Father Tropa and his Spaceship2000

I bet you heard about Tropa and his famous Spaceship2000? I'd visited the headquarters of the Lamplighters, the group Father Tropa created. 

(Many thanks to Jun Vergara and the late sis Doming for their hospitality.)

Here's an info about Father Tropa I'd submitted to wikipedia (but was deleted for lack of nobility).

Biography
Father Eleuterio J. Tropa(date of birth unknown, died in 1993) was a former Filipino priest, conservationist, modern philosopher, scientist and environmentalist. He was the international founder and president of The Lamplighter, World Peace Mission now SpaceShip 2000 in LongBeach California, USA in 1947.

Tropa also served as the general director of Cebu Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Cebu City, Philippines.
He led a very simple life with only the basic amenities with hardly ever a room for luxuries. His members are spread throughout the Philippines but the main headquarters is located in Sanglan, Negros Oriental. He was also buried there.

When Father Tropa died in the year 1993, all of his personal effects and memorabilia became added an element of interest in the zoo. Also preserved are stuffed wild animals that are larger than life. The zoo has a small shop where you can find handmade odds and ends that make for souvenir items. At present, the surviving relatives of Father Tropa have taken on the operations of the zoo and have continued to uphold the legacy that he has left behind.




Preamble of The Lamplighter
During gatherings, the members of The Lamplighter recite this preamble:

For Humanity and World we bind ourselves for the ultimate Salvation of Mankind in preparing a better and peaceful; life for our children; to devote our life through service and sacrifice in propagating the messages of Goodwill, Unity, and Peace for all men regardless of Religion, Creed, Race or Nationality; and to uphold natural and simple life; to reawaken and enlighten the morals of men towards spiritual and human brotherhood; that the real love to God is to Love Humanity through service, that such love not only belongs to one but belongs to all, to uphold the world as our true home, the earth our Mother and all men being the children are brothers; that HARMONY is the LAW of life; and all things and life looks toward the same sublime life of light, truth and peace; to act in the example of good and righteous; that we do to ourselves what we do to the others; to forgive those who have done anything wrong for they know not what they do and the last Hope of Humanity lies in this:" UNITED WE SURVIVE DIVIDED WE PERISH.

Philosophy
There is a little book which compiled the original concepts and modern philosphies of life.

Some of Tropa's original philosophies are:

Go on living. Loving and serving your fellowmen selflessly, without expecting any reward, and without malice or bad intent, then you have found the true eternal fountain of youth.

Love is pace. Understanding is order, order is harmony, harmony is freedom, freedom is peace, peace is happiness and this is love, love for all.

Zoo Paradise of the World
Tropa was always in this bohemian outfit and he carried this huge boa around his neck. He would roam around the zoo and ask the kids to touch the snake because according to him: “Snakes are gentle creatures.” He would also tell guests some random trivia about the animals in the zoo.

Father Tropa was also a staunch believer in the healing properties of nature such that he and his members concocted herbal medicines to treat whatever ailments they suffered from. The Zoo Paradise of the World was his personal mission. It is a unique manifestation of the life that he had chosen to live – one that was far from civilization.

The Zoo Paradise of the world is situated in Barangay Salngan in the town of Zamboangita, Negros Oriental. It was spearheaded by the late Eleuterio Tropa, a former Catholic priest who formed his own religious sect cum environmentalist group who called themselves “The Lamplighters”.

The mission and motto of their organization is to “love one another and love nature”. All members were once required to don black shirts paired with red and green striped pants. Cutting of hair was prohibited for both men and women and nobody was allowed to wear slippers. They all actually walked around barefoot even when they visited the city, catching the attention of many.

The zoo, also called Spaceship 2000 ET is an extensive ipil-ipil forested area enclosed by a perimeter fence. Inside you can find birds of varied species and zoo animals such as a snake, a tiger, crocodile and some monkeys. Members of the sect walk around freely to feed and pet the animals.