Written by Esther Ho
Photographs by Melissa Chia and Sarah Chong
We spent the afternoon with Monsignor Oso discussing the role his parish plays in impacting the Filipino laypeople.
Monsignor Meliton Oso
In Iloilo, the Archdiocese of Jaro is pioneering numerous efforts to better the lives of 27 million Filipinos living in poverty. Monsignor Meliton Oso, a priest for 27 years and Associate Director of the Archdiocese for 20 years, presented the nation’s problems and his five-fold project to address them. Monsignor Oso began with an overview of Christian Monsod’s critical presentation entitled “The National Situationer”. Monsod’s presentation was presented at the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-NASSA) in 2011.
Monsignor Oso explained that the trinity of issues afflicting the nation were widespread poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth and land due to corruption. Political dynasties, such as ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s family members remaining in key political positions, create contradictions in the Constitution in the name of self-interest. This results in extreme disparity between the working and elite classes.
Much of the Filipino Constitution prioritizes social justice, universal education, human liberty and the regulation of property for the communal good. However, Monsod’s research proved the opposite happening. Grassroots realities showed alarming statistics and the Philippines being incapable of fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) pledged in the year 2000. The Philippines pledged to eight major goals - to end poverty, provide universal education, gender equality, improve child and maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, improve environmental sustainability and increase global partnerships. These goals have a deadline of the year 2015. Only eight percent of these goals will be achieved on time, Monsod claims.
There is no single solution, Monsignor Oso says, though he asserts the necessity of proper development - sustained, equitable growth in national income. The reason for elusive change in the Philippines, according to Monsignor Oso, lies with poor infrastructure and corruption, not proposed faults in the Philippine Constitution as the government claims. “Cha-cha is not among the top reasons”, says Monsignor Oso, disagreeing with the government’s move of Charter Change (hence ‘cha-cha’).
Hence Project S.H.E.E.F, a five-fold project dedicated to providing Shelter, Health, Education, Employment and Food to the poor in Iloilo. S.H.E.E.F. follows the words of Matthew 25:14 of the Bible which likens helping the poor to helping Jesus Himself.
“No one may enter the Kingdom of God without a letter of reference from the poor.”
- Monsignor Oso.
Works S.H.E.E.F. has done include building new homes for Iloilo’s urban poor, some of whom are church workers themselves. They also provide free medical and dental consultations, tooth extractions, and dispense free or below-market price medicines via the JASAC drugstores and several Botika sa Parokya. In addition, they educate the population about alternative or traditional medicine so they may be self-sufficient in medicating mild illnesses.
S.H.E.E.F. also operates with the conviction that education is an inalienable, sacred right. As such, the group provides scholarships for deserving urban poor students. 29 students have graduated from the JASAC Alay Kapwa Scholarship to date. Partnered with the Monsignor’s Parish of Our Lady of Candles, they also host an Alternative Learning System (ALS) program to help withdrawn students graduate from high school.
To address employment needs, S.H.E.E.F. also runs several cottage industries such as garment-making, candle-making, foot reflexology and hollow blocks-making. Profits from these industries also finance the parish staff, further allowing Monsignor Oso to channel precious funds to greater use.
In response to the poor’s “Hunger as a Lifestyle” issue, S.H.E.E.F. trains and kickstarts organic farms so farmers may farm for food and future. Rice harvests may be sold at S.H.E.E.F.‘s many Bugasan sa Parokya, where rice may also be bought at below-market prices. Finally, the group also launched the Dulang Paglaum Project that educates and feeds malnourished children and their families.
The session ended with a lively Q & A, from curious questions of the church’s role in social action to a dialogue on the Malaysian and Filipino political situations. Monsignor Oso concluded the session highlighting the stance the Bishops and his Parish takes: so long as the laws are written in someone’s self-interest instead of the communal good, then the church will continue her efforts caring for the marginalized peoples.
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Esther is a newly-grad who uses her life as a social experiment: Just how far can a romantic life view take a person? Will the sight of 'Gender Studies' on her resume scare off employers? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? It's all terribly perplexing...
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