WITH a big percentage of Filipinos living in poverty and a government reeling from the perception of being the most corrupt, a nationwide Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) Congress on rural development comes at a most opportune time.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, in his homily at the opening of the second BEC National Congress held at St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral in Cagayan de Oro noted that the theme of the congress was a continuation of the discussion of what has transpired in the recently concluded rural congress.
Ledesma is the national chairman of the National Rural Congress which convened last July.
He underscored the role of BECs in rural development saying that BEC members can contribute a lot in making good governance a reality in the country.
Lack of good governance and the problem of corruption have been seen as some of the problems that derail the pursuit of development especially in the rural areas.
“In all of these it is the small people, the Church of the poor, the little ones that organized as BECs can bring collectively their voices to the powers that lead and to be able to transform their own society,” Ledesma said.
Underscoring the role of BECs in rural development, the archbishop challenged the people saying that the poverty “we see around us” is not a “God given kind of poverty.”
“It is a poverty that we must confront and wage war against because it is the poverty that dehumanizes many [of] our brothers and sisters. That denies them the basic rights and the basic needs that they have for their own rightful growth in their human dignity,” Ledesma said.
Combating corruption should start at the bottom
Endemic corruption in all levels of government can be addressed, and it should start at the bottom, said Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI, also the Chairman of CBCP Committee on Basic Ecclesial Communities.
“People should start correcting corruption from the bottom, not just waiting for a ‘big fish’ to be caught. Corruption can be controlled at the local level, barangay, municipality, even the province,” said Quevedo.
He said elections are hotly contested even at the kagawad level not so much because of their program but because of the money involved.
“So a lot of money is being spent in local Barangay elections, including among the youth. A lot of corruption is taking place [at this level],” he said.
“It starts at the rural level,” Quevedo said, “although it is not as visible as what is happening at the top. Actually it is all over the Philippines. It has to do with government officials—from kagawad to policemen and all that. That’s why I don’t believe in the idea of corruption only on the top.”
Quevedo said his 25 years of experience as a bishop can attest to the systemic corruption taking place in government.
Corruption is widespread in all areas of government, education, infrastructure… as long as signature is needed, there is corruption there. Contractors use substandard materials to make profit, whether it is a barangay road, or farm to market road… he said.
“Change should start at the bottom. Even if we elect a new president, same thing will happen. Why? Because it’s the system itself. And the system is deeply rooted. There is so much more corruption in the higher level because there is so much more money and also because it’s highly visible. At the bottom, it’s less visible, but there’s corruption there and the people know. A kagawad takes money for anything, even just for transportation fare, budget allocation for transportation,” said Quevedo.
He said if BECs are serious about their projects about authentic development they cannot but influence others.
“It’s a big challenge. The awareness raising would have to be intensified, so that what they would be doing would have effect on the outside,” Quevedo said.
He said if the whole archdiocese is organized in terms of BECs who practice a culture of transparency and accountability, its influence in all areas will be widespread.
The concept of battling systemic corruption should start from the bottom up, he said.
“If the diocese is constituted by BECs and the parishes as such, the influence of the grassroots will be quite extensive,” he said.
One of the main sources of corruption is the budget allocation for infrastructures and countryside development projects of government at the local level where big cuts are slashed from the funds and go to the pockets of local officials.
Watchdog role
Quevedo said the BECs can play a watchdog role by checking on their officials.
“The BECs are the ones who know what is supposed to be given to a barangay. [They] can begin checking on those, because many of those barangay officials are members of the BECs, and therefore if they are given the IRA, or allocation funds, they are the ones who can monitor what is happening to the funds, said Quevedo.
But monitoring happens only at the barangay level since they are the ones who have first-hand knowledge of government programs and activities.
The schools of the archdiocese are also mobilized to address the same problem.
A program on honesty and accountability is part of the schools’ curriculum. It is directed against corruption. That type of program is also given at the BEC level.
The program is a systematic curriculum against corruption, the archbishop said.
Roles of BECs in rural development
Quevedo also said that rural development from the BEC perspective is sustainable development. It starts from the bottom as opposed from the present model of development that comes from top.
