History of Assumption Academy, Mayoyao, Ifugao ENTRY OF CHRISTIANITY IN IFUGAO Excerpts from the book “The Missionary and Road Builder”- From Pp. 53 to 55 By: Fr. Frederik Fermin, O.P. Father Remigio Rodriguez del Alamo of Cauayan Isabela and Governor Mariano Oscariz of Nueva Vizcaya suggested to establish Christianity in Ifugao. Upon Alamo’s and Oscariz’s suggestion, the Government decreed the establishment of several missions, first in Mayoyao and Bunhian, and later in Silipan and Kiangan, and asked the Dominican Province of the Rosary to man them. The Provincial Chapter of 1851 gladly acceded to the Government’s request. On 16 March 1854 Madrid approved a yearly subsidy of 2, 480 pesos for the support of the four missions. As a preliminary measure, and in order to survey the area and assess the situation, two priests were sent to the mountains in 1849. Father Remigio del Alamo, from Cauayan, visited Mayoyao; and Father Raymundo Suarez, from Bagabag, went up to Kiangan. Both were well received by the Igorots, and on their return reported favourably on the establishment of the proposed missions. Back in Camarag on 24 March Father Alamo was given a hero’s welcome. Governor Oscariz, the Vicar Provincial, a number of Dominican missionaries and a large gathering of people waited for him in front of the church and a solemn Te Deum was sung. Still, it was a costly survey. Del Alamo came back from the mountains afflicted with an undefined fever. He died in Cauayan on 10 April at the age of 33. Del Alamo’s death did not in any way dampen the enthusiasm of the Dominicans. Two young priests were chosen for the Mayoyao mission: Father Jose Tomas Vilanova and Father Ruperto Alarcon, 34 and 24 years of age respectively. The send-off given to the two missionaries must have reminded them of the despedida at Ocaña. Governor Oscariz, the Dominicans of Isabela and numerous people assembled at the Camarag church. After singing the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the new apostolic field, Vilanova and Alarcon received the blessing of their Superior, the Vicar Provincial, and the abrazo of their confreres and friends. Thus, with the prayers and best wishes of the whole town, they set out for the mountains. It was 20th of September of the year 1849. The day was bright, and the future looked promising. Indeed, not only the Province of the Rosary, but the whole country had its eyes on the project. Events taking place in the remote mountains of Kiangan and Mayoyao became national news. Two important questions lingered in the air: Will this be the dawn of Christianity in Ifugao? Has the hour finally come for the spiritual conquest of the Cordillera? Fathers Vilanova and Alarcon established two missions, one in Mayoyao (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores), and the other in Bunhian (Los Santos Angeles Custodios). They stayed together until December, when they separated, Alarcon settling in Bunhian and Vilanova remaining in Mayoyao. Unfortunately the bright hopes that had accompanied the foundation of the missions soon eclipsed. In 1851 Father Alarcon was assigned to Kiangan, and his place in Bunhian was taken by Father Jose Sarrancoli. Vilanova worked with boundless zeal for spiritual and material welfare of the Igorots, who revered and loved him as they did few other missionaries. He took the census of the Mayoyao valley and proposed to Oscariz the establishment of three towns: Belmonte (Dummanang), Villanueva de San Pedro (Mayoyao) and Nueva Ocaña (Langayan). Governor General Antonio Urbiztondo approved the plan, but changed the names of Belmonte to Oscariz and Villanueva de San Pedro to Vilanova, in honour of the protagonists of the Ifugao enterprise. On 26 February 1851, in the presence of Oscariz, Vilanova blessed the wooden church of Nueva Ocaña (Langayan) and the road that, under his direction, the Igorots had constructed from the Mayoyao Valley to the Magat river. But he too was to fall a victim to the rigours of missionary life in the mountains. He died on 10 March 1855 in Angadanan. The Provincial Chapter of 28 April – 1 May 1855 entrusted the two missions of Mayoyao and Bunhian to Father Ramon Reixach. Reixach remained in the mountains only until June. His assignment to Ifugao turned out to be a mistake. Apparently he was not a man of tact and prudence, and his indiscretions made him unpopular with the Igorots. For some, still unexplained, reason he set fire to the convent which the people of Bunhian had built in Begoña on the right bank of the Magat river. The initial enthusiasm and success waned, and slowly the missions disintegrated. By 1867 they had been abandoned. The Provincial Chapter held that year made no mention of them. CONGREGATIO IMMACULATI CORDIS MARIAE (CICM) FATHERS The re-opening of the Kiangan Mission became a stepping stone to the establishment of Christian missions in Banaue and Mayoyao. In October 1910, Fr. Jerome Moerman, a CICM priest arrived in Kiangan. He sent CICM Brothers Edward Cools and Henri Slegers to Mayoyao to undertake a major project in the new mission site in Barangay Bongan. In three months, they finished the chapel construction in time for the arrival of Fr. Moerman who, in 1924, blessed and dedicated the chapel to Our Lady of the Assumption. The two CICM Brothers built also a quarter for catechists and a dormitory for the catechumens. Fr. Francis Lambrecht, CICM, paid regular visits to Mayoyao to preach, to celebrate the