HEALING SANTONG BOBO: RESOLVING A FORM OF SPLIT- LEVEL CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

This is an amazing statistics but it doesn’t show on the way they live. Filipinos love religious practices and observances such as prayer meetings, religious processions, novenas, fiestas and multiple devotions to Christ, to Mary, and other saints. But sadly, the Philippines had been ranked in 2007 as the most corrupt country. And UNICEF ranked the Philippines fourth among countries with the highest number of child prostitutes for a country that has a strong and popular devotion to the Child Jesus. This is alarming because Character education has been part of the country’s educational system since 1901.

Forbes reported that Duterte is turning the Philippines into a more corrupt and less democratic state according to the recent rankings published by international agencies. The Philippines is the 113th least corruption nation in 2019 out of 180 countries from 99th in 2018 as of January 24, 2020.

There has been a progressive increase in the number of drug-related killings since President Duterte assumed office in 2016 enjoying the support of the majority of Filipinos who are predominantly Christians. While the Philippine National Police(PNP) has reported more than 6,000 killings, the human rights commission has reported 27,000 estimated deaths that include victims of vigilante-style killings in legitimate operations as of February 2020. Pulse Asia defined EJK as “killings perpetrated by state authorities (e.g. police or soldiers), that are not in accordance with the law.”

Due to the corona virus outbreak, the President commanded the law enforcer to shoot the quarantine violators dead if they will resist . The same President who called the country to pray together on Holy Wednesday as the country continues its battle against COVID-19 last April 6, 2020:
“This being the Holy Week, I am calling on the nation to come together, this Holy Wednesday afternoon and pay tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Filipino and unite in one prayer to God to fight one common enemy.”

Following the line of thoughts of the Anti-Duterte Movement, a praying president who advised the police “shoot to kill” violators. (A split level between a praying President under a pro-life Catholicism versus enforcing “shoot to kill”)

In contrast, The Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo maintained that drug-related killings were the result of victims “fighting back” against police. Duterte also said police officers and soldiers would only resort to strict measures if their lives are threatened. Duterte even clarified: “I never said shoot-to-kill’ quarantine violators. He need to make clarifications because church writers and journalists published emphasizing “shoot to kill” orders omitting “kill if resist.”

House Deputy Speaker Eddie Villanueva, founder of the Jesus is Lord (JIL) church, slammed drug related killings in the country. He said in a lengthy speech that “scalawag” policemen for the bloody drug war being implemented by the Duterte government…”

III. Analysis

Whether Duterte is responsible or not on Extra-judicial killing(EJK), split level Christianity such as “Santong Bobo” is a phenomenon in the Philippines. Bulatao used the image of two apartments at different levels with a family living in each but rarely talking to each other. He writes:

“So it is with split-leveled person: at one level, he professes allegiance to ideas, attitudes, and ways of behaving which are mainly borrowed from the Christian West, at another level he holds convictions which are more properly his ‘own’ ways of living and believing which were handed down from his ancestors, which do not always find their way into an explicit philosophical system, but nevertheless now and then flow into actions (1966, 2)”

The problem is most Filipinos remains unconscious of the inconsistency in himself because there are two mindset battling each other. The Christian mindset taught by school or in the church. The existential mindset picked up at home, in the streets, and in the radio or tv or internet that operates in a regular or daily bases influencing the Filipino subconscious and unconscious mind. And when Filipinos acted the existential mindset, the person rationalized it as ‘human weakness,’ ‘ako’y tao lamang.’ But Lorenzo Puente wrote: “’human weakness’ is different from split-leveling. ‘Human weakness’ presumes allegiance to a single set of principles, and deviation from this will involve ‘a sense of guilt, a discomfort with oneself for loss of integriy (Bulatao 1966, 5-6). On the other hand, split-leveling is characterized by the absence of this sense of guilt or by a minimal awareness of it.”

The Phenomenon of split level Christianity can be seen also in cultural performances. In Bicol, devotees of the our lady of Penafrancia believe that the Manto is a source of healing and redemption, similarly, to the belief on the cross of the people Cutud. Most probably, this veneration on Virgin’s cape was deeply embedded in pre-colonial religious practices of the pre-Filipino natives. Tiatco wrote, “Annotators and chronicles of the Inquisition reported that the precolonial Filipinos had a deep reverence towards their sacred figures.” Despite Bicol devotee’s ambivalence towards the Catholic teaching, their “Panata” (religious bow) is incomplete without the Manto, the Virgin’s cape. The official catholic teaching in the Catechism for the Filipino Catholics (CFC) stated,
“The church is equally insistent on the proper use of such images, avoiding any and all appearances of making the images into idols or treating them as endowed with some magical powers (cf CCC 2132).”

