Consultations are ongoing among various sectors to craft a post-election accountability program that Caritas Philippines plans to roll out in all diocesan social action centers nationwide.
That was disclosed by Most Reverend Jose Colin Bagaforo, Caritas Philippines National Director and Bishop of the Diocese of Kidapawan. Bagaforo was the guest last Friday of Gugma ug Kamatuoran, the online forum of Cebu Caritas, Inc.
The accountability program is in line with the twin thrusts of the Catholic Church’s social action arm — Good Governance and Care for the Environment.
Bagaforo said the results of the National Synod on Synodaly to be held in Manila this month will form part of the consultative process. He said the Synod on Synodality, which already gathered inputs from the lay in the various dioceses, is aimed at achieving Good Governance. The Synod has three aspects: Communion, Participation, and Mission.
Aside from the inputs from the Synod, Bagaforo said they will revisit the Ugnayang Barangay at Simbahan (UBAS) and Simbayanihan models and get recommendations from the bishops during the annual conference of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) this month. All of these, he said, will be stitched together in order to arrive at a framework for the accountability program.
Bagaforo stressed that the role of the Catholic Church in the present government is anchored on principled cooperation.
“We will cooperate, we are reaching out, we would like to partner with government. After all, we are serving the same people. It’s always for nation-building. It’s always to help the people, especially the poorest among the poor,” he said.
Bagaforo appealed to all the Diocesan Social Action Centers (DSACs) nationwide and the public to support Caritas Philippines’ two main advocacies in the next two years— good governance and ecology.
On good governance, he said our country needs our help.
“While our political leaders have a bigger role to play in running the country, let’s help in nation-building. If we do this, we also help ourselves,” Bagaforo said.
On ecology, he said the campaign will focus on solid waste management as this has an impact on everyone’s health. Improper disposal of garbage also leads to flooding.
“Let’s take care of our environment,” Bagaforo said.
Gugma ug Kamatuoran is the weekly online forum of Cebu Caritas, Inc. It is streamed live every Thursday, 10 a.m., on Cebu Caritas’ Facebook page.
Attorney Paredes is a Trustee of Cebu Caritas, Inc. and Member of the Good Governance Committee. Before her retirement, she led the Public Affairs division for Visayas and Mindanao of Smart Communications, Inc. She used to work in media both for print and broadcast.