, he prioritized the project, debunking arguments like “aanhin mo ang magandang bahay kung kumakalam naman ang sikmura mo”, which he argues is not applicable as development concerns are more effectively addressed in convenient and better-equipped facilities.

Mayor Madla

“Boac is a first class municipality, so as soon as we have moved to this new building, the full computerization of our system will come next to fast-track processes. The city government of Tayabas, our future ‘sister city’, and our municipal government has, in fact, recently entered into a MOA in this regard.”, Madla said. “Next we will pursue the full realization of the Dr. Pablo Marquez Health and Diagnostic Center in Boac, eventually being the only municipality in the country with such a facility complete with dialysis machines.”

DILG MIMAROPA Regional Director James Fadrilan

DILG Regional Director James Fadrilan, who graced the occasion, remarked that he was amused to hear the public exchange between the two candidates for mayor of the town, namely Madla and board member Allan Nepomuceno, who both made statements to the effect that they would not allow their long-time friendship to be affected by local politics. In jest, Madla expressed his willingness to support an idea apparently hatched by board member Melecio Go, for both mayoralty candidates to go out of town, preferably to a foreign country, a month before the election provided Go would fully shoulder their expenses. 

Upon hearing this, Nepomuceno, rushed to the mayor’s side who was delivering his speech and raised the mayor’s hand with the victory sign as if in surrender to the delight of the audience.

Cong. Lord Allan Velasco

 Congressman Lord Allan Velasco also graced the occasion to convey his congratulations and continued support to the mayor and members of the Sangguniang Bayan.Vice-Governor Antonio Uy, Jr. also conveyed his remarks. The Most Reverend Bishop of Boac, Reynaldo G. Evangelista came to bless the inauguration of the two impressive buildings, Boac’s newest landmarks.

One of the municipio's stunning staircases

View of the Boac Cathedral from the third floor

Also inaugurated was the new Boac Fire Station in Brgy. Santol

On YouTube: Boac Municipal Building

PALASPAS, PALM

Linggo ng Palaspas, Palm Sunday, celebrates Jesus Christ's entry to Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover, with crowds of people waving palm branches to welcome him. The raising of Lazarus from the dead performed by Jesus gained him popularity in Jerusalem where he was to fulfill the words in the Scriptures on His final days.

This too, has been annually celebrated in all churches in the country. Photos by Erwin Penafiel taken of the Palm Sunday event in Boac with Most Rev. Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista leading the celebration.

Moriones: "Those who forget the past..."

The call made by the Most Rev. Bishop Reynaldo G. Evangelista on his wish, among others, to make Marinduque a Spiritual-Renewal Destination in the near future, and his concern and that of other Bishops to make Easter truly a day of rejoicing starting with the early morning Easter "Salubong" ("Ito po ng ating pinaghandaan...")also puts in perspective a long running conflict between the local church and the provincial government on the introduction of the Black Saturday evening "Sinakulo-Pugutan" introduced in the late 70's.

Numerous articles and essays have been written and published in local and international press, authored by foreign and local scholars that critically examined this festival, particularly, the replacement of the Pugutan street-pageant by the staged Sinakulo, inspired by the Obando, Bulacan original. Some titles:

"Requiem for a Tradition" by Edwin Go;
“The Bloodless Head of Longinus: Political Interventions and the Decapitation of the Moriones Tradition in Marinduque” by William Peterson, a scholarly study that underlines how a century-old tradition was drastically changed in one sweep by political intervention;
“Holy Week in the ‘Heart of the Philippines" by William Peterson on spirituality, theatre, community and the Moriones Festival;
“Change and continuity of Moryonan in the context of tourism : a case study of culture process in Marinduque, Philippines” by Patricia Nicholson that warned about the tradition already losing its authenticity becoming less of an attraction to foreign tourists; and
"Moryon: Panata sa Likod ng Maskara”, (2002), by Danilo Mandia which underlined how a political figure he described as "kumbistador ng kultura" used power to the extent that "nanaig ang kapangyarihan at nagawa ang gustong gawin ayon sa kanyang pansariling kagustuhan”.



Wrote Mandia in his M.A. thesis, thus: “Tulad ng tradisyon ng moryon, marami na ang nagrereklamo sa kalagayan nito ngunit natatapos lamang sa mga usapan. May indikasyon na may dala-dalang takot ang mga tao sa bayan ng Boac”.

The paper underlined the enmity created between the provincial government and the local Church as both competed for the Black Saturday audience with the church remaining critical.

What exatly did the local Church have to say? Exerpts:

“Taong 1977, wala sa isipan ninuman sa bayan ng Boac na ang pagdating ng Senakulo ang siyang magiging instrumento upang ang palabas ng makulay na habulan at pugutan ni Longhino sa araw ng Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay, ay maglalaho na sa pahina ng kasaysayan ng mahigit sa dalawang siglong taon ng tradisyon.

