Works of Mercy in the Philippines:

A housing project to shelter poor families in the village of Buntala in the Philippine Archdiocese of Jaro is the objective of a new movement, called “People power”. Drawing together rich and poor alike, the project is financed through donations from the city’s main industries, religious groups, foreign workers and government offices and inspired by the work of a non governmental organisation of Catholic origins. The project foresees the construction of 114 houses destined for the families of workers from the local parish and other Catholic institutions, in contact with the Archdiocese for over 10 years.

Antonio Meloto, housing project executive director, said the housing project has helped build 1,000 communities that now house 100,000 families or 500,000 Filipinos, adding “poverty could be significantly reduced if the rich families and big corporations shared their wealth in helping provide decent homes for the poor”.

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, says “this is the new kind of people power that the country needed, 21 years after the peaceful Edsa Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.  If People Power liberated the country from the dictatorship, the People Power which is Gawad Kalinga is liberating the people from the dictatorship of poverty, homelessness and economic control”. The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) defined this movement as “People power”.

The Archbishop underlined that this ideal brings people together, rich and poor, and people from all levels of society, to resolve one of the Country’s problems.

Msgr. Meliton Oso, archdiocesan social action centre director, said the project was consistent with the Church’s mission to help address the lack of houses of about 600,000 families in the country. Oso affirms: “This village is a gift for those who have faithfully served the Church through the years even if they received low wages. This is the first national project in favour of Catholic Church employees”.