No virtue in zealotry

The Philippines is a nation of faith. This is not a prescriptive statement – it’s not meant to deny the reality of atheist or agnostic Filipinos, or to claim they are in any way less ‘Filipino’ than their neighbors. It is merely a statement about how central faith has been in our society, and the way it has been used – sometimes abused – to create a sense of identity where one did not exist before, as with the Spanish colonizers and evangelists.

Faith has given many of our people the strength to make it through hardships and suffering, provided a community for those that most needed to belong. But faith has also been used as a means to pacify, to enforce obedience, to erase independence and as a means for leaders to exert total control over their followers. Faith cannot exist in a vacuum, and it is necessary for it to be balanced by other considerations for the wholistic benefit and healthy development of the individual.

The recent investigation of the alleged religious cult in Surigao del Norte is a reminder of the need for faith to be tempered. According to a privilege speech delivered by Sen. Risa Hontiveros in late September, a former civic organization by the name of Socorro Bayanihan Services (SBSI), now known as Omega de Salonera, has descended into cult-like behavior. Experts who study cults have identified many common features shared across such organizations, and many of these are seen in the allegations against SBSI. These include: complete submission to the organization’s leader; a discouragement of dissent; the divestment of personal property for the benefit of the organization; relocation to an area controlled by the organization; excessive control of the leadership over matters such as marriage, education, work and financials that reaches the realm of exploitation.

From accounts relayed by news agencies, the Socorro Bayanihan Services did have its origins as a seemingly secular organization, established to foster a sense of communal unity. But things did not remain that way. In the article “A Brief History of Socorro Bayanihan Service Incorporated” by John Sitchon, it was stated that in 2004, the organization was granted a Protected Area