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The Guardian of the Guards:

Who do Filipino security guards say that Jesus is?

Th121-J, First Semester, A.Y. 09-10 October 6, 2009 Fr. Randolf C. Flores, SVD Group 2 Alexis Avilla Pamela Chan Lianne Chua Miguel Da Silva Melissa Manay Alfredo Reyes Mikhail Tendero John Wong Edison Yatco

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A. Narrative Account Within the Ateneo and along the busy establishments in Katipunan Avenue, we ventured on

for a one of a kind experience that we’ll surely never forget. They are the personnel responsible for

our security and safety in whichever place we go to. In the Ateneo, we usually avoid them when we

don’t have our ID’s or if we are not in our proper school attire. More often than not, save for some

students, we just ignore them not even exerting a little effort to say hi or make a simple gesture. But

this time around, we needed them, our beloved security guards, and their help not because we wanted

to feel secured but because of something far more meaningful. We wanted to become acquainted

with the New Testament understanding of Christ from the point of view of one of the many faces we

see everyday. Walking under the drizzling rain, the group were in hopes of seeking a better

understanding of how people from other sectors of the society view Jesus Christ. This was a

rewarding opportunity for us given that it did not only allow us to come to a better understanding of

how they perceive Jesus Christ but also gave us a chance to interact with them, know how they go

about their lives, and possibly learn something from it. What we were about to explore is one

approach of doing Christology from below since it deals with the point-of-view of the simple people

in our society.

We interviewed security guards from the Ateneo campus itself as well as in establishments

along the Katipunan Avenue such as banks, restaurants, and condominiums. Security guards have a

very important role in our society. However, most of us, students in particular, take them for granted.

Their job requires them to be on posts and to roam around their respective vicinities all day and

night, rain or shine, to ensure the safety of the people and the establishments. We sometimes see

them alone, standing by themselves on entrances, alert and keen towards people. They never fail to

greet us with a simple “Good morning po Sir, Maam!” while flashing their sincere smiles no matter

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how tired or stressed they are when we pass or enter yet rarely do we see people talk, smile or even

greet them back. And as we pass by them, the smiles in their faces seemingly fade away until the

next person comes. Their faces have become so familiar and encounters with them so routine that

most of us see them almost as if they blend in with the background – or worse, like they are non-

existent.

When they saw us approaching them, it was as if there was a sudden glow of happiness in

their faces. They were delighted to see people stopping by to have a little chat with them, yet

maintaining their usual strictness and alertness. We asked them if they were not busy and if they

could be interviewed. Fortunately for us, they all gladly said yes.

Prior to the interview, we introduced ourselves and told them what the purpose of the

interview was. Then we asked some basic information about them such as their names and ages. We

asked about their religious affiliations, whether they were Christians or not. Of all the security guards

we approached, only one was not a Christian. He was a member of Dating Daan and so he refused to

be interviewed. We asked the permission of the security guards that said yes if they could be

interviewed further about their faith, particularly about how they perceive Jesus Christ and who they

think He is in their lives and to themselves. We initiated a small chat with them to lighten up the

mood such as asking how they are, whether they are happy with their job and the reasons why they

chose their job. According to most of them, they landed in their job not because they wanted to. One

of them even said in Filipino, “Who has ever dreamed to become a security guard?” They had higher

hopes for themselves and dreams that they wanted to fulfil, but because of financial challenges,

educational attainment, and other reasons, they weren’t able to do so. They said that dreams stay as

dreams and nothing more. For now, they said that they should just focus on whatever God has given

them, their family, friends, job, and just be thankful and grateful.

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This allowed us to come to a realization of how blessed and fortunate we are that we are

provided with a lot of opportunities and privileges that enable us to go after our own dreams and

aspirations. According to the security guards, even though their job is not a high-paying one, and

even if it could be very tiring, they are honoured to become security guards because they are able to

function as an important part of the society. After all, what would our society be like without them?

This way, they truly become committed citizens as they are able to serve the society. This helped us

recognize how significant they are in the society and made us realize that they do not deserve the

kind of treatment that we have been giving them. It was really heart-warming for the group since the

guards entertained and welcomed us. Even though none of them knew us prior to the interview, they

openly shared their insights with us which made us feel comfortable with them.

By getting a chance to be acquainted with them, some of the most important simple people of

society that we tend to neglect in our everyday lives, we became more appreciative of their

contributions to society. We came to realize how important these people are since we owe our safety

to them. We also realized how we should appreciate the simplest things in life. For most of us, we

become truly happy if we get what we want such as the latest technology, eating in our favourite

restaurant and such. But for them, the thought of people having a small chat with them made them

feel that people, especially us students, really care about them.

After asking them several personal questions, we proceeded to ask them with the questions

about their faith and Jesus Christ through the questionnaires. The book “Christology of the

Inarticulate” by Fr. Benigno Beltran served as a tool for us to understand their view on Jesus Christ.

