UGAT, May to December 2015

UGAT | May-December 2015

Awa at kalingaAwa at kalinga sa mga dukhasa mga dukha

UGATUGAT The official publication of Inter-Congregational Theological Center

Vol 1 | May-December 2015

UGAT | May-December 2015 2

Editor-in-chief

Mark Gil Yongco, OFM

Associate Editor

Joiezl Fern Piñon, OCarm

Page Design

Ritche Salgado, OCarm

Cover Art

Fred Antonio, OFM

The official publication of Inter-Congregational Theological Center

UGATUGAT Vol 1 | May-December 2015

EDITORIAL STAFF

Adviser

Rev. Fr. Marlon Lacal, OCarm

Rev. Fr. Reu Jose Galoy, OFM

Contributors

Dominic Ekengwu, SRC

Marlon Hegina, SRC

Angel Ace Cortez, OFM

Marvin Diongzon, OCarm

Vinson Luayon, OCarm

Joiezl Fern Piñon , OCarm

Mark Gil Yongco, OFM

Ritche T. Salgado, OCarm,

Pagbibigay Saysay sa

Larawan

Ang larawan na ito ay

sumisimbulo sa karanasan

ng mga Teologo sa unang

taon ng ICTC sa kanilang

pakikibabad sa institusyon

ng mga Bilanggo sa

Bilibid , Mga natatanging

bata ng Guanella, mga

nakakatanda sa Mission-

ary of Charity, at mga bata

sa Bahay at Yaman ni San

Martin sa Bustos Bulacan.

For comments, UGAT can be reached through Inter-Congregational Theologi-cal Center, Titus Brandsma Center, #24 Acacia St., Brgy. Mariana, New Manila, Quezon City. www.facebook.com/daluyan.ictc.


T unay na ang awa at

kalinga ng Diyos pa-

ra sa lahat ay buhay!

Hindi makakalimutan

ng mga Filipino ang nata-

tanging pagdalaw ng Santo

P a p a

Francis-

co sa ating

bansa noong

nakaraang

Enero 2015.

Patotoo di-

yan ang ha-

los anim na

milyong Pil-

ipino na

nakiisa sa

k a n y a n g

huling Misa

sa Luneta.

A n g

k a n y a n g

pagbisita sa

ating bansa

a y

nagpapahiwatig ng Awa at

Kalinga ng Diyos para sa mga

dukha lalo’t higit ang mga na-

salanta ng nagkaraang

kalamidad sa ating bansa.

Napapanahon din na

AWA AT KALINGA

SA MGA DUKHA

ang Tema ng UGAT para sa

edisyong ito na nakatuon sa

Awa at Kalinga sa mga Dukha.

Sa Disyembre 8, 2015, bu-

buksan ang lahat ng pinto ng

katedral, parokya at kapilya

ng simbahan upang ipahiwatig

ang pag-

b u b u k a s

ng nata-

t a n g i n g

taon ng

Awa. Si

Hesukristo

ang mukha

ng awa ng

D i y o s

Ama. Ang

Awa ay

nasilayan,

nasumpun-

gan at nag-

ing maka-

totohanan

kay Hesus

na taga

n a z a r e t

(Misericordiae Vultus #1).

AWA AT KALINGA –

dalawang salita na malalim

ang pagpapakahulugan. Ang

Ang ating institusyon sa ICTC ay patuloy na

tumutugon sa panawagan ng pagbabahagi at

pagsasabuhay ng Awa at Kalinga para

sa lahat ng sannilikha

(Turn to page 23 )

REV. FR. MARLON LACAL, O.CARM.

ICTC School Director

‘


P agpapala ng Diyos

ay sumaatin Lagi!

Mula noong ako ay

nasa unang antas pa lamang

ng pagaaral ng teyolohiya

hangang sa kasalukuyan hindi

mawaglit sa aking isip kung

bakit karamihan ng komuni-

dad at pamilya na ating kina-

pamuhayan ay mga dukha.

Ang mga dukha na siyang lagi

kalakbay sa bawat oras at ar-

aw sa loob ng isang buwan ka-

da semester. Ayon sa National

Statistics Office para sa taong

2012 sa mga lugar na agrikul-

tural labas ng National Capi-

tal Region P395.63 ang kita ng

nasa poverty line para sa

isang pamilya ng anim at sa

m g a d i - a g r i k u l t u r a l a y

P416.25. . Tina-tayang 71.9%

ang mga pamilyang nabu-

buhay sa ilalim ng tinata-

t a w a g n a p o v e r t y l i n e .