I cited this because the view of the sacred affects the way of life. The indigenous spirituality was fear driven, utilitarian, and tends to be self-serving compared to the grace and mercy of Christianity. Dr Rod Santos, the book author of “Turned off by Church” wrote:
“During a religious ritual, the people called upon the anito to indwell the wooden image and then present their petitions. The lowlanders, on the other hand, called these ancestral spirits Nono. Aside from these, they sought help from mediators called babaylanas. They are called babailanes in the Visayas and katalones in Southern Luzon. These priestess are “woman shamans” who are called to make sacrifices, usually for physical healing and other personal petitions.
From all these, we can see that our indigenous spirituality tends to be self-serving. It resists a God-centered message since aspirations of people under this world worldview are not God-centered but man-centered, revolving around earthly needs.

Another feature of pre-Christian Filipino spirituality that needs to be considered is the belief in a creator god Bathala. Artifacts show that the thirteenth-century Javanese Madjapahit Empire from India greatly influenced the locals through trading and the Hindu religion. They were the ones who introduced the Bathala concept. Interestingly, Bathala was an impersonal and distant God who needed to be appeased by his worshippers. He was not benevolent, but rather punitive. The bathala concept has also shaped Christian spirituality since Filipinos equated this god to the Christian God. This has affected the religious life of both Christians and non-Christians even today. In particular, it has hindered the development of a growing intimacy with God since Filipinos see him as distant and punitive…

With these misconceptions towards God, Filipinos create an unhealthy environment for friendships. Since they view God as punitive they tend to be punitive toward others. They judge others rather than show real love and acceptance. Trapped in this misconception, they fail to develop grace and mercy needed to minimize disappointments in their community.”

This view of God had been trapped in the unconscious for a long time leading to self-hate and punitive attitude towards others. This punitive view of God caused disintegration of oneself, inferiority complex, and colonial mentality in general. Colonial Mentality defined as “the internalized attitude of ethnic or cultural inferiority felt by people as a result of colonization, i.e. them being colonized by another group. It corresponds with the belief that the cultural values of the colonizer are inherently superior to one’s own.”

The simple story of the Philippines: 300 years in the hands of the Spanish; 50 years with the Americans . Few centuries are enough to develop colonial mentality.
The three presidencies after the war and post grant of independence were low in nationalism. Textbooks were still illustrated by Filipino and American flags” showing special relationships”. The national anthem was sung in English. The Filipinos prided themselves for being associated with Spain and the United States.
School text of Leogardo and Navarro (1974, 127) writes:
“As long as we Filipinos remain Christians we shall always remain indebted to Spain. Christianity is Spain’s most lasting heritage to our people. Christian virtues have elevated our way of life and our ideals. The Spaniards enriched our culture. By absorbing the best and the beautiful of Spanish culture, we have become the most socially advanced ofthe Asiatic peoples who have shaken off western rule. We have learned much of the sciences, arts, and letters from the Spaniards. The Spaniards also taught us an advanced system of government and laws…We shall always associate America with democracy. We are forever indebted to her for our democratic system of government, and laws. Because America trained us in self-government, the Philippines has become the outpost of democracy in the Orient. . . . The American occupation brought about material prosperity never before enjoyed byour people. The standard of living was improved. The Filipinos took to the American way of life as ducks took to water. The Filipinos became Americanized and were proud of it (Leogardo and Navam 1974, 130-32).”

Indeed, Spain and the United states had a great contribution but obviously Filipinos had forgotten who they are. Ecclesiastical developments had occurred in since 1898. One of them is enculturation after being colonized by white religion. There was a great attendance in Inglesia ni Cristo, El Shaddai, and Day by Day Ministries because these churches “Filipinized Christianity.”

Dr. Rod Santos writes, “These churches allow what is truly Filipino to thrive in the religious life…There were two other religious groups who enjoy more freedom by seeking independence and indigenization…The first group is the Philippine Independent Church, organized in 1902 by a catholic priest named Gregorio Aglipay. His dream was to establish an independent Catholicism in the Philippines. The other religious group is Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), a Unitarian church. Felix Manalo, the founder had been deeply exposed to evangelicalism with his membership to Methodist, Presbyterian, and disciples of Christ (1904-1913), in addition to joining the Seventh Day Adventist church in 1914.”

