ABOUT THE PHILIPPINE BIBLE SOCIETY

The Cebuano Old Testament was completed and published separately from the New Testament.

During these years, the American Bible Society gradually increased its shipment of Scriptures abroad. As a consequence, one package of Spanish Scriptures was sent to the Philippines by a gentleman engaged in the South American trade.

In 1834, the King of Spain declared Manila as an open port in order to boost the local economy by wooing in foreign investors. Almost immediately there was a marked increase in commercial activity on the island. It was during this period that a number of multinational businesses were opened in Manila, including an American firm owned by a committed Presbyterian, Mr. D. Olyphant, through which the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) successfully distributed a considerable number of Bibles in 1838. Again in 1853, BFBS sold about a thousand Spanish Bibles through the same firm.

John Heinrich Haff enden, an Amsterdam-based trader of German descent (and later an agent of BFBS in Singapore), got through the Philippines with a number of Bibles by tearing off the cover and the front pages of these Bibles, so that Philippine customs would not interfere with their shipping.

A quantity of Spanish Scriptures was successfully brought into the Philippines by three separate sea captains. One ship went to Iloilo, where workers and government officials gladly received the Book. At another island port, the second captain managed to send a package of Spanish testaments to soldiers of a garrison who received them with gratitude. The third captain had a nostalgic experience, testifying that he only felt relieved after the people had received the Testaments that he secretly transported into the country.

Rev. Fr. Manrique Alonso Lallave translates the Gospel of Luke to the Pangasinan language

Under the auspices of BFBS, Filipino expatriates in Spain were commissioned to translate the Bible into the major Philippine languages using the then modern Spanish Bible as a model. Don Pascual Poblete—a renowned poet—translated the Synoptic Gospels and Acts into Tagalog. Don Cayetano Lukban—a lawyer by profession—translated the Gospel of Luke into Bicolano, while the Gospel of Luke and Acts were translated into Ilocano by a labor leader and journalist, Don Isabelo de los Reyes. All these patriotic ilustrados were formerly incarcerated in Spanish colonies outside of the Philippines, due to their outspoken criticism of the Spanish excesses. These Philippine…

August 13, 1898—This date was momentous in many respects because Bible reading was no longer restricted, thus prompting the official start of Bible Society work in the country. This also enabled Protestant missionaries to openly distribute Bibles in Spanish, English, and major local languages, including the early translations by Lallave, Poblete, Lukban, and de los Reyes.

On September 6, or three weeks after the surrender of the Spanish forces to the Americans, Charles B. Randall, a Singapore-based BFBS representative, arrived in Manila to commence the work of Scripture distribution under the umbrella of BFBS. Randall brought along with him Spanish Bibles and the Lallave Pangasinan Scripture portions as well as Gospels and Acts portions earlier translated into Tagalog, Bicolano, and Ilocano. The BFBS work in the Philippines was combined with the Indo-China in the North Malaysian Agency, so that there was no BFBS Philippine Agency as such established.

ABS’s agent in China, Dr. John Hykes, made a trip to the Philippines on September 23, 1898 to determine the prospects of opening up an agency in Manila. His report gave a graphic survey of the social and religious conditions in the country and was circulated widely throughout the United States. His report paved the way for the commissioning of Rev. Jay Goodrich, a Methodist minister, to serve as ABS’s Manila office agent. Goodrich arrived in the Philippines on November 26, 1899— a date that will be remembered as the beginnings of official Bible Society work in the Philippines.

On November 30, 1899, four days after his arrival, Goodrich set up an ABS Bible depot in Manila, thus, signaling the formal start of ABS’s Scripture programs in the Philippines. Eventually, this ABS Bible depot would be located in the Y.M.C.A. building at the intersection of Calle Real and Calle Arroceria inside the walled city of Intramuros—the general structure of which remains to this day.

In 1901, the Tagalog Bagong Tipan, integrating the earlier drafts of Poblete, was completed and published by BFBS.

In 1908, BFBS published the Gospel of Mark in Bontoc, translated by Walter Clapp and J.C. MacKenzie, in partnership with the Protestant Episcopal Mission.

In 1909, after eight years in the making, the Ilocano Ti Santa Biblia was published. It came to be known as the “Union Version” owing to the interdenominational composition of the translation team (i.e., United Brethren, United Methodists, Disciples, and other groups).

The Ibanag New Testament was completed and subsequently published in Manila by BFBS

The Old Testament in Hiligaynon was completed but was published separately from the New Testament, in partnership with the Baptist Mission.

