NRC-II starts local consultations

THE second National Rural Congress (NRC II) slated middle of next year is expected to gain active participation from the rural poor as parishes kick off its consultation at the local level.

In a letter sent to all dioceses, ECSA-JP Chair Most Rev. Dinualdo Gutierrez, DD, reiterated the aims of the local assembly: a) to know the needs and current situation of the rural poor; b) to analyze the impact of social legislation and its implementation in the light of the social teachings of the Church; c) to identify the roles of BEC's and other Church groups; and d) to propose strategic plans.

NRC-II Ad-Intra and Ad-Extra secretariat have formulated guidelines for the consultations both for the parishes and diocesan level.

Meanwhile, following the parish consultations, the diocesan rural congress and sub-regional consultations will begin simultaneously in the first quarter of 2008. The data generated from these consultations will be collated, in time for the National Rural Congress scheduled sometime middle of next year.

In its recent meeting, the NRC II central committee and members of the secretariat discussed and laid out plans on the effective participation of people at the local level. There will be simultaneous nationwide consultations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The workshops will tackle particular situations of sectors involved, such as, farmers, fisherfolks, miners, and indigenous people (IP). However, it will also include cross-cutting issues concerning women, youth and elderly.

The social teachings of the Church will serve as a framework for analysis, and will be presented in the language and dialect understood by the poor. The See-Judge-Act methodology will be applied both at the local as well as national levels.

The data gathered from local consultations will be raised to the national level for crafting national policies and engagements with government, business and other stakeholders.

Listening to the voice of the poor

The NRC II enlisted the collaboration of consultants from NGO’s and people organizations (PO’s) to make the local consultations effectively meet its objective, to listen to the poor.

The consultants from NGO’s raised important issues such as poverty, population, government budget allocation for basic services, human rights violations, empowerment of the rural poor, and social justice for discussion which the central committee took note of.

Meanwhile, research groups composed mainly of NGO’s and PO’s listed down possible areas where they can help: such as providing inputs and making instruments for consultations, help collate or synthesize the outputs of the local consultations, help develop systematic pressure points and areas of engagements with government, business and academe, and organize symposiums later to present researches and policy studies on the rural poor.

The National Rural Congress of 1967 opened a door which led to a deeper involvement of the Philippine Church in social issues concerning the plight of the poor. The Church’s concern in rural issues spawned the formation of diocesan social action centers, rural cooperatives, advocacy groups for agrarian reforms, and others.

However, in a pastoral statement issued early this year the CBCP acknowledged the need to review the continuing issues that hound the rural poor. In calling for the second National Rural Congress the statement said, “This time our farmers must do the speaking by themselves, the discerning, the proposing of their own ideas, the planning of how we must as a people come together to work for the common good of the country…”

Thus the National Rural Congress will provide an opportunity for the rural poor to find their voice and be heard, both by Church and government; and become keys players in rural development.