Pondo ng Pinoy P0.25 for the poor

Pondo ng Pinoy:
P0.25 for the poor
Posted: 6:15 AM (Manila Time) Jun. 20, 2004
By Blanche S. Rivera and Peachy E. Yamsuan
Inquirer News Service
http://www.inq7.net/nat/2004/jun/20/nat_12-1.htm

Community foundation

THE CHURCH is building a foundation for the poor on 25 centavos.

Picking up from the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the archdiocese of Manila launched on June 11 the Pondo ng Pinoy, a community foundation that will be supported by 25-centavo donations to the parishes in 13 dioceses covered by the ecclesiastical province of Manila.

The project encourages all Catholics to set aside 25 centavos daily for the foundation, whose aim is to support projects of nongovernment organizations and provide the people an alternative to entrusting their welfare to politicians.

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales said Pondo ng Pinoy would bring about not only the development of the Filipino people, especially the poor, but also a miraculous transformation of the country.

Addressing some 9,000 people gathered at the Folk Arts Theater for the first-ever Manila Interdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly, Rosales said the foundation would replace the government funds that should be used for the public welfare but were being cornered by politicians.

He cited a study by the World Bank showing that 40 percent of the Philippines' annual budget was being lost to graft and corruption. He assailed the politicians who, he said, always took advantage of the poor during elections and political rallies but subsequently ignored them.

"It is not I who condemn; only God can condemn," he said. "We cannot stop [politicians] from taking that 40 percent through corruption, but we can provide an alternative. And this is our alternative."

A crumb's weight

The Pondo ng Pinoy is rooted in the "Theology of the Crumbs" based on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in the gospel written by Saint Luke.

The rich man feasted on good food every day, while Lazarus, the beggar, lay by the door waiting for the crumbs to fall from the rich man's table.

Upon their deaths, Lazarus went to heaven, and the rich man, to hell.

Rosales said the rich man was not sent to hell because he was rich: "He was condemned because he did not allow even a small thing such as a crumb to fall in the way of Lazarus. Selfishness and greed, no matter how they are expressed, are what keep hell going.

"When the quarrel is over millions and billions, the stake is for the devil, but when the issue is about crumbs and morsels, the obvious destiny is heaven."

Thus, the dictum of the Pondo ng Pinoy is "Anumang magaling, kahit maliit, basta't malimit, ay patungong langit (Whatever is good, no matter how small, as long as it is given regularly, is directed toward heaven)."

The weight of a crumb is 25 centavos, Rosales said, adding:

"Every Filipino believer in the goodness and love of God, expressed in Jesus His Son, will set aside a 'crumb,' 25 centavos, every day."

Individuals and families are urged to save 25-centavo coins in small containers, such as empty water bottles or soft drink cans, and deliver these to their parishes or schools.

If each of the estimated eight million Catholics in Metro Manila saves P1.75 a week, the donations will translate to P14 million weekly and P728 million annually.

More important, Rosales said "the practice will make love and compassion a way of life."