In 1912 and 1913, BFBS acquired and opened with great enthusiasm a Bible depot with a warehouse and residence at No. 636 Isaac Peral Street, Manila (now 890 United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila). This would later become the site of the Philippine Bible Society, serving as the main base of operation for all translation, production, distribution, and promotion works of the Holy Scriptures. Previous “houses” of the Bible Society include the Y.M.C.A. in Intramuros and a house along 503 Rizal Avenue, among others.

The Bicolano Bible was published, in partnership with the Presbyterian Mission.

The whole Bible in Pangasinan came into existence, in partnership largely with the Methodist Mission. That same year, ABS also published the Gospel of Luke in Kiangan, a dialect of Ifugao.

The Pampango Ing Biblia was published. That same year, the Cebuano Old Testament was completed and published separately from the New Testament.

Good leadership and cooperation are keys to the strong foundation of any organization. In 1919, by mutual agreement of the two Societies’ governing bodies, the ABS became wholly responsible for the work in the Philippines, at the same time relinquishing its interests in Korea in favor of BFBS. Such arrangement was arrived at in the interest of maximum efficiency and economy of Bible work. The ABS Philippine Agency established thereafter has since been known as the Philippine Bible House (PBH)—the precursor of the Philippine Bible Society. Thus ended twenty-one years of BFBS work in the Philippines. By the grace of…

At fi rst, all modes of Scripture distribution were carried out through kariton (carabao-drawn carriages). However, in 1922, PBH acquired a second-hand truck to transport Scripture materials up and down Luzon, visiting fiestas and tiendas to promote the reading of the Bible.

A major earthquake hit Japan in September 1923, destroying platemolds and paper stocks for the printing of Philippine translations. This prompted the PBH leadership to put in place innovations for printing Bibles locally, affording the Bible Society to print more Scriptures with the funds and time saved.

In 1928, the New Testament in the Waray Language became available, thus completing New Testament translations in major languages.

In 1931, PBH acquired a new truck equipped with phonograph and amplifier, used for public promotion of the Bible in the barangays.

Dedicated local colporteurs or Bible distribution agents ensured that God’s Word was brought to eager Filipino readers. Reports told of colporteurs who risked their lives—facing diseases, natural disasters and even goons—enduring everything to bring the Scriptures to remote places in the country.

Business is difficult in Japanese-controlled Philippines, but selling of the Holy Scriptures is not prohibited.  The Japanese authorities takes over the Bible House.

After the war, repairs needed to be made at the Bible House. It was later found out that the Revised Hiligaynon Old Testament was destroyed and needed to be reworked all over again, which could only be done with God’s grace and provision.

The United Bible Societies (UBS), the fellowship of national Bible societies, is born in Elfinsward, England.  By virtue of its American association, Philippine Bible House becomes an affiliate member.

Dynamic Equivalence, the reproduction in the receptor language of the closest natural equivalent of the source language, is established by world-renowned linguist and Bible Scholar, Dr. Eugene Nida.

This was accomplished through the Advisory Council of the Bible House— a think-tank group consisting of representatives from 32 churches—formed by then ABS Manila agent William H. Fonger. This initiative eventually led to the full autonomy of the Bible House. Consequently, Rev. Angel B. Taglucop became the first Filipino General Secretary of the PBH.

In 1962, PBH published the Gospel of John in the Banaue dialect of Ifugao, in partnership with the Far Eastern Gospel Crusade and the Summer Institute of Linguistics. In 1963, PBH also published the Gospel of John and the Book of Acts in Bolinao, continuing the legacy of minor language translations.

The Second Vatican Council (October 11, 1962 to Decem- ber 8, 1965) paved the way for a more active partnership be- tween the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian church- es and organizations. Specifically, one of the most important documents that came out of this historic gathering of Catholic leaders around the world was a document entitled Dei Verbum: Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, which was prom- ulgated by Pope Paul VI in November 18, 1965. Paragraph 22, Chapter Six, of this document promulgates: “Easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful. That is why…

The Philippine Bible House became the Philippine Bible Society after its incorporation on March 3, 1966. This phase was more than just gaining independence from the American Bible Society; it signified PBS’s maturity—PBS had reached the point of being able to take care of its own Bible work in terms of leadership and governance. At the time, Bible distribution was also ever increasing.

This meant that PBS would continue to receive support and training in the areas of Scripture translation and tech- nological advances, enabling it to meet the growing local demands for Scriptures. Filipino scholars were also equipped, gearing towards full responsibility of local translation work.