Nangangahulugan ito na may

mahigit sa tatlumpu’t isang

milyon at tatlong daang libo

katao sa ating bansa na ang

mga batayan o pangunahing

pangangailangan sa pagkain,

damit, tirahan, kalusugan,

edukasyon at matatag na han-

apbuhay ay hindi natutugun-

an. Kaya naman nangan-

gahulugan i to na s i lang

nakararami sa ating pama-

yanan ay hindi nakadaramdam

MENSAHE BR. ANGEL CORTEZ, OFM

ISEC President

(Turn to page 22 )


ANG NILALAMAN

A MONTH WITH THE

BILIBID INMATES

BR. DOMINIC E. EKENGWU, SRC

6

ANG AKING PAGLUBOG BR. VINSON P. LUAYON, O.CARM.

8

ICTC CHRONICLE BR. MARLON P. HEGINA, SRC

12

31 PO! BR. MARK GIL YONGCO, OFM

10

THE SPECIAL CHILDREN OF GUANELLA

BR. JOIEZL FERN S. PIÑON, O.CARM.

16

MY EXPERIENCE

WITH THE WORKERS

BR. MARVIN P. DIONGZON, O. CARM.

18

TUESDAY BR. RITCHE T. SALGADO, O.CARM.

20


M ost people long to

see Jesus but

without recogniz-

ing the fact that Jesus is already

in our midst. We see him every

day, unfortunately we tend to

ignore or rather pretend not to

see him. He comes to visit us

daily with faces disfigured with

different kinds of suffering –

incarceration, hunger, poverty,

exploitation, humiliation, op-

pression, injustice and lots more.

No doubt in Matthew 25:31-46,

Jesus gave the corporal and spir-

itual works of mercy as prerequi-

site for eternal life.

Based on this gospel val-

ues, I was really privileged to

have seen Jesus, touched and

felt him, listened and dialogued

with him for one good month.

You might want to ask me where

and when? I saw him “alive” in

the National Bilibid Prison,

Muntinlupa.

The journey to encounter

Jesus commenced on August 8

2015. I was truly thrilled and

excited to see, and to have a

A MONTH WITH THE

BILIBID INMATES

BR. DOMINIC E. EKENGWU, SRC

heart to heart dialogue with our

less fortunate brothers. Four

religious brothers from different

congregations were sent on this

mission. Prior to our departure,

we were given an orientation.

One of the instructions that was

given to us was to choose a dia-

logue partner whom we will be

with throughout the entire im-

mersion period. We were also

cautioned not to make any

premature judgment, rather to

cultivate the habit of listening

deeply to their tales of misery.

On our arrival at the residence

of Msgr. Olagher at Muntinlupa,

we were welcomed, settled down

and prepared a daily schedule

that would be our guide for the

whole duration of the immer-

sion.

The feeling of excite-

ment grew stronger in me as we

left for the prison camp on the

following day which was Sun-

day. However, after observing

the normal routine- checking

and other protocols we were

ushered in. When I saw the con-

dition inside, it was a complete


thriving inside. Commercial ac-

tivities (buying and selling)

were at its peak right inside the

camp. It is really amazing that

these people through their hard

labor while in incarceration

could be of an immense help to

their respective families. At first

glance of the prison camp, what

came to my mind

were the nega-

tive things that

people told me

regarding the in-

mates and it

somehow spurred

fear in me.

But who

are these in-

mates? I was told

that they are peo-

ple from different

walks of life,

numbering about

14,118, presumed to have made

one mistake or the other. Some

of them have spent nearly their

life span there without the hope

regaining their freedom in the

nearest future. Some were vic-

tims of circumstance probably

because nobody could speak on

their behalf. Some accepted

their mistakes and would never

cease to make reparation and

ask for God’s mercy and pardon.

contrast to my preconceived idea

about a prison camp which was

patterned according to the prac-

tice of my country. I expected to

see inmates waving to me be-

hind the iron bars, but that was

not the case. What I saw

changed the description I

thought was true regarding the

real situation of

the inmates

and the camp

environment.

The inmates

were seen roam-

ing about, some

dressed in an

ordinary attire

as if they are

going for a picnic

while others

wore the typical

prison uniform

with the printed

words at their back “Bureau of

corrections”. Some of the in-

mates were seen seated content-

ed in an area of the building

staring at us and discussing

about the plights. Negative ener-

gies flooded the four corners of

the prison camp. Tattooed bod-

ies, serious faces and jail guards

were equally seen. Kubo huts

and sari-sari stores were evident

of a revolutionized penitential

prison with small barangay

‘

I was really

fortunate to

have seen the

disfigured

face of

Jesus

(Turn to page 22)


P aano ko nga ba hinan-

da ang aking sarili sa

umpisa ng aking isang

buwan ng pagtanaw at pakikinig

sa hamon ng pakikipaglakbay

kasama ang mga batang dati ay

nasa lansangan at ngayon ay

nasa loob na ng isang institusy-

on? Isang institusyon na kung

saan naibibigay sa kanila ang

kanilang mga pangunahing mga

pangangailangan, lalo’t higit

ang pagkain, damit, at ligtas na

bahay na matutulugan.

