Doing Theology Among Filipino Peasant-Farmers

The Philippines is often in the news today, frequently because of the exploits of the New People's Army (NPA), the guerrilla arm of the Communist party. What news reports often fail to mention is the pressure put on the average Filipino peasant farmer by members of the NPA. How does one do theology among people who are oppressed both by the government in power and a group trying to overthrow that government? Does the Bible have anything to say to people caught in this situation? Abigail Ramientos Harootian, who has worked among such people, says that indeed there are answers, albeit answers which may prove uncomfortable to those unaccus-tomed to living and working amidst political upheaval. “So you’re Ka Abing!1 Word has been going around that your troop has come up here. Are you just passing through?... How many days are you staying? At long last I’ve met you, Ka Abing. We’ve heard of your ‘victories’ in Barrio Latagan.2 Someday, the same thing will hap-pen here. That day will come when we peasant farmers will receive justice—the downfall of the landlords. I be-lieve this will happen... people like you will help make this happen.” was startled (and speechless!) by this greeting I re-ceived from one of the peasant-folks at our fieldwork site. In 1985, my classmates (from the University of the Philippines) and I conducted a survey to explore the feasibility of an appropriate socio-economic project in a re-mote barrio in Quezon Province (southern Luzon Island). On this occasion we stopped at a certain household for a drink and rest from trekking rugged mountain trails and rivers. The greeting I received was shocking and scary. Apparently, I was mistaken for a female guerrilla leader with the same name as my nickname. Although my class-mates and I were not carrying weapons (like a typical guerrill