Holy mass, to administer the sacraments, and to study the Mayoyao culture being an anthropologist by profession. Hired catechists from outside Mayoyao did the evangelization in the absence of the priest. During the day, the catechists go to the barrios to proclaim the Word of God. WW2 During the World War II (WW2), the Philippine Constabulary (PC) Headquarters in Barangay Bato and the mission buildings in Bongan were spared from the burning. In the early part of the Japanese occupation, the mission houses were used as schools for the young Mayoyao locals with the Japanese soldiers as their teachers. The Japanese soldiers, however, later burned the buildings because they suspected these to be the hideouts of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines – Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) and the guerilla forces. PEACE TIME In the early Liberation Period, the CICM Fathers continued to visit the Mayoyao Catholic Mission (MCM). While the chapel was being constructed, Sunday worships were held in Bato at the house of Santiago and Isabel Balajo. When a priest comes, there is a Eucharistic Celebration and on Sundays without a priest, the few converts who did not return to their traditional religion used to gather to pray the Rosary. Everytime the locals of Liwo, Jacmal, Damag and Bunhian receive information of the arrival of a priest or a bishop, they come in groups with their children and even babies to attend the Holy Mass, and for some, to receive the sacraments such as baptism, confirmation, reconciliation, and matrimony. When chapels were built in far-flung barangays, only a few continued to come to the center of the mission. After the construction of the chapel in Bongan, the CICM Belgian priests from Banaue, Lagawe and Kiangan visited Mayoyao regularly. They were: Fr. Cornelio Tonus, Fr. Louis de Boeck, Fr. Jose de Brouwer and Fr. Pablo de Meddeleer. It was Fr. Brouwer who sometimes stays in Mayoyao for a month before he returns to his mission station. Fr. Meddeleer visited Mayoyao twice with the boy scouts of the Immaculate Conception Elementary School, Banaue to entertain the locals especially the children. They exhibited their drums, bugles, uniforms, drills and other activities. A local recounted that a certain Malipe Pfahilan told the young viewers that the boy scouts were the dead soldiers who returned as small boys. Fr. Meddeleer celebrated the Holy Mass in Mayoyao every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In 1951, Mayoyao became an independent mission. Baptismal records show that few locals were baptized by Fr. Francisco de Snick. That same year, Fr. Gabriel Vandenberghe, the first resident rector arrived. The Mayoyao Catholic Mission had a very wide parochial jurisdiction because it included then the towns of Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, and sometimes, extended as far as Oscariz and San Mateo in the Province of Isabela. These places could only be reached by hiking and horseback riding. THE BIRTH OF ASSUMPTION ACADEMY Most of the school children ended their studies in the primary and intermediate levels, stayed at home, worked with their parents in the rice pond fields or in the swidden farms, and later got married. In far-flung barangays, some went to the nearby lowland towns and worked as house-helpers. Only a few of the elementary graduates continued their studies in the secondary level. They pursued higher education at all costs. They used to hike with their barefoot from the center town to Habbang, Aduyongan. From there, they wait for a vehicle to board up to Banaue. Father Gabriel Vandenberghe spent time consulting the people in a meeting and presented his plan of establishing Assumption Academy. The town elders headed by then Mayor Alfredo Panitio and other concerned locals collectively responded by donating lumber and cash and through “changah”, a cultural practice that entails free labor wherein people in the community help one another to make work better, lighter and faster. Fr. Vandenberghe went to inform his superiors: Bishop William Brasseur, CICM, DD in Baguio and CICM Father Provincial of the Philippine Province in Manila. With their approval, he solicited textbooks and other instructional materials. He hired Hipolito Caoili from the lowland to teach. The construction of the two-storey and two-room school building started during the vacation months of July 1951. Since it was not yet finished, classes during the school year (SY) 1951 – 52 were held in the chapel from Mondays to Fridays. On Sundays and Holy Days, the chapel remained as a house of worship. A local recounted that when making resolutions in a yearly 3-day retreat, Father Vandenberghe would always say, “But ala, come on! The time is now. Time is gold and be on the dot!” On its second year of operation, there were students from Banaue, Barlig, Aguinaldo, and Alfonso Lista who enrolled. The chapel in Bongan was then a multi-purpose structure. It served as a convent, school, office and a center for services on health, agriculture, trade and industry, etc. Father Vandenberghe invented the wooden bulldozers that were used in leveling the school ground and the pulleys that were used to uproot trees. He taught the students to knit sandos colored red for the athletes’ uniform. He grafted the wild grape locally called agkhohep with true grape vines. He demonstrated to the students how to make soap out of the pfu’pfu’no fern. He installed