Feature: The Moncadistas

CEBU, Philippines - The male members have long hair and flowing beards. But they are not rock stars, they are the Moncadistas.

The Moncadistas are followers of Dr. Hilario Camino Moncado, who established the religious sect Filipino Crusaders World Army (FCWA) in the 1930s and called himself its commander-in-chief. There were reportedly millions who believed in the supernatural powers of Moncado that the latter had established several headquarters all over the Philippines. Today, while the claimants fight for the properties of Moncado, the remaining followers, scattered in small groups all over the country, are guarding what is left of the legacy of their "Supreme Master," tangible or not, including the long-hair, long-beard rule.

"Unsa may katarungan nato nga mosunod ta ni Kristo kung wa tay bungot?" reasoned Valentin Gabutiro. Valentin is one of the seven members of the board of directors of the Moncadistas in Barangay Sudlon 2, Cebu City. In an interview with The Freeman, Valentin fondly recalled with great pride the basic teachings of Moncado, which, he said, he has followed since he joined the group. He said Moncado only wanted them to abide by these rules: "1) You should not cut your hair; 2) You should not hurt your fellow; 3) You should not eat meat." The main purpose of these rules is to live harmoniously with one another, he said. Now 99 years old and with hearing problems, Valentin said he owes his long life to these simple rules. The old male Moncadistas are sporting the same long hair and long beard like Valentin's. If you are looking for the Moncadistas, a local would tell you that you're in their area if you see old, long-bearded men.

 Moncado's followers also don't eat meat from animals with legs, as according to Valentin, the Bible says "we should not kill," and this law should also cover the animals. Instead, the Moncadistas thrive on leafy products from their gardens and fish, fresh or canned. They also don't eat food with salt or any seasoning. "We also don't drink (alcoholic beverages) or smoke (cigarettes)," Valentin added. By "we," Valentin was referring to himself and a few of the older Moncadistas who still live by their old laws. The younger generation is supposed to adhere to this law, too, like the older Moncadistas, but he said, the younger ones preferred to set aside Moncado's words and embraced the modern world.

 Valentin admitted they are now tagged by outsiders as "Bungkadistas," a pun of the Cebuano word "bungkag" which means defunct. "Basta giingnan na na sila unsay maayo. Kung dili sila mosunod, naa ra na nila," he said.

 It was Five-Star General Federico Jayme who founded the Forces in the World Philippine-American Guerillas (FWPAG), a sub-group of Moncado's FCWA, and declared himself as its supreme commander-in-chief. According to history, Jayme and his group arrived in Sudlon 2 to establish their headquarters there upon the blessing of his Master Moncado, said to be a Cebuano by birth, being born in Balamban town.

 Despite its location, a hilly and remote part of the village which can be reached by a 50-minute habal-habal ride, thousands visited their headquarters in the early days, said Ester Ladraso. Ester, 66 and a Moncadista when she was still very young, said with the number of visitors that came to their place during its heydays, they erected a three-story hotel in 1966 to accommodate them. But times have changed since then, from a once packed establishment, the Moncado Hotel today is already dilapidated and rickety and seldom has guests that outsiders now dub it as "haunted hotel" allegedly because of the ghosts, which are said to inhabit the place. The abandoned wooden two-story house of Gen. Jayme and the ruins of an old meeting place in the compound add to the eeriness of the place.

 Gen. Jayme died in one of the rooms of the hotel, where he took residency years before his death in 1976; and then his wife Magdalena in 2009. Their bodies were entombed one after the other in a burial place built just for them at the top of the hill overlooking the hotel. Arcenio Baldado, a Moncadista who took The Freeman special report team to the site, said that during Gen. Jayme's first death anniversary and a few years that followed, his family would open his casket to view his body. Baldado said the General's body, which was reportedly wrapped with bandages, had dried up but showed no signs of decomposition. His nose, chin, and skin, albeit dried, were still reportedly intact, he said. The procedure was, however, stopped by family members for fear of exposing the body to bacteria. Visitors, who come to the place, can still see a portion of the caskets of the couple from the concrete tomb's clear glass cover. Baldado, who is the tombs' caretaker, said they regularly visit this site, to clean it up and light candles for the couple.

 Like Moncado, his protégé, Gen. Jayme, reportedly had healing powers, too. Ester said they believe in God, but they also pray to the General and their Master Moncado for good health, food on their table, and guidance, among others. She denied they use "anting-anting" (amulet) for protection.

 In honor of the two leaders, the Moncadistas in Sudlon 2 built life-size statues of them inside the hotel compound, just across the dried-up swimming pool. Moncado's statue is holding a light bulb in his left hand, and a faucet in the other. In the early years, Baldado said the faucet had flowing water sourced from the spring at the hill (about 30 steps down from where Gen. Jayme's body would later be entombed). The water from the well reportedly had healing powers, which attracted many visitors who would line up in front of Moncado's statue just to get their share of the liquid. But for some reason the water in the well had run dry, Moncado's charm no longer worked, and people had altogether stopped coming to the place, said Baldado.

 Today, the Sudlon 2 Moncaditas (there are also Moncadistas in Mindanao like in Davao City; also in Asturias, Cebu and in some parts of America) are run by the four children of Gen. Jayme with Henry Jayme as their president. Not like their parents who devoted most of their lives at the headquarters, Henry and his three siblings (one is living in America) come to the place when they have important matters to attend to. Henry lives in Barangay Pardo, Cebu City, while the rest in some parts of Cebu where the Moncadistas have properties and business holdings.

 As the only hotel in the village is slowly crumbling, so is the number of Moncado's followers. Ester said there used to be thousands of them in Sudlon 2 alone, but today, there are only hundreds of them, as some have gone to the city proper or someplace far to work, while others have migrated abroad. The Moncadistas' headquarters sit on a 75-hectare property, where the followers have built their houses, leased by the organization from the Department of Agriculture. Here, the Moncadista traditions are still practiced, prayers are still said. But unlike decades ago during its prime, like the mammoth hotel and empty swimming pool, the only sound that is heard in the compound is the occasional chirping of the crickets and the rustles of the dried leaves nearby.-/QSB  (FREEMAN)