By asking them a series of questions, we came to know who Jesus is in their lives. Basically, there

were two kinds of respondents. First were the ones confident in choosing their answers. This was

obvious through the easiness and the speed at which they answered the questions. They also had little

questions and clarifications regarding the questions being asked. This, for us, indicated that these

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respondents had a clear picture of who Jesus Christ is in their lives. This implied to us that they have

a strong faith and belief to their own ideas of Jesus Christ and His role in their lives. The second kind

was the ones puzzled or sometimes hesitant in choosing their answers. It was evident in their

expressions and mannerisms – they were taking time in answering the questions. Some were even

scratching their heads as they thought their answers through. It could be that they fear that they

would choose the wrong answers or that the choices were too similar from each other. Not that we

are saying that they know less compared to the other respondents or that they are less faithful, it was

just that they are only aware of a general idea of Christ. They were probably not able to distinguish

the different images of Christ from that of which they are most familiar with. They must have been

still on their own personal journeys in seeking understanding of who Christ is in their lives according

to their personal faiths.

After they were done answering the questionnaires, we also asked them how they felt

towards the questions. There were mixed reactions; some said it was easy while some said that it was

very confusing. For those who had a hard time answering, we thought that maybe, the different ideas

of Christ presented as choices in the questionnaires were either too similar for the guards that they

didn’t know what the “best” answer was or that they didn’t have an immediate answer relative to

what their views and ideas were.

In general, most of the answers to the questions were varied from one person to the other. It

is clear that Jesus Christ, through different times and contexts, is viewed differently by different

people from different societies. The same could be said with the security guards, as the interviews

and the questionnaires revealed. However, despite the different perspectives of these people on Jesus

Christ and the different images and ideas of Him, who He is in theirs and our lives remains the same.

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When the guards were asked technical questions on Jesus Christ, different images of Him, it

was clear that not all of them were very confident with their answers. However, when we asked them

about their faith in Him, the answers were unanimous. The guards said that in times when they feel

so down and it’s as if there is no more hope, they always turn to Jesus Christ to pray for guidance and

blessings. And it is in their strong faith in Him that all things go well eventually. It was a common

answer from the guards. They might not know fully well the strict Church teachings and the

historical facts on Jesus Christ, but their strong faith surely makes up for it. Their lack of academic

knowledge on Jesus Christ was not a hindrance towards being faithful to Him.

People may have different perceptions of who Christ is in their lives. It isn’t much of an issue

if knowledge about Jesus Christ may sometimes be unclear or uncertain; what really matters is a

strong faith in Him. This does not and should not differ for us, students of theology, security guards,

or anyone for that matter. From this experience, we very much saw how significant Jesus Christ is for

us Christians. Although most of the security guards belong to the social classes C and D, their faith in

God remains strong as they seek refuge in Him. Their faith allows them to cope up with life’s

hardships. Despite the dilemmas they encounter, faith allows them to go on with life and enjoy every

single part of it. It is in their unwavering faith - as incomplete and as limited as our knowledge of

Jesus Christ may be - and ours that we, both as individuals and Christians, are able to go through

even the most difficult of times and still end up victorious against the challenges that life brings us.

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B. Findings Interviewees:

Name Age Gender

1 B.E. Custodio 29 Male 2 Franchesca B. Porras 29 Female 3 Sony Santos 36 Female 4 Orlando S. Dominguez Jr. 51 Male 5 Eduardo Vistal 35 Male 6 Winston J.F. Fernandez 51 Male 7 Josie S. Banhao 39 Female 8 Ruby De Mesa 29 Female 9 JR Santos 36 Male

10 Victoria Abad 41 Female

Answers:

All Q Most %

1 c 60% Redeemer and Savior 2 c 50% Christ Crucified 3 b 40% Lamb of God 4 d 60% Good Teacher 5 d 40% God 6 b 60% Savior 7 a 60% God the Father 8 a 70% God the Father 9 a 50% Bible 10 a 50% Priests 11 c 80% Church 12 a 80% Mass 13 c 60% Fast and Abstinence 14 a 90% Going to Mass 15 c 40% Begotten 16 a 60% Image

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Male Q Most %

1 c 80% Redeemer and Savior 2 c 60% Christ Crucified 3 b 60% Lamb of God 4 d 40% Good Teacher 5 c 60% Savior 6 d 40% Messiah 7 a 80% God the Father 8 a 60% God the Father 9 a 40% Bible 10 a 60% Priests 11 c 80% Church 12 a 80% Mass 13 c 80% Fast and Abstinence 14 a 80% Going to Mass 15 c 60% Begotten 16 b 60% Word

Female Q Most %

1 A 60% King and Lord 2 B 60% Jesus of Nazareth 3 A 60% Sacred Heart 4 D 80% Good Teacher 5 D 80% God 6 B 80% Savior 7 C 60% God the Holy Spirit 8 A 80% God the Father 9 A 60% Bible 10 D 40% Parents 11 c 80% Church 12 a 80% Mass 13 a 40% Self-sacrifice 14 a 100% Going to Mass 15 a 40% Conceived 16 a 80% Image