the first water-pipe system and many others. Fr. Vandenberghe died at the age of 81 at Deterghem, Belgium on August 25, 1993. FRUITS AND CHALLENGES OF THE MISSION The CICM Fathers who succeeded Fr. Vandenberghe initiated the construction of the 2-storey convent, a boys’ dorm, and a girls’ dorm. An incident at the mission site during the time of Fr. Jan Anthonissen and Fr. George Gelade caused the closure of the school in 1965. The buildings at the mission site were burned. The students were forced to transfer to secondary schools in other Ifugao towns. The Assumption Academy Alumni Association officially calls them exiled graduates. With the help of the church community, a new site for the Mayoyao Catholic Mission was found at Onagol, Poblacion. After they negotiated for the sale of the lot, they began the construction of a big building under the supervision of a German Engineer recalled as Brother Alfonso. Carpenters from Sabangan and some from Mayoyao were hired. The hauling of the woods was through pfachang or community free labor. Assumption Academy re-opened in 1967 and had its graduates in 1968. In the mid 1980’s, Assumption Academy was one of the schools subjected for closure. Earlier, the Apostolic Vicariate of Mountain Province started phasing out some of the vicariate schools because public high schools were being established. In Assumption Academy, the tuition fees were not enough to pay the salaries of teachers. Fr. Louis Mellebeck, the rector of Saint Mary Magdalene, Lagawe whose first assignment in the country was in Mayoyao, requested to exclude Assumption Academy from the list of schools for phase-out. His request was approved. LOCAL PRIESTS CONTINUE THE MISSION Although the Mayoyao Catholic Mission and the Assumption Academy was still under the supervision of the CICM priests, local priests were sent as their assistant priests. They were the late Bishop Brigido Galasgas of Benguet and Fr. Patricio Guyguyon of Kiangan. Fr. Francis Agthoven was the last foreign CICM Missionary to serve the Mayoyao Catholic Mission and the Assumption Academy. The mission was left to the hands of local priests with Fr. Joseph Paduyao as the first diocesan rector. Diocesan priest Fr. Francis Dinacas was the first to initiate the construction of a stage infront of the school building. Fr. Samuel Maximo was the last diocesan rector of Assumption Academy. He organized concerts to raise funds for the mission in Mayoyao. The Societas Verbi Divini (SVD - Society of the Divine Word) took over the administration of Assumption Academy in 1997. Participatory leadership among students of Assumption Academy was encouraged by the first SVD priest Fr. Oscar Alunday so that the Student Supreme Government (SSG) that was patterned on the political structure of the country was changed into ministries with corresponding coordinators and overall coordinator. They were the Youth Ministry, Education Ministry, Altar Ministry, Social Services Ministry, and Temporality Ministry. These ministries were referred to as the YEAST. Fr. Alunday also initiated the One Million Signature Project in 1998. The scheme was to collect cash donations until it reaches one million. The interest would be used for the scholarship of poor but deserving students of Assumption Academy. Fr. Pablo “Bong” Garay Jr., SVD, strictly implemented to the students the use of polo uniform, slacks and shoes. On security, with the help of the community, the construction of the fences protecting the vicinity of the school was completed. It was also during his time that the school building was repainted. On August 15, 2011, Fr. Aljiovani Abrassado reiterated the completion of the One Million Signature Project on the occasion of the 60th Foundation Anniversary of Our Lady of the Assumption, Mayoyao. PRINCIPALS Locals who served Assumption Academy as principal were: Jerome Codamon, Ernestina Baluga, Carmen Bumachi, Robert Bongayon, Christine Dinagtuan, Sr. Corazon Mabudjang, Sr. Luz Aniban, and Dave Lumauig. ASSUMPTION ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, MAYOYAO In December 1995, the alumni homecoming was held. Dwelling places of most of the alumni were clustered to form chapters such as Manila Chapter, Vizcaya Chapter, Baguio Chapter, Dagupan - San Fernando Chapter, Homers, etc… By then, Joe Choy-awon was the first to be elected as the president of the association. Three years after the launching of the annual alumni homecoming, the proposal to include non-alumni in the three-day activity was accommodated and dubbed as Mayoyao Homecoming. It became a community affair until the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Mayoyao took over the hosting of it. In year 2001, the golden anniversary of Assumption Academy was celebrated with a Grand Alumni Homecoming. In December 27, 2008, alumni batch 1998, then on their 10th anniversary, and alumni batch 1983, on their 25th anniversary, sponsored the alumni homecoming 2008, the first time to have batches of alumni who sponsored the event. On that same day, representatives per batch gathered for a meeting and elected William Gopeng as the president. He succeeded Mr. Joe Choy-awon. References: Old Catholic Directories The Mustard Seed (CICM Golden Jubilee Book) Missionary and the Road Builder Personal accounts of Flora Maura B. Oyayon, Isabel O. Balajo, and Lumen Dayag
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:01:17 +0000
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