A REGIONAL conference delving on the role of the laity in effecting change in governance culminated the week-long celebration of the National Laity Week.
Dr. Linda Tacorda, National president of the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas said the two-day regional conference scheduled in Iloilo City was a first in the history of the organization.
The implementing lay arm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) as Laiko is called, tackled the issue of good governance—a problem that for so long has been hounding the country because of unabated corruption in different agencies of government.
Hoping that this gathering would lead participants to become more aware of their role in the Church, Tacorda noted that the conference came at a time when the issue of graft and corruption is keenly felt and experienced at various levels of government.
“The theme touches on a very relevant issue that is the need of our present times. It becomes a very attractive, interesting and thought provoking issue for many. That’s why we took the opportunity to bring together the different movements, [and] organizations [in the Church] to come together and see what we can do as lay people,” Tacorda said.
The conference was anchored on the theme “The Laity: Primary Agents of Change Towards Honesty and Integrity for Good Governance.”
Reflecting on the theme, Tacorda said, “I want to provoke our audience today. Do we have to [get] a priest to run as governor? Is there no prepared lay person to take the job and change the way we do and run our government? I don’t think a priest should leave his ministry and be suspended from his ministerial duties to run [for] government [office.] That’s the role of the laity, [to run for government office],” she explained.
Tacorda believed the present state of government presents a big challenge to the laity.
“That’s a very obvious challenge to the participants. It is really a call for us as lay people. Why do we have this kind of government? Where are we? Ninety nine percent of the Church [is composed of lay people],” Tacorda said.
When asked if she thinks the laity is not doing its job, she replied, “It seems the laity is not doing properly its role.”
Tacorda said she sees the need for a reintegration of Christian principles in the various professions the laity is involved in.
“Like this issue now on reproductive health. Where are our Catholic doctors, our Catholic nurses, our Catholic legislators?” she asked.
Among the guest speakers in the two-day conference was Pampanga governor “Among” Ed Panlilio who electrified the audience with the sharing of his own experience of battling corruption and effecting change in his province widely known as the “jueteng” capital in the country.
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