My father belonged
to a marginalized and poor and landless farming family in the village,
and has been, for years, in the pangs of death because of lung disease,
emphysema which have been primarily caused by cooking coconut copra
to sell for foods and survival for the last 50 years. His condition
has admittedly been aggravated by smoking for almost 20 years as his
only outlet. However, I condemn smoking and have been campaigning against
it as money-wasting and life-health destroying and killing, only for
the profit of the multinational cigarette and tobacco companies.
My poor grandfather
and father have suffered so much in hard labor and long years of poverty
in our village since childhood as coconut farmers during their life-time.
Hard labour and coconut farming did not liberate them and our families
from poverty and we had no help from the Government. The situation of
our farming relatives and other farmers in our village, town and province
and elsewhere in the countryside are almost similar and also victims
of the system: the unjust financial-economic system. Poor families suffer
whilst billions of dollars are used annually under Presidential Decree
for interest payments to international bankers. The poor farming families
need urgent and extensive recovery and rehabilitation schemes such as
organic farming, but there is no money available
for this.
THE MAN OF CHARACTER
FINDS A SPECIAL ATTRACTIVENESS IN ADVERSITY. IT IS ONLY BY COMING TO
GRIPS WITH ADVERSITY THAT HE CAN REALISE HIS POTENTIALS.
I started work for
my parents at the age of 10 collecting coconuts and wood, growing rice,
cutting bamboo, fishing, catching animals and other village-based occupations.
I also helped my relatives in the towns who persecuted me and my brothers
and sisters and parents, verbally and physically abused us. I collected
water and other heavy loads. I was also an animal care-taker, food peddler,
house cleaner, running boy and a Knight of the Altar working daily in
the morning in the Parish Church of Mauban with very little allowance
monthly also with persecutions and maltreatments. After I finished second
year college in a Secretarial Course, I left Quezon province with a
few clothes and books and went to Manila to my relatives and there I
worked as a trainee in secretarial work in an office with very tiny
allowance monthly, suffered maltreatments and hunger. I resigned and
worked as bookseller walking daily to look for buyers. I gave up and
looked for other employment by walking daily for 2 weeks and I was accepted
as helper, janitor, care-taker, and then became private secretary to
a lawyer and was given free board and lodging. I recived an irregular
allowance of only £5 pounds monthly. My superiors were abusive,
addictive and often drunk and engaged in immoralities. I found out later
that the business was engaged in racketeering arranging work for poor
Filipinos abroad. When they arrived, there was no employment.
I left the office
and looked for other jobs. I eventually found employement with a religious
organization where I was assigned to work as a peddler of religious
material and books but later on my boss was not thinking justly and
verbally abused me. I left again, and paradoxically, this boss referred
me to go the Seminary as an assistant of an old priest.
MY SEMINARY STAY:
My seminary stay
was very historical for me. There I also developed my vocation to the
priesthood, but because of chronic family, health and very serious financial
problems, my vocation did not materialize. There, whilst I was working
and doing English language self-study, I had the habit of reading hundreds
of books, magazines, articles, writings on Social Credit. I read the
books of great authors like C.H. Douglas and books on monetary reform,
economics, politics, philosophy, theology, eschatology, religions, devotions,
and social, moral doctrines of the Catholic Church, etc. BUT I MOSTLY
BECAME FASCINATED AND VERY INTERESTED ON SOCIAL, MONETARY JUSTICE, DEMOCRACY
AND REFORM ISSUES which I perfectly believe to be the only solution
to DEBT AND POVERTY in the Philippines and to the Third world nations.
I comprehensively and intensively studied monetary reform, economic
democracy and economic justice at the end of 1991 to 1994 whilst working
in the seminary, of course, that is, after my work. I spent nights reading
these books even until 11:00 p.m. at night. I have read so many books
of different authors discussing the urgent needs of monetary reform
and social credit or social money or social wealth distributions which
I wholly agree as solutions to the problems of dire poverty and economic
injustice and crisis in the Philippines. At present, along with other
essential and interesting issues like debt and poverty of third world
nations, organic farming, environmental catastrophes, etc. I am studying
the Socionomics of Mike Thomas of FIOH, UK - the new science of common
sense for economic justice and reform which is complementary or compatible
theory to monetary reform and economic democracy. I have also read the
book of Richard Douthwaite of FEASTA, Ireland "The Growth Illusion"
where the evidences have proven that present economic growth under the
debt money system, speculations and injustice are only illusionary and
therefore unsustainable to humanity as a whole.
