Wenceslao: Salva Me

Philippine Sun Star/January 15, 2003
By Bong Wenceslao

Before he became Daddy Divine, Alfredo Verano was reportedly a member of a paramilitary group based in Banawa in the '80s. That means his Salva Me Pater Omnis Oculos Meus (Father, save us from our offenses) has its roots in the anti-insurgency drive waged in Guadalupe and its neighboring barangays at that time. Small wonder.

The anti-insurgency operation waged in the mountains of Cebu City in the '80s combined cult thinking with anti-communist views. It thus succeeded in whipping up a mass base that had at its core bands that marauded suspected rebel havens armed only with long bolos and a kind of faith that was part Christian, part superstition.

There was, for example, the Sagrado Corazon Señor, more popularly known as Tadtads, who considered themselves invincible with their habak and oracions. I also recall the smaller Dios Amahan in Sapangdaku. It must have been from Verano's contact with these groups that he got the idea of forming his own religious cult now based in Buhisan.

Indeed, looking at Verano made me recall those groups of old, the long hair, the folksy talk. Then you have the come-ons: unique interpretation of salvation, attribution of superhuman qualities on the leader and the supposed power to treat illnesses. What I missed in "Daddy Divine's" photos was the bolo adorned with a strip of red cloth.

Exposed to the feudal culture of the near-hinterlands and hinterlands portion of Cebu City for some time, I do not find the existence of Salva Me weird (unlike, of course, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who expressed surprise). Where poverty and backward thinking exists, so too these religious cults. Meaning, they are outgrowths of society's failings.

By the way, there was this interesting article by Sun.Star reporter Lorenzo P. Niñal about Verano. Here's how Daddy Divine prays: "As he spreads his arms and rattles off words in Latin, Alfredo Verano's right leg "grows" an inch longer. It shakes convulsively&Then he folds his arms and smiles. In less than a minute, the prayer is over."

Which reminds me of my experience with "Papang" in San Fernando. Papang was the tambalan who used the cadaver of an unidentified person from Siquijor in supposedly curing illnesses. I caught up with him at night in a remote barangay of the town. When I said I wanted an interview, he "asked permission" from the cadaver, who was in a house kilometers away, by "talking" with him through a black stone.

But that is already straying away from the topic. Salva Me is now being investigated by the Cebu City Government and concerned agencies based on the protest of some Buhisan residents and on the cult's "strange practices," like living in caves and digging tunnels and discouraging their children-members from going to school.

If the complaints against Verano and the supposedly objectionable practices of the religious cult are true, then authorities have all the right to act. But all actions taken must be tempered with the respect of the group's beliefs, no matter how strange they may seem to us. Also, while the tag Daddy Divine may sound corny and Verano may look baduy, he should be considered innocent until proven otherwise.

In the meantime, it would be good for City officials to look deeply into the reasons why religious cults exist in this supposedly "neo-international" city of ours. That may require them looking at their own selves in the mirror. Or maybe, this one important question should be answered: Are they merely treating the symptom and not the disease?

P.S. Thanks to all texters who sent some "inspiring" comments about this column. I won't quote them here because that would be self-serving. But here's one relevant Text Reax contribution: "Losing faith in magic causes poor souls to believe in government and business: Tom Robbins. May there be more magic in our lives this new year."