Tugged stressed,
“If Aglipayanism can be regarded as an attempt at the indigenization of Roman Catholicism, the Iglesia ni Cristo maybe is an attempt at the indigenization of Protestantism. If this is a valid analogy, it demonstrates the need for more effective indigenization of Protestant Christianity and for the renewal of the American image that is also too visible in much of the Philippine Protestantism [and Catholic Charismatic] today.”
The first reason for the phenomenon of Santong Bobo is lack of Filipino-ness in Philippine Christianity. I was a member of Light of Jesus family, a charismatic and catholic community founded by Bo Sanchez. I had seen worship service adapted from the Protestant Americans and Australians. I had seen Bible teaching based from western world view of Individualism taught about approval addiction or toxic Shame in contrast to the collectivism of Asian culture. The pakikisama(collectivism) of the Philippines is not equivalent to approval addiction in the Americans. The hiya of the Philippines is not the same with western’s toxic shame. I am familiar with western terms such as approval addiction, performance trap, and toxic shame etcetera because I graduated in a protestant Filipino-Chinese high school. I had read these terms in a book, “The Search for Significance” by Robert McGee.

Character and Identity formation is impossible if a native assumes that Filipino culture is inferior. There was a psychological axiom, “you cannot give what you do not have.” You cannot reach the maximum Filipino potential without a strong Filipino Identity. You cannot live an ethical life apart from Filipino type of Integrity.

The second reason for split level Christianity is situational ethical conditioning. Fr Horacio Dela Costa S.J. wrote,
“The successful use of the issue of graft and corruption by both parties, by the Liberals in 1946 and by the Nacionalistas in 1951 suggests a profound change in the climate of Public opinion. No longer do the great majority of Filipinos tend to condone cheating the government as something foreign and oppressive that deserves to be cheated. With independence, the feeling has grown that public funds are actually the money of the people , and stealing from the treasury is just as much stealing as picking pockets. What makes this new attitude to cheat moral disapproval particularly remarkable is that immediately before independence, it had been patriotic at night to cheat the government of the Japanese occupation forces, all the way from the payment of street car fares to selling military supplies, stealing them back at night and reselling them all over the next morning”.

In The Praying Man, Bienvenido N. Santos, made an effort to discover “the dramatic possibilities of the idea of dwelling in the same man both the need to pray and the tendency to prey on others”

Cris Magat is “the praying man” who prayed anywhere and anytime. He is also “the preying man” who built an empire on fake drugs, bribery, and corruption.Instead of facing his past in order to heal. he is escaping. Kosca says to the sleeping Cris “Poor friend, you’re running away from something (p. 155). He escaped by turning to aspirin, condom, and the medal of the Virgin of Antipolo drowning himself to more loneliness, hatred, and fear.

What can a Filipino do to heal the split within him? Transforming from “Santong Bobo” to an authentic and mature Christian possessing integrity.

Step 1: Be proud you are Pinoy.

St Paul stated in Acts 17:26, “God began by making one person, and from him came all the different people who live every where in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live.”

Realizing that God created Filipino in His image and decided that a Filipino shall live in the Philippines must be a foundation of dignity and respect for our own race. It is non- sense trying to live as if you are Americans, Spanish, or Japanese resulting in two conflicting self and value system.

Remember the Filipino potentials. Philippines is the second largest economy in Asia during the 1960s before Marcos became the President. Philippines is second to Japan.
If you are searching for a world class Filipino, names are bountiful: Manny Pacquiao, Efren “Bata” Reyes, Apl de Ap. Arnle Pineda, Lea Salonga, Cristina Sison and more.

To experience wholeness, self -acceptance is the first step that includes being aware, accepting, and being blessed of Filipino culture. Start identifying if a certain thoughts, feelings, and behavior reflect Filipino-ness or colonizer’s way of life. Start observing oneself without pre-judgement. There might be juxtaposition as one observes internal self.

Evelyn Miranda Feliciano shared how proud she is being a Filipino:
“I will always be proud of the best in the Filipino,
And in my future and people.
I will help, to the best of my ability to eliminate what is perceived as weakness, and to develop values for the greater good.
I belong here, not somewhere else.”

Step 2: Remodify the view of God from being punitive to being gracious.

