The Iglesia ni Cristo is one with all other religious denominations in fighting poverty, a common enemy that should be fought in all corners of the Philippine archipelago, a church official said on Tuesday.
According to INC General Auditor Glicerio B. Santos Jr., this was the reason the church has decided to step up its regular and continuing outreach programs to needy communities all over the country.
On Saturday, the INC organized one of its biggest Lingap Pamamahayag projects to date with the distribution of clothing, livelihood supplies and vehicles to residents of Dantal and Datal Biao in Tampakan town in South Cotabato.
“Our objective in the Lingap projects is twofold—to provide spiritual enrichment and material assistance. For the Church, the most effective way to address the prevalent poverty around us is to meet it head on. If greed is one of poverty’s root causes, generosity is one of its cures, and the INC is blessed with the resources and will to provide assistance where it’s needed,” explained Santos.
The INC officer said that they regularly receive requests for livelihood assistance even from non-Iglesia members in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Church, according to him, heeds the call to serve without considering religious affiliations. “Our duty to help extends to everyone.”
For the big Lingap activity in South Cotabato, the INC distributed 8,000 five-kilo livelihood packs, 15,000 pieces of clothing, 10,000 toys for children and 20 sewing machines. The distribution coincided with the holding of a medical and dental mission for the residents of the two chosen communities.
The latest initiative builds on the INC’s earlier success at setting up a 16,000 hectare eco-farming site in the province. The location was meant to provide livelihood assistance to around 8,400 members of the Lumad and B’laan indigenous communities.
Under the leadership of Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo, the homegrown Filipino church has intensified its anti-poverty and socio-civic initiatives, which are all conducted through the INC’s own Felix Y. Manalo Foundation.
