‘Priests from the Philippines celebrate Ninoy Aquino Day

By David Myers

Southwest Kansas Register

They raised their voices in celebration and sadness, three of the four Filipino priests serving in the Diocese of Dodge City, to remember and honor a countryman assassinated for his outspoken opposition to the Marcos regime.

On Aug. 21, Fathers Nicanor Ferangco, Rene Labrador, and Bernard Felix (Father Angel Dy was unable to attend), along with Bishop Ronald Gilmore and some members of the diocesan staff, were invited to the country club in Dodge City to celebrate Ninoy Aquino Day, a Filipino holiday. Prior to dinner, Father Ferangco played guitar and, with Fathers Labrador and Felix, sang the Filipino song, "Bayan Ko (My Country).

It was a solemn moment for all involved, as the event didn’t only celebrate the life of the Filipino martyr, but the presence of the priests in our diocese, so far from home but so committed to doing Christ’s work on the Kansas prairie.

Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. (Ninoy Aquino) was born in 1932, and by the time of his death in 1983, had become a strongly influencing member of the opposition party against the Marcos administration. Aquino was responsible for exposing much of the graft and corruption behind Ferdinand Marcos, fighting ardently during the era of Martial Law, which Marcos had signed into effect Sept. 21 1972.

By 1983, Aquino had become known as one of the most important, prominent, and outspoken critics of the Marcos dictatorship. He was assassinated Aug. 21, 1983; as he exited a China Airlines flight in Manila upon his return from exile. He was shot twice in the head.

Although his voice was silenced, his message was not. His death led to a series of battles against the administration, which culminated with the EDSA Revolution of 1986 (EDSA is an acronym for the name of the street in Manila on which the revolution occurred). The mostly non-violent revolution, led in part by Jaime Cardinal Sin, resulted in the downfall of Marcos and to the installation of Corazon (Cory) Aquino, widow of Ninoy Aquino, as president of the Republic.

Filipino Fathers become priests on the prairie

The Filipino priests serving in the Diocese of Dodge City are doing so as a result of an agreement initiated by Dodge City Bishop Stanley Schlarman and the Diocese of Boac in the Philippines. The Filipino diocese provides priests to serve here, while the Diocese of Dodge City provides funding to support their vocations program. While the priests are contracted for a three-year stay, contracts may be renegotiated for more time if both dioceses agree. Father Ferangco is serving a second term after health concerns led him to ask for an extension.

Father Ferangco currently serves St. Nicholas, Kinsley and St. Joseph, Offerle; Father Felix serves St. Bernard, Belpre and Sacred Heart, Larned; and Father Labrador serves St. Michael, LaCrosse, St. Joseph, Liebenthal, and Holy Trinity, Timken. Father Dy, who serves St. Anthony, Fowler, St. John the Baptist, Meade, and St. Patrick, Plains, is from the Diocese of Sorsogon (a couple of gulfs and two islands east of Boac), and therefore is not contractually obligated for three years. In fact, he is in his ninth year of service in the diocese.

Father Labrador, the latest to arrive in the diocese (he began his ministry here July 17, 2006), shared some of the challenges he has faced, as well as the adjustments he’s had to make to life in Kansas.

"Concerning the culture of the people here, I did not find it hard to adjust," he said. "The greatest challenge is the food. I’ve struggled to adjust to the kind of food that is available in LaCrosse. Usually in the Philippines, the ordinary food we eat is rice, fish, and vegetables, but different vegetables from here. But I am slowly adjusting to whatever is available."

It’s not only the taste of the food he’s had to get used to, he said, but it’s also the way it’s prepared. His comment wasn’t a knock to local cooks, but instead to his own limited culinary abilities.

"We were not cooks in our country," he said, laughing. "The priest has his own cook, and here I prepare everything. I didn’t know how to cook when I arrived here. Now I do the grocery shopping. It is a great adjustment."

When asked if he had learned how to cook in the last year, he laughed and gave a typical bachelor’s response: "I have three or four meals on the menu." But, he quickly added, "I’m happy that some families are very generous and invite me over for supper. I enjoy the food."

The invitations don’t come often, but when they do, they help him combat another significant challenge, that of loneliness.

"What I miss most," he said, "are my friends and the company of my brother priests -- and, of course, seeing my family."

The Diocese of Boac is rich in vocations. Parishes are often only three or four miles apart, and each is served by its own priest, making it easy for priests to interact and support each other. Here? A single priest may serve multiple parishes that are miles or counties apart. Interaction is somewhat rare.

"In my one year of ministry here, I’ve been productive and fruitful, both in my personal development and also in my personal ministry. I developed in myself how to put up with loneliness. I have to put up with being alone in my rectory, which is different than back home. In the Philippines, we have some companions, so it’s not lonely. When you eat, you have people with you; when you watch TV…. This was a great adjustment. I had to develop how to be creative, to be productive in the situation I am in. Before I came here, I was assigned to a seminary for 10 years. Every hour was scheduled. Here, I made a particular schedule of my own -- what I must do during my spare time. I allot time for personal study, personal prayer."