Noong nalaman ko na

akoy mapupunta sa mga bata ng

Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin

de Porres sa Bustos, Bulacan

nabatid ko agad ang galak at

saya. Naisip ko agad ang

pakikipaglaro at pakikipagku-

litan sa kanila, ngunit hindi

lang pala hanggang doon lang

ang pakikipagsalamuha sa ka-

nila kundi mas marami pa pala

sa inaasahan ko ang pwede kong

magawa. Sa araw-araw nilang

pamumuhay; mula sa paggising,

pagdadasal, pagkain at pagpila

papuntang paaralan sinasa-

bayan ko sila at maging sa pag-

gawa nila ng kanilang mga

Gawain sa bahay.

“Gawin niyo na ang in-

yong mga Gawain!” utos ng mga

tagapagalaga. Ito ang salitang

tumatak sa aking isipan na

nagpapatunay kung gaano

kahalaga sa kanila at kung

ANG AKING PAGLUBOG BR. VINSON P. LUAYON, O.CARM.

paano nabibigyang diin ng mga

bata ang pagtupad sa kanilang

mga gawain sa bahay. Sa pang-

araw-araw kong pakikisalamua-

ha sa kanila unti-unti kong nasi-

layan at naintindihan ang ugali

ng bawat isa sa kanila kung

paano sila makikitungo sa kanil-

ang kapwa bata. Nagkaroon

agad ng linaw sa aking isipan at

damdamin kung gaano kahalaga

ang aking presensya bilang

isang kuya, kapatid, at relihiyo-

song brother. Totoong hindi

lamang sa pamamagitan ng

tenga na ang mga kwento nila

ay mapapakinggan kundi sa

aking puso’t damdamin.

Nabatid ko ang saya at

lungkot sa pakikinig ko sa mga

Nabatid ko

ang saya at

lungkot sa

pakikinig ko

sa mga istorya

ng kanilang

mga buhay.

‘


istorya ng kanilang mga buhay. Lungkot dahil sa iilang araw ko

lang sila makakalakbay at hindi ko talaga sila mabibigyan ng pan-

sin at matutukan sa mahaba pang panahon, at Saya dahil magiging

baon-baon ko ang mga kwento nila at magiging inspirasyon ko ang

mga ito sa patuloy kong paglalakbay at sa pagpili sa bokasyong ito.

Hindi matawarang saya ang namamayani sa akin lalo’t higit

nakatatak na sa aking puso’t isipan ang ngiti, iyak, at galak ng mga

bata sa tuwing kasama ko sila sa kanilang mga ginagawa. Mahirap

man sa akin na matingnan ang kanilang kalagayan dahil sila ay mga

pinabayaan na ng mga tunay nilang mga magulang ngunit masasabi

ko na may Diyos pa rin na laging sumusubaybay sa kanila sa pama-

magitan ng mga taong walang sawang naglilingkod para sa kanila at

sa bawat relasyon nilang nabubuo ay nandoon buhay ang Diyos.

Ang buhay ng bawat bata doon ay may kaloob na laman.

Laman nito ay ang bawat kwento nila na masarap pakinggan,

sapagkat sa kanilang mga bibig ko naintindihan kong gaano sila ka-

saya na may kumakalinga sa kanila at doon madali nilang na-

ramdaman ang kabutihan ng Diyos. Natutuwa ako habang pinagma-

masdan ko sila araw-araw, at sinasabi ko sa aking sarili na nasa

bawat mukha nila ang tunay na mukha ng batang Hesus. Doon ko

din napagtanto kong paano gumalaw ang Buhay na Diyos sa bawat

naglilingkod sa kanila. Ang tunay na kamay ng Diyos ay nandoon sa

bawat pagbibigay ng kanilang sarili. Isang napakalaking hamon ito

para sa akin kung paano ko kaya magagampanan sa hinaharap ang

paglilingkod at ang pagbibigay serbisyo sa mga tao gaya ng nagawa

ng mga tumulong na mabuhay ang Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin

de Porres.

With fellow immersionist at

the Bahay at Yaman ni San

Martin de Porres, Bustos, Bulacan. (L-R)

Br. Adrian Fidelin, OFM, Br. Eric Gallo, SRC, Br. Mark

Gil Yongco, OFM, and the

writer.


S adayang napakabilis ng

panahon! Tapos na ang

halos isang buwan na

paglagi at pagbabad sa mga bata

ng Bahay at Yaman ni San Mar-

tin sa Bustos Bulacan.

Ang pangunahing

layunin sa aming pakikibabad

sa San Martin ay matutunan

ang kalinangan ng PAKIKINIG

sa pamamagitan ng

pakikipagkwentuhan,

pakikipaglaro, at

pagbabahagi ng

aming sarili at

presensiya sa

kanila. Ngunit

ang aking kara-

nasan sa mga

bata at ang plano

ng Diyos ay higit

pa kaysa sa

aking sariling

layunin.