All Ages 29-36 Q Most %

1 c 67% Redeemer and Savior 2 c 50% Christ Crucified 3 b 50% Lamb of God 4 d 50% Good Teacher 5 b 33% Lord 6 b 67% Savior 7 a 67% God the Father 8 a 50% God the Father 9 a 50% Bible 10 a 50% Priests 11 c 83% Church 12 a 67% Mass 13 c 50% Fast and Abstinence 14 a 100% Going to Mass 15 a 33% Conceived

16 a 50% Image

All Ages 37-51 Q Most %

1 c 50% Redeemer and Savior 2 c 50% Christ Crucified 3 c 50% Good Shepherd 4 d 75% Good Teacher 5 c 50% Savior 6 b 50% Savior 7 a 50% God the Father 8 a 100% God the Father 9 a 50% Bible 10 a 50% Priests 11 c 75% Church 12 a 100% Mass 13 c 75% Fast and Abstinence 14 a 75% Going to Mass 15 c 75% Begotten

16 a 75% Image

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C. Analysis of the Findings Our interview covered 10 security guards, 5 female and 5 male, within the age bracket of 29

– 51. With the exception of question 14, which showed a clear majority of 90%, the majority answer

was determined by a percentage of close to half of the respondents, ranging from either 40 – 60%.

We found that most of the questions’ majority answers are consistent with all age and gender groups

– if ever there are slight variations to a particular group, their answer is at the least, similar to the

majority answer. Consolidating all our answers, we can derive a general pattern of security guards’

perception and interpretation of Christ. The survey’s questions can be grouped together, and analyzed

in the following manner:

First, it is most important to characterize security guards in general – (a) in terms of social

class, they generally fall under the lower brackets of income, and (b) in terms of profession, and the

job requires a lot of time, as well as patience and loyalty. From these, we can draw interpretations of

Christ as seen from the following groups of questions:

Questions 2 – 3 deal with visual images of Christ, according to security guards. When it

comes to pictures and symbols of Christ, they see the humble Christ – the suffering Hesus Nazareno,

and the obedient Lamb of God. Images are particularly close to constant exposure, and we can notice

that these guards are deeply rooted in tradition. We find this consistent with the traditional notion of

Jesus to the Filipinos –humble and accepting towards suffering, the same way we are as a nation,

especially with the Spanish evangelization (wherein Christianity was also used as a tool to prevent us

from revolting because of suffering). These humbling images can also be consistent with their

profession, which more than being blue collar jobs, demand the same humility in the form of patient,

selfless service.

Questions 1, 4, and 6 deal with the notions that come with the word “Christ.” The general

theme of the answers revolves around Jesus as a Saviour or Redeemer. This is still strongly related to

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the theme of humility – these people recognize themselves in a state of hardship and/or poverty.

However, if the previous questions deal with images of Christ at the exterior, the interior of Christ

(which comes with connotations of the name, not the image) is that of a Saviour of hope. Christ is,

then, a God-sent Redeemer with the exterior of a relatable human.

Christ being the human Christ is especially delineated in Questions 7 – 8 and 15 – 16, where

Christ is differentiated from God the Father. For security guards, there is a distinct difference

between the two – the Father is the authoritative Lord and Master, where the son is the Image of God

the Father, more specifically the human image, which they can identify with.

Questions 9 – 12 branch out into the origins of the knowledge of Christ. We find that most

knowledge of Christ for security guards come through Church services – through mass, through the

Bible (indirectly, through mass where the bible is read), and through priests (the celebrants of the

mass). They do not attain religious knowledge through objective, classroom-based methods, nor

through modern methods such as media. We think that by nature of their profession (which demands

a lot of time), the only source of information is the Sunday mass, which they embrace fully. In a

traditional sense, the Church is then held to a particularly high regard.

Finally, practical preferences reinforce the already mentioned conclusion of traditionalism,

through questions 13 and 14. Out of all practices, these people are drawn to the Holy Mass and Fast

and Abstinence. Compared to the other choices, these are the most traditional in the sense that they

are obligatory, and endorsed by the Church as official.

Who do security guards say Jesus is? To them, Jesus is part of their everyday lives. Every

day, they struggle through their profession to make a living. Every day, they live in hope of Christ,

their Redeemer – the Redeemer who works by example, teaching them to live in patience and

humility. Because they live in hope, they embrace the Church, its tradition, and Jesus himself.

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D. Appendix Table of the interviewees and their answers.

Name Age Gender 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1 B.E. Custodio 29 Male c c b Panginoon b d c c a a c a Alay Lakad a d a 2 Franchesca B. Porras 29 Female a c b d d b a c a d c a a a f c 3 Sony Santos 36 Female c b a d d b a a a a c a Wala pa a a a 4 Orlando S. Dominguez Jr. 51 Male c e b d c b a a a a c a c e c b 5 Eduardo Vistal 35 Male c b a a b b a a b a c c c a b b 6 Winston J.F. Fernandez 51 Male c c c d c d a a b b c a c a c a 7 Josie S. Banhao 39 Female a c c d d d c a a a c a c a b a 8 Ruby De Mesa 29 Female c b a d c b c a d d c d c a a a 9 JR Santos 36 Male b c b c c a a b d c b a c a c b

10 Victoria Abad 41 Female a b a c d b c a b c b a a a c a