"Inanyayahan ni Gng. Reyes ang isang grupo ng mga Senakulista mula sa bayan ng Obando, Bulacan sa pamumuno ni G. Edward de Guzman. Ginamit ni de Guzman ang sarili nilang iskrip sa Obando ng ipalabas ang Senakulo sa Boac...Subalit ng taong 1979, nagpasya na si Gng. Reyes na siya ang gagawa ng iskrip ng Senakulo para sa Boac... Ayon kay Reyes, hindi siya sangayon sa pamagat na Senakulo sa takbo ng istoryang isinulat niya. Nais niya itong tawaging The Bible Story. “Senakulo would be a folk art” (Reyes, 2001. Panayam)

"Ng mga sumunod na taon, naanyayahan ang mga taga-Maynila upang makatulong sa pagsasaayos ng Palabas ng Senakulo. Naging bahagi si indo Angeles, direktor ng teatro sa CCP, upang ayusin ang iskrip. Si Angeles ang gumawa ng paraan upang maisama sa istorya ang kuwento ni Hudas, ayon kay Reyes. Naroon din si Raymond Salvacion para sa pag-iilaw ng entablado, st si Jimmy Asencio, naglapat ng musika at nagmungkahi kay Gng. Reyes na i-rekord ang buong drama ng Senakulo tulad nang naririnig sa radyo. Lahat sila ay direktor, sabi ni Reyes, hanggang sa dumating si Ed Alcantara bilang director, kasama si Aura Mijares, mga aktor ng entablado sa Teatro Pilipino... Lip-sync ang Senakulo...Kung mayroon mang habulan sina Longhino at mga sundalong moryon, limitado lamang ito sa kung hanggang saan maaabot ng follow spot....




“Sa kabila ng mga inobasyon at improbisasyong ginagawa upang mas mapaganda ang Senakulo... hindi rin ito nakalampas sa mga puna at ilang pagbatikos...

“Isa pa rin sa nagkaroon ng matinding reaksyon sa pagpapalabas ng Senakulo ay ang simbahan. Naapektuhan ang mga seremonyas ng simbahan lalo na ang mga ginagawa sa gabi ng Sabado de Gloria, kung saan naman nagaganap ang huling yugto ng Senakulo sa may tabing-ilog. Sinabi mismo ni Reyes sa panayam na pinatawag siya ng simbahan:

“I was called by the parish council, why I was changing tradition? Well, I said, performers were the ones who requested me to show to the people their performance in the evening by means of follow-spots... follow spots ang curtain. Nagustuhan ng mga tao, Ang sabi nila, wala na raw gagawing sulirap sa umaga ng Easter Sunday dahil mainit” (Reyes. 2001 Dec 5).



“Ang reklamo ng simbahan, halos lahat ng tao ay nanonood ng Senakulo at nakakaligtaan na ang mga gawaing pang-relihiyon at mga gawing pang-simbahan. Sa isang panayam kay Monsignor Rolando Oliverio, Spiritual Adviser ng Kapatirang Morion, ito ang kanyang sinabi:

“...nayamot ang mga pari dahil nagkaroon ng kompetensiya. Lahat ng mga tao ay nasa tabing-ilog, samantalang dapat ay narito sila sa simbahan dahil narito ang pinaka-climax ng celebration...very critical ang mga pari. Galit! ‘Sana kayo’y makipagtulungan na madala ang mga tao sa simbahan, hindi yun parang tayo’y magka-kompetensiya; na itong religious na kaugalian ay ginagawang panoorin ng mga bisita’. Kasi maraming bisita, maraming turista. SO para anya gumanda, lalagyan natin ng...’yun ang laging sinasabi sa akin ni Mrs. Reyes na ang Senakulo ay parang... mayroon siyang sinabi na drama sa Germany...(Oberammergau) na ang activities nila ay ginagawa every ten years. Ay yoon namang Senakulo ay salvation history, from creation to the resurrection” (Oliverio. 2002 Feb. 25)

“Sa panayam naman kay Monsignor Senen Malapad, kasalukuyang parish priest ng Mogpog at naglingkod sa simbahan ng Boac taong 1986, ito ang kanyang naging kasagutan sa tanong na: Nagkaroon ba ng conflict ang palabas ng Senakulo sa mga gawaing pang-simbahan?

“Oo, kasi nagpupugutan na sila. Noong una, mas maaga pa, mga alas siete. Sa simbahan naman, naga-start kami ng rites sa Muling Pagkabuhay ng Dios, mga alas nueve. Kaya nangyayari, na lahat ng mga tao, naroon. And there was a time na, binalak na makipag-usap tayo, makipag-ayos tayo, pero ganoon pa rin ang nangyari, kasi ang habol nga, ay mga turista”. (Malapad. 2001 March 2)



“...Ngunit ang mga nakalipas na palabas ay tila tagumpay para sa sining ng entablado at kamatayan naman para sa isang tradisyong nagaganap sa lansangan sa ilalim ng mainit na sikat ng araw na bahagi ng tinatawag na panata. May diin ang mga pananalita ng dating gumaganap na Longhino sa Pugutan:

“Naging matamlay ako kasi magiging stage play. This is not the real Pugutan na talagang hindi kinagisnan ng mga Marinduqueno, lalo’t higit sa bayan ng Boac at bayan ng Mogpog. Talagang hindi na ito ang ating tradisyon. Kung ‘yan man ay talagang nasa libro at sinaliksik nila, bakit naman kailangang patayin ang ating tradisyon?” (Serafin Malinao, 2000 Dec. 27. Panayam).

BISHOP OF BOAC ON THE MORIONES FESTIVAL AND SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

The Moriones Festival of Marinduque has been the subject of studies on how commerce and trade, modernization and political intervention have, over the years, variously impacted on the colorful folk tradition originally associated with spirituality, penance and vows.

In this video, the Most Reverend Bishop of Boac, Reynaldo G. Evangelista expresses his thoughts and recollections on the moriones tradition and the need for adjustments, keeping in context whatever new components may be introduced, among them, the challenge particularly in Boac to truly make Easter Sunday a day of rejoicing. The focus on things spiritual must be kept, he said, that could even lead to Marinduque making a name for itself as a Spiritual Renewal Destination in the future.

His message was conveyed during the opening program of the Moriones Festival last year (2009), with local government officials and private sector in attendance. This year's Lenten celebration in the Philippine's central island-province, dubbed as "Semana Santa sa Marinduque" thus, strikes a balance between, commerce and spirituality, politics and religion, in keeping with the Bishop's spiritual message.