Ako ay

nailagay sa Char-

may Cottege kung

saan namamahay

ang pinakaba-

tang grupo ng

mga bata sa San

Martin. Sa mga unang araw ng

aking paglagi sa Charmay cotte-

ge, ang una kong ginawa ay ala-

min ang kanilang pang araw-

araw na pinagkakaabalahan.

Para rin akong nasa seminaryo

BR. MARK GIL YONGCO,

31 PO!

dahil may oras ang lahat ng

gawain dito sa San Martin. May

oras ng pag-gising, pagdarasal,

pagkain, pagligo, pag-aaral,

pagpapahinga, paglalaro, at

paglilinis na inilaan ng insti-

tusyong ito upang matuto ang

mga bata na ang lahat ng gam-

panin ay isinasagawa sa tamang

oras.

Sumabay ako sa kanil-

ang pang araw-araw na gawain

at gampanin kagaya ng maa-

gang pagdarasal,

paglilinis,

pagkain,

paghuhugas, at

pag-aaral. Naki-

lala ko rin sa

paglipas ng mga

araw ang mga

matitiyagang

nanay at tatay

ng San Martin,

kagaya nina Ta-

tay Gilbert at

Nanay Myrna.

Silang dalawa

ang nagsisilbing

pinaka tatay at

nanay ng mga

bata habang

wala si Fr. Boyet na matiyagang

nagmamahal at humahanap ng

paraan upang mapaganda pa

ang buhay ng mga bata. Si Fr.

Angel ang isa pang paring

naitalaga roon ay siyang tumu-

‘ Ang kanilang

pinagdaanan

ay tunay na

sumasalamin

sa mapait at

mahirap na

kahapon.


tulong sa ispiritwal na pangan-

gailangan ng mga nakatira sa

San Martin habang wala si Fr.

Boyet na nagmimisyon sa

Amerika. May mga guro rin na

gumagabay sa mga bata doon.

Sila ay sina: Sr. Noel, Ma’am

Nalain, Eunice, at Bro. Vincent.

Ang mga social worker na tumu-

tulong sa pag-

lago ng katau-

han at disiplina

ng mga bata ay

sina: kuya Migo,

Ate Nimpha at

Ellen. Higit sa

lahat nakilala ko

rin ang mga ta-

himik na manga-

gawa na kuma-

kalinga sa mga

pangangailangan

ng mga bata

tulad ng mga

naitalagang ta-

gapagluto roon

na sina: kuya

Arnold, Tony at

Nanay Rosy; ang

tagapagmaneho

na si kuya John

at Edwin; ang

nag aaruga sa

sakahan na si

Bobby; ang taga-

bantay na si Edwin; at si Sis.

Adora ng St. Martin. Ang mga

taong ito ang nagsisilbing tulay

upang magkaroon ng makulay

at magandang buhay ang mga

bata sa San Martin.

Ang sunod na ginawa ko

ay ang kilalanin ang mga bata

Br. Mark Gil Yongco, OFM before the chapel of Bahay at Yaman ni San Martin de Porres

(Turn to page 15 )




NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

11

28

8

15

ICTC in solidarity

with the lumads as

they visit

#MANILAKBAYAN

2015’s Kampuhan

sa Liwasan.

Liwasang Bonifacio,

Manila

14 ICTC joins the YOUTH CONGRESS ON CLIMATE JUSTICE.

St. Paul University, Quezon City

ECO-WALK for CLIMATE JUSTICE.

One with 13,000 climate justice advocates.

From St. Mary’s College in Mo. Ignacia St.

to Quezon City Memorial Circle.

ICTC Spirituality Day

ICTC Christmas Party


at pakinggan ang mga istorya

ng kanilang buhay. Tinanong ko

ang isa sa mga bata sa Charmay

kung ilan ba ang bilang ng mga

batang nakatira sa cottege, at

ang sabi niya “30 po kasama si

Nanay Nelia” na kanilang house

parent. Ang kanilang pangalan

ay halos magkakaiba kagaya na

rin ng kanilang mga ugali at

kinalakihang pamilya. Mayroon

sa mga batang ito na ‘super

hyper’ sa kakulitan. Halos araw

araw na may umiiyak, humi-

higa sa sahig at hindi na ku-

makain, sumasagot, nag-

susuntukan at nagmumurahan

sa harap ng lahat, dinadala pa

sa head office dahil hindi rin

kaya ni Nanay Nelia kapag so-

bra na ang kanilang kinikilos at

pinagsasabi. May ilang umaga

at hapon din na akala ko ay lu-

milindol sa taas at sa gilid ng

aming cottege dahil sa ingay at

kalabog ng mga bata na naglal-

aro. Ngunit ang lahat ng ito ay

nagbago nung malaman at

makilala ko ang istroya ng ka-

nilang buhay. Mayroon sa kanil-

ang binubugbog at ginagarotay

sa bahay, wala ng pamilya, ini-

wan sa lansangan, may sakit at

sobrang mahina ang buto,

tinuruan na magnakaw ng ka

tropa sa labas, nagtulak ng

droga at solvent, ginamit ang

kanilang katawan upang may

makain, wala ng pamilya, bikti-

ma ng pang-aabuso, pagkakata-

on at kahirapan ng buhay. Ang

mga batang hyper sa kakulitan,

super hyper din ang pinag-

daanan sa buhay. Ang kanilang

pinagdaanan ay tunay na

sumasalamin sa mapait at ma-

hirap na kahapon.

