Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes yesterday reiterated the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) appeal to the public to respect Hotline 117, saying it is a life-saving emergency hotline number that should not be used for prank calls.
Reyes said that in an effort to maximize the use of Hotline 117 for emergency cases, there will be a massive nationwide information and education campaign about the emergency number.
He cited the need to project 117 as an emergency number, adding: "We must educate the public about this life-saving project and teach callers how to use and respect 117."
In a meeting with DILG officials, the Patrol 117 Commission, Foundation for Crime Prevention, and representatives from the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company, Reyes said the massive campaign will make use of media outlets such as radio, television, and theaters, as well as the distribution of posters and leaflets to the public.
Reyes also said that 117 stickers will be posted on vehicles used in responding to emergency calls made at the hotline while responders will be provided with their proper uniform for the people to immediately identify them. (Elena L. Aben)
CBCP leads celebration of Nat’l Migrants Sunday
The Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-ECMI) will lead this year’s nationwide celebration of the 19th National Migrants Sunday (NMS) on February 13 to give due recognition to the sacrifices made by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and the families they left behind.
The ECMI, as the CBCP’s service arm for migrants, realizing the so many issues and concerns being experienced by OFWs and their families, decided to dramatize this year’s celebration regionally with the help of its regional centers in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
For Luzon, the center of the celebration will be the Archdiocese of Lipa City in Batangas, where ECMI’s former chairman, Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, is the head.
Unlike in previous years, this will be the first time that the NMS will be celebrated outside of Manila, its traditional venue.
"Bringing the highlight of the NMS celebration outside Manila hopefully will increase deeper awareness of the issues and concerns relative to Filipino migrants," ECMI organizers said.
The highlight of the event, however, will be at the Canossa Academy in Lipa City, which will be preceded by a motorcade and parade of OFW families coming from the seven vicariates of the archdiocese.
During the program, Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos Recto will deliver a welcome message, followed by a mass concelebrated by Arguelles and ECMI Chairman Bishop Precioso Cantillas. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)
Catholics mark feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Catholic Church and Marian devotees around the world celebrate the feast of the Our Lady of Lourdes today.
The feast of the Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the oldest feasts in the Church calendar celebrated worldwide since its declaration in 1907. Marian schools will lead in the commemoration with eucharistic celebrations and novenas in honor of the Blessed Mother.
The Blessed Mother appeared to a poor and sickly girl, Bernadette Soubirous, at least 18 times at the Cave of Massabielle in Lourdes, France. The first apparition happened on February 11, 1858 while the then 14-year-old girl together with her two friends were gathering firewood.
According to stories, Bernadette suddenly saw a blinding light where a beautiful lady wearing a white dress with a blue belt, a rosary in her hands, and two golden roses at her feet appeared. The lady invited the girl to pray the rosary with her.
The lady invited the girl to pray for the conversion of sinners and to tell the priests to build a chapel there. She also instructed her to scrape the ground where water came out. Miraculous healings have since been attributed to the eternal fountain. Since then, devotees from around the world visit Lourdes in France which has become a place of pilgrimage and healing but even more of faith.
In 1862, the Church confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions. In 1866, Bernadette entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity where she was greatly admired for her humility and spirit of sacrifice. She died in 1879 at the age of 35 while praying the rosary. In 1908, her body was found uncorrupted and her lips open in a heavenly smile. She was declared a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1933. (Christina I. Hermoso)