“The people have to use their own initiatives and whatever resources they can use in their own communities and develop themselves locally. So more or less it is a gospel countersign to the model of development in the world. They don’t really depend very much on outside help, so it’s called sustainable development,” said Quevedo.
The Cotabato archbishop believed rural development could address the poverty crisis at the local level.
He noted that people in the provinces can survive even with little.
“Big businesses cannot survive, but little people in the grassroots can survive with the kind of development that they can sustain from their own local areas,” Quevedo said.
“Sustainable development does not call for infusion of big capital. What it needs are cooperation and collaboration among themselves [BECs]. And perhaps a little capital from the diocese, from the parish, can help the BEC in the villages. But even that it is not really needed as my experience in Kidapawan and Nueva Segovia [showed]. The BECs there they started their own cooperatives, they started their own compact farming, in terms of community self help,” Quevedo added.
Despite the level of governance the country has at present, Quevedo still expressed optimism that sustainable development can help address poverty.
“It can help because leadership at BEC from the grassroots is again very different from the kind of leadership in politics. There’s a lot of consensus and decision making done by them (BECs). That is true with governance, that is also true with the social action projects, at that is also true with barangay chapel council. Again participation, collaboration and lot of decisions made based on themselves,” Quevedo said.
Showing the way
A number of BECs at the grassroots have formed cooperatives or clusters in marketing their goods. Ledesma said in Northern Mindanao one approach for marketing is to group together vegetable growers or calamansi growers to safeguard the quality of their products to able to market it in bigger cities, even to Metro Manila.
“It is through their clustering and forming associations that BECs can show the way in rural development,” said Ledesma.
He mentioned the pioneering effort of the archdiocese in the growth of a product like castor oil, beans and also in promoting the economic development of their small farmer growers in different areas.
‘Extensions of body of Christ’
Ledesma noted that ‘basic ecclesial communities are extensions of the body of Christ.’
‘‘All of us are but one body of Christ. And the BEC also partake the three functions and gifts of the body of Christ. Christ as Priest, as Prophet and a servant King. And it is in life perhaps that we can reflect a bit about the meaning of BECs,” he said.
Ledesma said that as a participatory Church BEC members share in the liturgical life of the Church. He gave as example the parish liturgical activities members of BECs partake in particularly the reception of the sacraments.
BEC members concretized their roles of being servant in sharing the responsibility of serving the needs of the local Church, he said. Ledesma observed the various roles members perform in the local Church.
“There is also a sharing of responsibility in terms of the multiplication of roles as they minister as alagads, as selda facilitators, as katekistas, and family and life promoters, youth organizers…,” he said.
Ledesma added that the sharing of responsibilities leads the members to grow in their faith, in their hope and aspirations “as one Church linked to the larger structures of the parish, of the vicariates, of the entire diocese and the whole Church in the Philippines.”
Another dimension Ledesma mentioned was the BECs involvement in advocacy work saying that ecclesial communities are called to be prophets and carriers of values. The rural congress last July has pushed into the open the various concerns of basic sectors from the BECs, among them agrarian reform, indigenous peoples’ rights, peace process, good governance, and poverty alleviation.
Still have much room for growth
Despite their dedication and involvement in the life of the Church BEC members still need a lot in terms of growth and guidance, noted Ledesma, admitting that factions are a reality in basic ecclesial communities.
“We cannot still rise up and speak in one voice. And it is in this sense that BECs themselves are invited to take the lead in reconciliation, in providing venues for bringing together homes and factions that have been split and separated from one another,” said Ledesma.
A new way of being Church
The three-day gathering hopes to challenge participants and bring a greater understanding on how BECs can indeed strengthen the faith of its members and how each one can contribute to the transformation of Philippine Society.
Commonly referred to as a new way of being Church, basic ecclesial communities or BECs are also called in various other names in different parts of the Philippines.
In Bangued, it is called Simbaan Dagiti Agkaarruba (SIMBAG); in Kalookan, Munting
Kapitbahayang Kristiyano (MKK); in Lucena, Quezon Province and Pasig, Munting Sambayanang Kristiyano (MSK); in Romblon, Buklod o Sambulig; in Antique, Kristohanon nga Katilingban (KK); and in Talibon, Gagmayng Kristohanong Katilingban.
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