At ang ikatlo kong naga-

wa sa loob ng isang buwan ay

hindi lamang hanggang sa pag-

tutong pakinggan, kilalanin at

alamin ang istorya ng kanilang

buhay, ngunit higit sa lahat na-

tutunan ko silang mahalin. Nga-

yon mas nauunawan, naiintindi-

han, at nararamdaman ko na

kung bakit ang lugar na ito ay

tinawag na Bahay at Yaman ni

San Martin. Sapagkat dito ma-

raramdaman ng bawat isa na

sila ay minahal at patuloy na

minamahal kahit ano pa ang

kanilang masalimuot na

kahapon. BAHAY sapagkat

maraming ina, tatay, kuya at

ate na handing umalalay sa

bawat isa. TUNAY NA YAMAN

sapagkat ang bawat bata ay

tunay na iniingatan katulad ng

isang ginto na patuloy na

tinutunaw at hinuhubog upang

lumabas ang tunay na angking

halaga nito sa mundo. TUNAY

NA BUHAY ang Diyos sa lugar

na ito at sa mga mukha ng

bawat bata na nangangarap na

magkaroon ng pagbabago sa

buhay.

Bago ako umalis sa San

Martin, tinanong ko ulit ang ba-

ta yaon kung ilan ulit ang naka-

tira sa cottege ng Charmay at

ang sagot niya ay “31po kami

kasama kayo!”

(31 po!, continued from page 11)

ICTC Spirituality Day


I had my wonderful one

month immersion experi-

ence with the mentally

challenged children of Guanella

Home for Special Children,

Tandang Sora as part of the

ICTC academic program last

August 8 to September 8, 2015.

The institution is run and man-

aged by the Servants of Charity

fathers for more than 20 years

already and it is now serving a

total of twenty abandoned men-

tally challenged male children

and adults. There were four of

us who were assigned in the

area and we were asked to im-

merse ourselves with the com-

munity of Guanella while we

also had to build and strength-

en our group as a community of

brothers from different congre-

gations.

A s a n i n s t i t u t i o n ,

Guanella Home has its rules

and regulations as well as its

routinary schedule of activities

that we have to follow as im-

mersionists. But, in order to

maintain our group dynamics

w e co or d in a te d ou r p re -

designed plan of activities with

the organized schedules pre-

pared by the institution’s ad-

ministration so as to make

proper arrangements regarding

our time management. I be-

lieve, proper time management

was indeed necessary in order to

maximize the whole month to

accommodate the objectives of

the immersion. Once we had set-

tled all our schedules with the

administration we then proceed-

ed to our regular dynamics.

In fulfilling one half of

our immersion’s goal, our way of

building a religious fraternity is

by designating appropriate times

for daily prayer and Holy Mass.

In addition, we also set schedules

for community recreation as our

way of strengthening our inter-

personal relationship and com-

munity living. For the second

half, we dedicated the rest of our

time with the children and in

assisting their needs. As for my

personal experience, I always had

a delightful time whenever I am

with the children in their daily

dynamics. Every day I gave them

bath, I assisted some of them

during meals, I accompanied

them in going to school, I played

with them, and I took all my ef-

fort to talk to them in their own

pacing just to be able to sincerely

understand each other.

The mentally challenged

children residing in Guanella

Home are mostly abandoned by

their parents. Some were admit-

ted to the institution due to the

extreme poverty of their immedi-

ate families, while others are

transferees from other institu-

THE SPECIAL CHILDREN OF GUANELLA

BR. JOIEZL FERN S. PIÑON, OCARM


tions. Furthermore they suffer

from mental disability such as

Down syndrome, Intellectual

Delay, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy,

Meningitis, Autism, and non-

hearing/non-verbal disability,

while some even have physical

deformities such as scoliosis and

hydrocephalus. Although their

intellectual and physical capabil-

ities are very limited, but their

emotional capacity is strong

enough to make them not less

than human.

C o m i n g

f rom a month

living with them,

it seems for me

(without any bias

from clinical per-

spect ive ) that

they are fully

aware of their

own disability

and they know

that they are

p h y s i c a l l y

weaker than nor-

mal people. They can also sense

and feel whether they are accept-

ed or not by sane people around

them. Likewise, they are also

aware that they are living with

people who have the same weak-

ness and disability.