On February 14, 1967, the repre sentative of the local Roman Catholic leadership approached PBS requesting permission to use existing Bible Society translations. Knowing the inadequacy of their old texts for the contemporary young people, PBS leaders proposed a cooperative venture to produce Bibles in contemporary languages that could be used by both Protestants and Catholics, hence, interconfessional. Further talks led ultimately to the organization in May 1968 of five major language Bible translation projects in Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilokano and Tagalog. Subsequently, three other NT projects (Pampango, Pangasinan, and Samarenyo) also commenced. These interconfessional projects were new translations of…

The increasing demand for translation initiatives in the major and minor languages, locally and globally, neces- sitated the recruitment of additional Translation Officers. Having completed his doctoral studies, Dr. Daniel Arichea, Jr. was recommended by PBS leadership and eventually was appointed as a UBS Translation Consultant, not only for PBS, but for other translation projects abroad as well.

In response to the need for new translations, PBS formed translation committees consisting of carefully selected translators and Bible scholars from the Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches. Together they worked, guided by the Guiding Principles for Interconfessional Cooperation in Translating the Bible agreed upon by the United Bible Societies and the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. Since then, Protestants and Catholics have come together in pursuit of the Bible cause.

PBS is expelled from the global UBS fellowship, faced financial crisis, and for a time, is unable to fulfil the reason for its existence: distribute Bibles.  Dr. Ricardo Jumawan comes on board and leads the rehabilitation of PBS.

This decade was marked with the completion of the Interconfessional Bible translations, either the whole Bible or the New Testament. First to be completed and subsequently published was the Tagalog Magandang Balita Biblia and the rest followed thereafter. More Filipinos start to read the much easier-to-understand yet faithful translations of the Holy Scriptures.

The Pampango Ing Bayung Tipan at Ding Dalit (New Testament with Psalms), Catholic edition, is introduced to the public at the Cathedral of the Assumption in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Pres. Ferdinand Marcos signs the Presidential Proclamation No. 2242, declaring the last week of November as National Bible Week.

Reports of an increase in the number of Bible study groups, as a result of widespread Bible distribution, reached the Bible Society. During the 50th Founding Anniversary of the Bible Society, Rev. W.H. Fonger reported to the membership that since its formal beginnings in 1899, the Society has already distributed a combined total of 4,294,478 copies of the Bible and the New Testament. In 1984 alone, 25,810 copies of the Bible were distributed, the largest in its history at the time.

On October 1, 1985, Dr. Medarlo B. Rivera, an engineer by profession, became General Secretary of PBS, succeeding Dr. Jumawan. Under Dr. Rivera’s leadership, PBS continued to respond to the Scripture requirements of the churches in the Philippines, in whatever format people would appreciate.

In 1985, PBS launched a Bible week stamp, showing an open Bible and the words of Matthew 22:37-39.

Pres. Cory Aquino supports the Bible Cause by signing the Presidential Proclamation No. 44, assigning the last week of January as the National Bible Week celebration and the last Sunday as National Bible Sunday.

Rev. Dr. Cirilo Rigos is elected as General Secretary of the UBS, the first Asian to have held the position.  In the same year, Dr. Anicia H. Del Corro is appointed as a UBS Translation Consultant, making her the first ever translation officer in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 1988, Dr. Anicia del Corro was appointed as a UBS Translation Consultant, making her the first-ever female UBS Translation Officer in the region.

The distribution of Bibles steadily increased from 170,000 in 1981 to 414,781 in 1989.

With the development of technology came new ways of presenting the Scriptures. PBS produced and distributed Scriptures in multimedia formats such as tapes (Faith Comes By Hearing), videos, diglot formats, etc.

PBS becomes a self-supporting Bible Society, able to contribute to the global fellowship in terms of financial support, leadership, and expertise.

Pres. Fidel Ramos signs the Presidential Proclamation No. 1067 recognizing the Bible as “an excellent source of life-giving principles to develop a value-oriented, morally strong, and socially responsible citizenry.”

In November 1999, PBS celebrated its centennial, marking the 100 years of formal Bible work in the Philippines. A series of activities had conducted including the campus lectures of Dr. Eugene Nida, who had seen the simple beginnings and eventual growth of PBS.

The country faced many challenges during this period, including economic and political instability, and insurgency. The Philippine peso value dropped several times, yet the Bible Society unwaveringly continued to deliver the Scriptures needed by the people, even the highly subsidized Scripture editions such as the Ang Pangako Bibles.

PBS established new ties and strengthened existing ones with the government and private agencies, which opened opportunities to reach the masses with God’s Word through programs such as the Ilaw sa Tahanan. In 2002-2003, about 20,000 families were blessed with a copy of the Ilaw sa Tahanan family Bible. PBS also focused on producing Scriptures relevant to the needs of people, printing Scriptures targeting specific audiences—prison inmates (Paano na ang Bukas Ko?), children-at-risk (Joseph comics), drivers (Huli Ka!), the youth, etc—in cooperation with partner agencies and the UBS through Opportunity 21

A special Bible edition specifically designed to cater to the needs of pastors was launched in 2002 to help ministers build up their resources in terms of fulfilling better their ministerial functions.