In the Praying Man, “the medal of the Virgin of Antipolo, like the aspirin and the condom, is a pain reliever. Cris prays to the Virgin when things go wrong, just as he did when times were unusually difficult. Cris prays though ‘there had been no deliverance,’ (p. 68) going through the motions, moving his lips, fingering the medal…Cris prays to ease the pain of guilt, for being bad (p. 45).
‘Virgin Mother, I know I’m bad; I try not to be but I often fail. What should I do, dearest Mother? I do try hard. I don’t want to displease you, but that’s all I seem to do. You see how I turn to you in moments of need. I’m alone, Mother, alone without You. Forgive me. Continue being kind and save me from harm. One day you’ll smile on me and I’ll be worthy of your love. (p. 4.5)’
Yet Cris never mends his ways. He prays for forgiveness for neglecting his son, but he goes ahead and preys on his son’s girlfriend. Cris even uses prayer for his preying for he actually prays THE PRAYING MAN to the Virgin to help him to escape undetected to the U.S. to stash his ill-gotten wealth in the Swiss banks (p. 140). Cris actually uses the Virgin for his own ends, just as he does everyone else. The way Cris relates to the Virgin is captured by the comment of a Filipino theologian regarding the way an immature Filipino Catholic relates with God:
‘The immature Filipino Catholic tends to treat God as a compadre from whom he can obtain favor or as a policeman whom he can bribe by means of a novena. God is treated as an equal on a person to person basis by means of smooth interpersonal relations. The Filipino value of reciprocity or utang na loob (debt of gratitude) in his relationship to God also comes into play. Many Filipino Catholics make novenas to obtain favors from God. They feel that they have done something for God and expect him in turn to reciprocate by granting their request. They feel that God is indebted to them and therefore if God does not answer their prayer, they sulk or make tampo. If ill fortune shall befall them, then they consider it as a punishment from God (pinurumsahun ako ng Diyos) as if God bore a grudge against them for making tampo. The thing then is to talk it over with God on a person to person basis(pakikiusapan). Exactly the same personalistic religious attitude obtains with respect to the santos or patronal saints in whom one has connedion (whom I do know). One can approach the santo much like a suki whom one can bargain familiarly (Gorospe 1966, 43)’.”

Grace is defined as “primarily God’s loving presence, the Gift of the Spirit within us that justifies and sanctifies us (CFC 952)

Remember the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11)? After all was said and done, what did Jesus do? He said, “Then neither do I condemn you”

Every time the Filipino is tempted to condemn himself because of his evil tendencies and weaknesses. Be reminded of God’s love and forgiveness and say to oneself, “I am loved. I am accepted. I am forgiven. I am child of God.”

Step 3. Resolve the good and evil find in ourselves and others.

In the Novel Praying Man, “Cris goes through a “purgatory experience” while waiting and hiding in Kosca’s apartment. He becomes sick and delirious, and seems on the verge of a breakdown (p. 167). At times like these in a person’s life the unconscious often surfaces and confronts the person. So during Cris’s delirium, the fear and loneliness he has been running away from catch up with him. He is confronted by his fear and his obsession with survival.
‘What am I doing here? Have I taken the coward’s way? Run, run, run for your life. The boy can run. . . . Are we all cowards? Who are the brave ones? The heroes? But all the heroes he knew were dead. And he had to live. (p. 147)’
He is confronted by his frailty and his loneliness. He does not belong ‘to anything or anyone, unable to take himself away from the pain, pain, pain . . .’ (p. 147). His past catches up with him. He hears his mother cry in anguish: ‘Cristino! Cristino!’ (p. 147).
Does the experience change Cris, or at least make him aware of his inconsistencey? He does feel shame after he learns of Grace’s brave support for him (p. 148) for he sends a cable to her and ends it with ‘I’m really coming home to you’ (p. 168). This’ indicates Cris’s intention to make it up to his wife. However, with his record of womanizing and repeated broken promises to change, one wonders if Cris can really change.
Regarding his sins against the country, there is no sign of guilt up to the very end. When he is recovering from his sickness, he tells Koxa, ‘I could be charged with producing ‘fake drugs,’ tax evasion, and bribery’ (p. 163). He knows the charges against him, but there is no acknowledgment of having done anything really wrong. Even in his delirium, Cris rationalizes his drugs.
‘Gentlemen, gentlemen, listen; you should know thew “new drugs” are produced in America and Europe, everywhere-in quantities that overwhelm the imagination. They aren’t really fake. Look at them, how they vary in size and color but they all do the same thing-they kill pain. Is it a crime to make them available to the poor? How do you know the more
expensive drugs are different? (p. 154)’ “

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

Dr Henry Cloud, a clinical Christian psychologist writes,
“We are both good and bad. Our natural tendency, however, is to try to resolve this problem by keeping the good and bad separated. This creates a split in our experience of ourselves, others and the world around us — a split that is not based on reality and will not stand the test of time and real life. Trying to keep the good and the bad separated results in an inability to tolerate badness, weakness and failure in ourselves and others.”

Stop denying the evil inside after asking for forgiveness so that one can deal with it squarely.