But what touches my

heart the most is their aware-

ness that they are abandoned by

the people who supposed to love

and care for them. That is why in

order to fill their inner longing

for connection they learned how

to extend love, concern, and care

for the other children they live

with. Despite their tantrums and

severe mood swings, I can see

deep within their eyes that they

yearn for the love they deserve,

but since they cannot experience

that love from their families, they

yearn that love from the people

who volunteered to take care of

them in the institution. Moreover,

it seems that each of them knows

that the other mentally chal-

lenged children they live with

yearn for that same love they

yearn for themselves, in ef-

fect, each shares

in his own capac-

ity an expression

of love which can

be felt and ac-

cepted by the

other. I concrete-

ly saw that one

knows how to

console the other

who is in trouble

and one knows

how to make oth-

ers laugh and

enjoy. And as

what I have experienced, they

show their love and concern for

the other not in words but in sim-

ple gestures of hugs, kisses, and

tickles.

I a m f o r t u n a t e an d

blessed to see that the strong

force of love underlying the heart

of each child in Guanella indeed

breaks away boundaries between

them, and this same force which I

also believe comes from the love

and mercy of God connects them

in a much deeper bond that we

“normal” people even miss to see

in our relationship with others.

‘

what touches my heart the most is their awareness

that they are abandoned...


A dead body covered

with white linen was

found in the dark

area of this village. It was dis-

covered that he was murdered

by unknown drug addicts, and

until now the case has not yet

been resolved. In another in-

stance, there was one family

living in the same village who

happened to have a birthday

celebration. They prepared

food and drinks for the invited

neighborhood. Later that night

when everyone got drunk one

of the invited guests massa-

cred the whole family and the

killers were able to escape and

were never apprehended. An-

other sad story in this village

was about two families became

mortal enemies and ended up

killing one another out of

vengeance.

“It is not only killing

that is rampant here,” she

said. “This is also a place of

thieves, hold uppers, drug ad-

dicts, and more.” Those were

the accounts I heard from my

foster mother, Nanay Marites

about the real situation of the

people in the Pabahay 2000,

that is why it is difficult for me

to find a job when the place I

stayed for my one month im-

mersion is already in the black

list of most of the companies

and even in the hospitals of

General Trias, Cavite.

To be honest, I felt

afraid while hearing those neg-

ative and challenging infor-

mation. I was afraid because I

was new in the place. Since se-

curity was not enough, I was

thinking that my life might be

at risk for the whole month.

These thoughts kept running in

my head which sometimes bur-

dened me to move and interact

with people freely. Days later,

the negative feelings gradually

affected my disposition. They

disabled me to reach out to oth-

er people in the area and listen

to their stories. So, I tried every

MY EXPERIENCE

WITH THE WORKERS

BR. MARVIN P. DIONGZON, O. CARM

‘ “It is not only killing that is

rampant here,” she said.


morning to start thinking pos-

itive thoughts until I eventu-

ally started getting at ease

with my foster family then

with the neighborhood. The

next thing I knew learned

to befriend them and later

on gained

n e w

fr iends.

A f t e r

s o m e

t i m e , I

f e l t s e -

c u r e d

w i t h

t h e m

a n d

t h e r e

w a s a

sense of

b e l o n g -

ingness on my part.

I lived in Tropical Vil-

lage, particularly to a family

with eleven members with

Nanay Marites and Tatay Ar-

nolfo as my foster parents

during my one month immer-

sion with the workers. The

family where I stayed was

considered economically poor

and my foster father was job-

less while Nanay Marites was

only dependent with her 70

Php income from her basket

weaving. Obviously, the mon-

ey was not enough for us. Al-

most all of my foster siblings

were young and still studying.

This situation became my di-

lemma and I have to find ways

how to push through my objec-

tive without hanging on too

much with my anxieties.

After some period of

adjustment, I have also

to focus on my other ob-

jective which is to find a

job suit-

ed for a

h i g h -

s c h o o l

g r a d u -

ate. But

before I

was able

t o f i n d

o n e I

s p e n t

d a y s i n

t h e

s t r e e t s

hungry and scouting for jobs

that will accept my present

background. For days I was not

lucky to find a job right away

either because of my appear-

ance which was not convincing

enough to be a mere highschool

graduate or the employers

were doubtful to accept appli-

cants from Pabahay 2000. I

was worried for the first few

days of my immersion but God

was so merciful to me that He

helped me to finally settle for a

job as an “all-around Boy” in a

carenderia across Cavite State

University.

At first, my experience

was good because of their

At first, my experience was good because of

their warm treatment. But as days passed I

began to see the reality...