She was elected as Chairman of the UBS Global Board from 2009-2011, making her the first Asian woman to hold the position.

Technological development has proven to be an ally in terms of Scripture presentation. In a fast-changing world, God’s Word must be in step with technological advances so as not to be swallowed by emerging forms of media. Thus, PBS made the Bible available on the Web for people who prefer to read the Bible the “modern way”. PBS also launched the first-ever electronic Bible (Filipino E-Bible), featuring 20 translations of English and local languages, all in one CD. Other electronic projects are being undertaken to continue to meet the Scripture needs of our growing population, marked with electronic sophistication.

In 2001, PBS launched the revised edition of the 1905 Tagalog Ang Biblia. Subsequently, in 2005, the revision of the Magandang Balita Biblia of 1980 was also launched. These were done in order to make the Word of God speak afresh to new generations and to account for the changes that have come to the Tagalog language brought about by extensive and rapid contact with other non-Filipino languages.

On October 11, 2006, the PBS Board of Trustees led the dedication of the first-ever Bible Society branch office, known as RABO, outside the island of Luzon. The dedication of the PBS Cebu-RABO testifies to the continuing desire of the Bible Society to bring the Word of God closer to the people. PBS Bible depots are also now in place in Mabalacat, Pampanga and Cagayan de Oro City.

PBS fulfils its dream of having a BibleHouse constructed in its permanent location at 890 United Nations Avenue, Manila.  Also, the first Bible Society branch office, RABO, is launched in Cebu City.

In yet another show of committed partnership between the PBS, the Catholic Church, and the Protestant Christians, the May They Be One Project was launched in September 2009, aimed at accentuating the Filipino consciousness of our need for national transformation, by distributing five million (5,000,000) copies of the Bible to poor Filipino families.

To serve specialized segment of the Filipino society, PBS also launched audience-specific translation projects. The Greek-Tagalog Interlinear New Testament Project was launched to help in enhancing Filipino biblical scholarship. On the other hand, the Pinoy Version, was undertaken as PBS’s offering for the Filipino youth whose language preference for a Bible version has become a challenge— the Pinoy Version would certainly bring them closer to God as they would realize that God can also speak their language. For those who prefer a more literary- liturgical translation, the Filipino Standard Version is PBS’s response.

In response to the growing need for people to get the opportunity to encounter God’s Word even in non-traditional avenues, PBS has been progressively intensifying its distribution efforts not only in church-related events but also in malls, in bank offices, in social events, in international events such as the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), and other events where the people are!

In the aftermath of the strongest typhoon ever recorded in human history, PBS launched its own disaster-response initiative—the God is our Shelter Program, not only providing immediate physical relief support to Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) victims but more importantly giving them much needed hope and encouragement that spring only from the Word of God. This program has been implemented through the active partnership of local and international friends of the Bible Society. To date, PBS has freely distributed 1.6 million copies of the Bible under this program.

As a way of enhancing our support to churches, Bible seminars are being held around the country to equip church leaders and members alike to become more confident in using their Bibles. What used to be called as Bible Translation Seminars (BTS) have now expanded to include other specialized topics underscoring the relevance of the Bible even in our contemporary time and context. Hence, this service offering is now known as Bible Relevance in Modern Times Seminars (BRIMS).

Since its founding more than a century ago, PBS has committed itself to translating the Word of God into the language people understand and appreciate, that is, their heart language. Historically, PBS initiated and helped initiate translations of the NT into the minor languages. While it may be true that PBS has, through the years, put its major effort on the eight major Filipino languages, it has never abandoned its commitment to the minor languages. In fact, the dawn of the new millennium highlights this renewed commitment by PBS’s partnership with the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), the Translators Association…

As the early Christians took advantage of technological advances to broaden their platform of propagating the message of the Bible, so did the Bible society. PBS continues to take on the challenge of “converting” the Word of God into different modern platforms so that people who frequent cyberspace would also have the opportunity to hear the Word of God in their own backyard, so to speak. As such, PBS, in partnership with UBS and other national Bible Societies, contributes and shares in seeking ways to put the Bible in various digital formats.

Rev. Jay Goodrich, a Methodist minister, to serve as ABS’s Manila office agent. Goodrich arrived in the Philippines on November 26, 1899— a date that will be remembered as the beginnings of official Bible Society work in the Philippines.