And since 1992 until
now, I have been fighting for economic/monetary reform. I have passed
through so many dreadful, terrible and persecuting circumstances in
life in these provinces. I was ignored, rejected and attacked by scolding
words. I have struggled in writing so many letters and articles using
a manual typewriter on monetary reform deeply and vociferously expressing
my repeated anger and condemnation to debt money system, to IMF and
WB, to government officials, legislators, to commercial bankers, to
usurers-that/who control money and commit injustice against the poor.
I have also sent so many letters all over the country and overseas,
proposed project proposals for alternatives for survival of the poor,
proposed repeatedly the urgent and practical solutions to debt and poverty,
but have been disappointed. My poor Filipino companion-friends in MANILA-the
Philippine capital, in the past 1991-93 for monetary reform have abandoned
me, backed out, partially because of their poverty, money problems and
unemployment.
I have founded the
Centre For Poor Filipinos and Human Life Centre in 1995-96 in Aklan
province but this did not last long because of the absence of funding
and support. My wife and I with the support of friends, did a lot of
mission works for monetary reform, for life, family and justice in Aklan
province without our own home, without money, without things at our
rented room-transferring from place to place. We managed to survive
and were able to raise money for our move to Capiz province at the end
of 1996 (my wife is a native of a Capiz mountainous village) and in
Capiz we struggled to put a small bookselling and video selling of religious,
economic, monetary, social, philosophical and moral issues but this
business lasted for only a year because of rents, expenses and financial
crisis in 1997. We moved to Li-Ong village, here in Roxas, Capiz province,
5 kilometers from the main town in 1997. And there, we resided in a
house of a friend but had no water and we had to fetch water daily from
quite a long distance. We did what we could there to survive. I did
a lot of part time jobs in Roxas and in Aklan province back and forth
and even to the far-flung province of Iloilo.
TO TEACH A MAN HOW
HE MAY LEARN TO GROW INDEPENDENTLY, FOR HIMSELF, IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST
SERVICE THAT ONE MAN CAN DO FOR ANOTHER.
I founded FILIPINOS
FOR ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY and that later on became Filipino People For
Monetary Reform and Economic Democracy but now incorporated as FILIPINO
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE SURVIVAL, INC. now with registration
documents and licenses to operate for 50 years time. The organization
foundation was made possible through the financial help of Michael Victor
Thomas of FIOH, UK, and with organisational advice from Rev. Danilo
Bugtong of TRICORD, Nueva Viscaya, Philipppines, and the concerned other
friends to operate and do the projects on alternative solutions in the
region.
Back to my mission
in Capiz province, I have non-permanent assistants. My wife is my major
assistant. Some poor friends are helping me once in a while, also in
distributing campaign materials on money reform. But donation is extremely
poor because most of them are also very poor, sick, and ageing.
I must also share
to you all that my wife, Reynalda A. Encina and I have been together
in the struggles for monetary reform (we call it social credit or economic
democracy) since 1995 after we got married in Iloilo Province. Our purpose
is to build a family of monetary reformers. Our children are our successors
for monetary reform within the next 10-50 years. Our logic is that monetary
reformers are under extinction because many young people and even our
own friends and colleagues in the organization are not interested and
only interested for short-term survival schemes. Family members suffer
friction and dissension when it comes to money issues or money reform
proposals as I have experienced and I am still experiencing. I have
had heated debates with my friends and companions on money creation.
My wife comes from
poorest and landless Filipino families in the Capiz province, Parallan
mountain village. After terrible difficulties, hardships and even hunger
and diseases, she managed to finish her college studies in a government
school, also passed the Board examination for teachers, Major in Filipino
Subject but alas, because of the lack of opportunity in teaching employment
and position and without political backers, she has never been regularly
employed as teacher. She opted to do something at home including gardening
and assisting me. She is now the Secretary of the Board of our newly-founded
organization - working actively for alternative solutions and justice
in the region.
