In remembrance of Bishop Francisco Claver who passed away last 1 July 2010, we publish here an interview of ESSC with the Bishop in March 2008 where he generously shared his sharp and wizened thoughts on questions of culture and environment, especially in the Cordillera, his cultural origin.In March 2008, ESSC had the refreshing opportunity to speak with former Bishop Francisco Claver, SJ, DD who generously shared his sharp and wizened thoughts on questions of culture and environment, especially in the Cordillera, his cultural origin.
This was for the ESSC publication Forest Faces that was published and launched in June 2008 with FAO.
Bishop Claver spoke about the connectivity of his cultural origins in Bontoc with his memories and images of past landscapes and where the changes have been, the shifts in land use of people, the growth and movements of people in the region, the growth of urban centers and its impact on the environment and people’s values.
Addressing the present-day youth, he pointed out the critical need of the youth for a cultural identity in a global world, saying that “the more you are globalized, the more you have to be aware of your identity. You can have and share a common culture, but you have to have your own identity.” He talked about autonomy in the Cordillera that never got off the ground during succeeding administrations after the term of President Corazon Aquino, because the “autonomy” being discussed was in the context of the national government which for him was “just a huge milking cow.”
“the more you are globalized, the more you have to be aware of your identity. You can have and share a common culture, but you have to have your own identity.”
Bishop Claver also posed critical questions that community, local government, and national government planners do need to contend with. Some of these include:
- How can the water sources of the Agno and Chico Rivers be restored as water levels have been going down since 1995?
- How can a town like Bontoc support an increasing population when its carrying capacity is only 4,000?
- How can people better appreciate the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act or IPRA, as it defines ancestral land in the concept of private property? Do people understand that what used to be traditionally known as common resources within adjacent cultures are now getting subdivided, like riverbanks? Bishop Claver recalled that they used to just take stones from the river for their tuping or stonewalling because these were taian (common resources). “Now you have to ask permission or pay up. If you are from Bontoc, they would be ashamed to charge; if you are not from Bontoc, the attitude of charging evokes no cultural hesitation.”
- And in relation to forests, will this the ancestral domain approach preserve what remains?
He was also well aware that mining cannot be stopped as people have been mining since the Stone Age but he asks if mining is possible without too much damage.
Towards the end, Bishop Claver brought us around the fishpond he built at the back of the San Jose Seminary, within the campus of the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. Using local adobe, he painstakingly built stone paths, walls, and banks. With these, he diverted the water from a creek that originates from three ponds and the storm water in the campus. All the water is used during the dry season.
And like the seasoned stonebuilder he was, he showed us that running the water over the stones created a flow that improves water quality and allowed the lush vegetation along the banks to flourish and regenerate the environment.
Bishop Claver passed away last 1 July 2010. He was 81.
The interview can be viewed and downloaded at http://essc.org.ph/content/view/203/46/1/6/