Jesus did not just say to the adulteress woman, “Neither do I condemn you” but also said “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Accept the truth of sins but work out to become holy.

St Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”,(Philippians 2:12)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(Ephesians 2:10)

Step 4. Know the truth by studying the scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

Knowing the truth about ourselves, the rule, and God’s law if not tempered by grace of God could lead to self-pity, self-punishment, low self-esteem, and self-condemnation. In contrast, grace of God without rule and God’s law could lead to licentiousness-no limits and no consequences.

There shall be a balance between Truth and Grace.

Dr Henry Cloud wrote, “For any system of growth to work, it must included God’s truth. We must be getting it in some sort of systematic and experiential way for it to do it’s work in our lives. As David said, “I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. (Ps. 199:93). For His truth to preserve our life, we must never forget them and for that to happen we must be getting exposed to God’s truth on a regular basis.
There are many ways for us to do that. Here are some common ones:
Individual Bible study
Group studies
Preaching and teaching
Reading and studying good materials that teach God’s truth
Confrontation by friends with God’s truth”

Step 4. “Makisama”

Pakikisama described as “ a Tagalog word derived from the root sama, ‘accompany, go along with.’ At times the word pakikisama is used as synonymous with what I understand by SIR; when so employed, the word is very frequently (almost predictably) translated as ‘good public relations.’ But I believe the term pakikisama is more commonly used with a meaning narrower than SIR. In this more restricted sense it means ‘giving in,’ ‘following the lead or suggestion of another”’; in a word, concession. It refers especially to the lauded practice of yielding to the will of the leader.”

Establish and maintain meaningful relationships with others. Other people are instrumental in the growth process. We cannot grow in isolation.

Dr Henry Cloud writes, “Grace and truth are a healing combination because they deal directly with one of the main barriers to all growth: guilt. We have emotional difficulties because we have been injured (someone has sinned against us), or we have rebelled (we have sinned), or some combination of the two.”

Step 5. Set Boundaries

According to Cru, “A boundary is a property line that defines where you end and someone else begins. Boundaries define what is mine and what is not mine — what I am responsible for and what I am not responsible for, what I can and cannot control.
Created in the likeness of God, we need to understand that God loves and hates, what He chooses, wills, wants, values and thinks. We need boundaries with our bodies, attitudes, feelings, behaviors, thoughts and choices”.

Be kind and generous but do not allow oneself to be abused. “Makisama pero wag makisama” (Conform but do not commit evil)

Step 6. Change takes time

Cru writes, “Growth always takes time. Although time by itself never produces growth, it is impossible to grow without it.”

Dr. Henry Cloud makes the distinction between “good time” and “bad time”: “Good time is the time in which we and our experiences can be affected by grace and truth. If we have removed some aspect of ourselves from time, grace and truth cannot transform it.”

At the end of the novel The Praying Man, “Did Cris able to break free from this mantis syndrome?
‘Kierkegaard cites a Danish fairy tale to explain the process of conversion. In the tale, mermaids entice human beings into their power by means of music. The only way to break the enchantment is for the person under the spell to play the same music backwards without any mistake. A single mistake means that he has to start all over again (Kiergaard 1959, 168-69)’.
Cris faces the same task in order to heal the split within him. He has to play the music of his life backward, to retrace and confront THE PRAYING MAN himself. Only then can the healing of his wounds begin. Only then can he be free from being driven by his compulsions, free to live his life according to principles. The task is not easy. It means giving up many of the things he has been holding on to-his wealth, power, women, and a superstitious religiosity. But, even before Cris can “play the music backward,” he has to become aware that he is under a spell, that the radical split is in him. For this awareness at least opens the possibility of healing”.

Personal and social transformation is not an easy task. Easier said than done. Hardship is part of the process in the formation of character. Real faith and love can only be tested if you are facing a crisis and handling unlovable people around you. Of course, you do not plan for hardship. God is neither sadist nor masochist. The death of Christ was the consequence of the Lord’s choice to live in this sinful world. But God can turn bad things into good. Philosopher expert Dr Peter Kreeft of Boston College stated, “”The death of God himself on the cross. At the time, nobody saw how anything good could ever result from this tragedy. And yet God foresaw that the result would be the opening of heaven to human beings. So the worst tragedy in history brought about the most glorious event in history. And if it happened there-if the ultimate evil can result in the ultimate good-it can happen elsewhere, even in our own individual lives. Here, God lifts the curtain and lets us see it. Elsewhere he simply says, ‘Trust me.’”

IV. References

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Photocredits: Photo by Rishabh Butola on Unsplash