I also have passed
through many diseases over the years at the edge of death. For almost
4 years now because of unfinished therapies due to absence of or lack
of money, I have been also prone to relapse, sometimes languishing in
the devastating M.E.-CFS/fibromyalgia disease, that at times, associated
with chest and back pains or IBS problem. At present I am struggling
against my eye problem: the retinal tear or damage but hoping for the
return of my normal eye function and towards total recovery and optimum
health to do the mission and our projects perfectly and successfully.
I have just recovered from basal pneumonia and now must be very careful
to avoid relapses in the future.
WHEN WEALTH IS CENTRALISED
THE PEOPLE ARE DISPERSED; WHEN WEALTH IS DISTRIBUTED THE PEOPLE ARE
BROUGHT TOGETHER.
For long years of
activism and educating Filipino people, however, on monetary reform
and alternatives, I feel very disappointed and discouraged too many
times. I sent so many letters of appeal for help overseas for the mission
and projects over the past 7 or 8 years but was rejected by more than
100 organizations, agencies, groups except once in a blue moon personal
donation for educational campaign and for survival in a stretched-out
to the limit use of money. FIOH helped us in 2005 in the establishment
of our NGO, our initial administrative operations, micro-lending initiative
to the members, small grant amount for the survival of the members,
and our personal and family assistance for improvement and for strengthening
the campaigns. My wife and I are presently doing a pilot organic farming
mini-project in Yabton village, Ivisan, Capiz, for our years of food
security for survival and we are planning for the future semi-large-scale
organic farming project in 2007 to be expectedly enough for our 17 poor
Filipino members, for our organization: Filipino Alternative Solutions
For Sustainable Survival, Inc. in the region with the hope that we will
be successful in our organic farming project in the coming years.
We need further
assistance for our work, mission, vision, for our future activities
like seminars, studies and of course for our organic farming project
for the poor member families.
I am, of course,
very thankful and grateful for all the assistance coming from Michael
Thomas of FIOH, UK for his personal assistance and thus for us to continue
our mission, vision, activities, projects and our difficult life and
family survival in the region, in the Philippines.
We are very thankful
and grateful for all who are helping us in our work, to fulfill our
mission, vision and finish our projects for the betterment of our community,
for peace, justice, environment and for the general economic security
campaigns for all poor families in our country and all countries in
the world.
To any organic farming,
social, economic, monetary justice/democracy/reform and other similar
or like-minded agencies, foundations, institutions, families and individuals
overseas, please, we necessarily continue to appeal for your kind and
generous help both material and financial for us to keep going, go forward
for change, justice and alternatives and for further support in our
very crucial campaigns in the critical years to come 2007-2010-2020
and even beyond.
We always treasure
your comments, suggestions, advice, direction or even correction or
criticism for our references and for our own improvement always for
the better.
LIFE MAKES STERN
DEMANDS, BUT ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE EQUIPPED WITH WAYS AND MEANS TO ANSWER
THEM.
Francis Bacon wrote:
"Money is like muck, not good except it be spread". And thus
we can say that money should be used in ways that indeed enhance the
sanctity of life and security of every human person. Money that also
protects the environment, promotes organic methods and health of peoples,
that promotes justice and charity, of solidarity, of fellowships and
of peace in the world.
We pray hope that
in the next 10 to 20 years, we will have a fruitful result of our sacrifices
and efforts for alternative solutions for sustainable survival, of some
future fruitful contacts with interesting like-minded peoples for change,
for justice and for alternative solutions, not only for the members
of the organization but also for other poor Filipinos in our community
and region and for the betterment of all humanity in the world.
Thank you for your
great help for the present and for the future.
May we live long
and be successful for the betterment of all!
Eric V. Encina & Reynalda A. Encina
Filipino Alternative Solutions For Sustainable Survival, Inc.
(A small registered NGO of poor Filipino Families For Economic/Monetary
Justice/Reform/Democracy, Organic Food & Herbal Farming & Sustainable
Survival) c/o Lito Alhambra Old House, Homesite, Km2, Brgy. Lawa-an,
PO Box 8, 5800 Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
Tel. No. 0063 36 6216-454
ericencina@yahoo.com or filipino_alternatives@yahoo.com
