Fr. Bel R San Luis, S V D
HERE’S good news.
Most Reverend Precioso Cantillas, bishop of the diocese of Maasin, has decided to take care of the 40 minors orphaned by the Feb. 17 landslide in Guinsaugon, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte.
Another 38 minors who lost either a father or a mother to the landslide will also get financial assistance to finish their studies, said the benevolent bishop.
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Bishop Cantillas said he decided to place the orphans under his care and the diocese’s social action center because of reports that human traffickers might prey on them.
Leyte was reported to be a transshipment point of young boys and girls from Visayas and Mindanao who, lured by promises of good jobs, end up in prostitution dens in Metro Manila.
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According to the news report, Bishop Cantillas said he coordinated with Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias, St. Bernard Mayor Maria Lim and officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and they agreed with his plan to put the orphans in the diocese’s care.
Perhaps part of the substantial financial assistance from various sectors here in the country and abroad could be used to support the laudable project.
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A trust fund from the donations could be used to support the schooling of the orphans until they finish college.
The inspiring gesture of Bishop Cantillas is a concrete example of how the church and government can work together to uplift the plight of our less fortunate kababayan.
Also, it should serve as a message to a few Catholic prelates who have always been critical and negative towards the Arroyo administration.
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Hopefully the bishop’s positive act influences those church leaders to put aside their differences with the administration and collaborate to help solve the numerous problems of the country.
It’s better to extend a helping hand rather than point a critical finger.
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If we keep on fomenting disunity, divisiveness and constantly destabilizing our government, we cannot attain a favorable climate for economic progress. Poverty will continue. The people who will suffer most are not the few rich, the politicians nor even the bishops and clergy but the poor who comprise the majority of our population.
As Christ clearly puts it: "A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand."
KUDOS TO BISHOP CANTILLAS!
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ILL-TIMED RELOCATION. I happened to meet Fr. Benny Tuazon, parish priest of St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori, Magallanes Village, Makati City, who had just visited his former parishioners who used to live along the South Luzon Expressway railways.
He informed me that while the relocation sites in Cabuyao are fairly livable, the transfer of the relocatees was ill-timed.
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Why was it done two months before the end of the school year? The inopportune move deprived the pupils and high school students — some of whom graduating and honor students — of classes and year-end activities, especially the commencement exercises.
Graduations in the Philippines are highly memorable and tearful events, especially for impressionistic youngsters.
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I wonder if Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), responsible for the transfer of those residents, can do something to let those pupils/students enjoy the experience of joining their classmates march on the stage.
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