‘ (Turn to page 23)


T ina, hayaan mo, may masarap na pagkain akong dadalhin mama-

ya," Nanay Bering lovingly told her 5-year old granddaughter sleeping inside the kariton. Since her house was de-molished to make way to a 50-story first class condominium that's "Built with the environ-ment in mind," as the large tar-paulin plastered on the tempo-rary perimeter fence of what was once their community says, the kariton has become her home. Her only son, Tina's fa-ther, died on that fateful demoli-tion day and a few months later, the wife left for another man. She just couldn't take care of Tina and so Nanay Bering, 65, was left to care for Tina, alone, with no certain source of in-come. She was trying to look her best because Tuesday is al-ways a special day for her. Early in the afternoon, she went to the

corner near the highway where there was a leaking pipe. She got some water to wash herself with and the few clothes that she has. She has not used soap for a while, she could not afford one. "Bili na lang ako ng pagkain mabusog pa si, Tina," she would tell herself every time she feels tempted to buy a bar of her favorite soap. Still, she man-ages not to smell as bad as most of the homeless she usually en-counters in the streets. As much as she can, she takes advantage of every opportunity to wash their clothes. And when she starts to smell she would change to some dry ones. Nanay Bering looked better than usual. Her clothes were clean and she was clean, none of those dark stains she usually gets from staying too long in the streets with all the smoke and dust. She looked de-cent, just as she would have pre-ferred. Today was special be-

TUESDAY BR. RITCHE T. SALGADO, O.CARM.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction, but may be inspired by real situa-tions. Quoting from an October 14, 2015 opinion by Save the Children Philip-pines country director Ned Olney, "Today, 1.5 million Filipino children will

wake up in the morning and got to bed at night without having anything to eat the entire day. Today, 2.7 million Filipino children will miss a meal because the family didn't have enough money for three meals." That is how desperate and unacceptable the level of hunger is in the Philippines. Sadly, government is not doing enough as more and more children are forced to live in the streets because of the demolition of homes in urban poor communities in the guise of

"development".


cause today she'd be able to give Tina a delicious meal. Not lefto-vers from the garbage.

*** "Kuya, ang tagal naman. Nasaan na ba sila? Gutom na ako," Christopher, a street child of 6, asked Joepet. He was sit-ting, crunched, unable to bear the pain in his stomach, which for days has been bothering him. He and Joepet had not eaten a decent meal for a while. "Malapit na yun, hayaan mo," Joepet said reassuringly. Joepet, 12, has been in the streets of Quezon City since he was the age of Christopher, unable to bear the abuses of his stepfather who used him to ped-dle illegal drugs. At a very young age, Jeopet already knew the dangers of the streets. Most especially, he knew the dangers the streets pose to a very young child, the reason why when he saw Chris-topher wandering aimlessly in the streets, he knew that some-thing was wrong and immediate-ly took him in. "S ino pa bang mag -tutulungan kung hindi tayo," he told himself.

*** The red van arrived on time and together with the other residents of Timog corner Panay Ave., she lined up excited to re-ceive her share of food. The brothers always give the best food, which makes her reminisce that time when they had a house and her son was still alive, mak-ing just enough money for them to eat three meals a day and pay their monthly rental. Now, she

only gets such a decent meal once a week. Excited, she lined up, confident and looking her best. Last week, they had chicken adobo. It was delicious. She couldn't wait to see what the brothers cooked for them today. Most who lined up re-ceived their share of rice and fried fish and then the door closed and the van sped away. "Ay, bakit wala ako?" shocked, she did not know how to react. She did not know what to feel. She wanted to cry, think-ing of Tina, but she can't. S o m a n y q u e s t i o n s played on her mind. "Bakit di ako binigyan?" "Anong nangyari?" "May ginawa ba ako?" "Ganito ba talaga ang pagtingin nila sa amin?" "Ganito na ba ako ka kawawa?"

*** "Kuya, ayan, ayan na sila brother," Christopher said. " B r o t h e r ! B r o t h e r ! " Jeopet tried to call after the speeding van. Red light, and it stopped, but it stopped in the middle lane of highway. It was too far for Joepet to reach and he does not want to risk playing patintero with the speeding cars on the highway. "Ayun kuya, umalis na!" Christopher cried. "Mukhang rugby na na-man tayo ngayon, bunso," said Jeopet. "Pasensya na, subukan natin ulit sa susunod na linggo."


(Mensahe, continued from page 4)

Serving the Lord for them is a

way of feeling sorry for the mis-

take they made. Although some

radiate cheerful smiles, but

deep in their heart they are

struggling with one reality –the

thirst for freedom. The living

condition of these brethren in

the camp is terrible. They lack

virtually everything except God.

Majority of them are lying sick

in the hospital because of lack of

proper nutrition. The hospital is

dilapidated and there are no

enough drugs for the sick in-

(Bilibid, continued from page 7)

mates. This inefficiency ac-

counts for the huge number of

deaths recorded every month

inside the prison. They have

limited accommodation –

inmates sleep along the hall

ways and even outside estab-

lishments not minding the

harshness of the weather.

