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Action Card Briefing – March 2005

Issues of Poverty in the Philippines

The Philippines has 7,107 islands and a population of more than 73 million people, including a few who are very rich and many who are very poor.

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines is a very active and very small church in a country which is 83 % Roman Catholic. The Protestant Churches form 9% of the population and 5% are Muslim.  The UCCP developed from the 1948 union of five churches including the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational Churches. The church today is an active, youthful and committed community, working with the poor for the transformation of society towards justice and equality for all.

The 1986 church ‘Commitment to Peace-making’ is an indication both of the character of the Church and of the state of the nation.

Genuine peace comes when justice is served.

For as long as peasants remain landless,

For as long as labourers do not receive just wages,

For as long as we are politically and economically dominated by foreign nations,

For as long as we channel more money to the military than to basic social services,

For as long as the causes of social unrest remain untouched,

There will be no peace.

The photograph was taken in Anislagan up in the hills of North Eastern Mindanao, in an area where five mining companies are prospecting and where the UCCP leads the strong opposition because mines take the water from the people and ruin the environment. The photograph is of a protest meeting against the development of the mines. 

In Mabuhay there are poor but positive church members who are committed to pastoral care, reconciliation and the development of the people, especially the children.[1]  The congregation includes a farm manager, a cement factory worker, unemployed mothers and many young people and children. Mely is a grandmother caring for her granddaughter. She keeps a small black pig as a practical investment for the future and also a sign of hope. The people are all struggling for survival and dignity. They are mostly very poor and unemployed with large families. Many of the children are not in school, especially those of secondary age. Some of the men succumb to alcoholism  Most of the women and some of the men work very hard to survive. They are the islands of hope in what might easily be seen as an ocean of despair.   

Send a card of support for the communities of Mabuhay and Anislagan to Pastor Neneng Paniamogan, 2nd Floor, Chua Building, Rizal Street 8400, Surigao City, Mindanao, Philippines.

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