But despite all their

misery and suffering, I was re-

ally fortunate to have seen the

disfigured face of Jesus in these

people yearning for love, care,

mercy, attention and a lot more.

ng kasiyahan sa kanilang buhay.

Manapa’y ang kanilang nadarama’y

di-pagkapalagay, pagkadiskontento at

pagkadesmayado sa kanilang kala-

gayan. Wala silang katiyakan sa ka-

nilang buhay dahil magkabi-kabila ay

mga krimen, at mga panganib sa ka-

nilang pagkatao, buhay at pagaari.

Naghahari sa kanilang puso ang

pagkagalit at di na paniniwala sa mga

nasa kapangyarihan dala ng kanilang

lantarang ipinakikitang kawalan ng

integridad, katapatan at kakayahan

sa katungkulan. Patuloy naman ang

pagkasira at pagkawala ng biodiversi-

ty ng sangnilikha ng Diyos at ng

kalikasang pangsuporta sa buhay.

Bilang magaaral ng teyolohiya at ng

Inter Congregtional Theological Cen-

ter ano at sino ang mga dukha para sa

atin…Paano ba natin maipapakita

ang awa at habag ng Diyos sa mga

dukha hindi lamang sa mga kapatid

nating salat sa Materyal na bagay

kindi pati na rin sa ating kalikasan.

Ang panawagan ng Inang Simbahan

para sa atin ngayong taon na ito ng

mga Dukha at sa darating na Taon ng

awa ay iparamdam at ipamahagi ang

habag ng Diyos para sa lahat. Kina-

kailangan natin kumilos sa ika-

pagbabago ng ating sarili, ng ating

kapwa ,ng ating Lipunan, at ng inang

kalikasan.. Kumapit tayo sa Diyos at

manalig sa kanyang mapagpalayang

biyaya sa Daan ng ating Buhay. Ma-

ligayang Pasko at Mabiyayang bagong

Taon.


Awa o Habag ay ang tumutulak sa

isang tao na kumilos para sa

ikaaayos o sa ikakatuwid ng buhay

ng kapwa at hindi ang Paawa o

pagiging kawawa. Kalinga ay bug-

so ng malalim na udyok ng kaloo-

ban na arugain at mahalin ang iba

lalo na ang mga kapatid nating

lubos na nangangailangan.

Ang ating institusyon sa

ICTC ay patuloy na tumutugon sa

panawagan ng pagbabahagi at

pagsasabuhay ng Awa at Kalinga

para sa lahat ng sannilikha lalot’

higit sa mga dukha nating mga

kapatid sa lipunang inaalihan ng

kahirapan, kasakiman, at korupsy-

on. Sa halos tatllompung dekada

ng ICTC sa larangan ng pagtetey-

olohiya, tunay na ang karanasan,

panalangin, turo ng simbahan, at

masayang pakikilakbay sa mga tao

ang ating naging instrumento

upang maibahagi ang mensahe ng

pag-ibig ng Diyos para sa lahat.

Sa Edisyong ito ay tampok

ang mga pagninilay/pagbubulay/

pagmumuni-muni sa buhay

(Artikulo, Komiko, Tula, at iba pa)

ng mga teologo sa kanilang paki-

kilakbay sa mga Dukha. Halaw

ang karamihan sa pagninilay sa

mensahe ng Awa at Kalinga sa

mga Dukha. Ito ay lubos na mata-

tamasa kung ibunubukas natin sa

Diyos ang ating buong puso na may

pagtitiwala sa kanyang walang

hanggang pag-ibig sa kabila ng

ating mga karupukan sa buhay

(Misericordiae Vultus #2).

(Awa at kalinga, continued from page 3)

warm treatment. But as days passed I began to see the reality and the

different personalities of people working there. Sometimes, they will shout

at me and scold me because of my mistakes. Oftentimes, I sacrificed my

meals just to prioritize the demands of my work. Everything in there was

about work and money. I felt that as a “Boy”, my personhood was only

measured in terms of my job performance –if I’m doing well, I could re-

ceive appraisals.

I am grateful that my immersion with the workers became an eye

opener for me to see the deeper context of life and the reality of our society

today. Immersing myself with them is also a way of sharing my apostolic

presence, that the church nowadays is indeed concerned with their needs

as people of God. The hands of our Mother Church are always ready to

comfort them in times of their struggles and hardships. People in the area

feel such inspiration when they see seminarians walking with them in the

same path. I also saw in them that they are hopeful to continue the fight

for a good life because they knew that God is with them through the pres-

ence of the Church. I am happy because they were part of my journey and

I hope that what I have learned from them will encourage me to fight for

preserving our church as truly the Church of the poor.

(My experience with the workers, continued from page 19)

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Documents

UGAT, May to December 2015