ILOILO CITY—The Archdiocese of Jaro in Iloilo has expressed public support to the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s “Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayan Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga (MASA MASID) program and the Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan (UBAS).
In a pastoral statement titled “Unleashing the Power of Love and Mercy,” Archbishop Angel Lagdameo appealed to all Christian leaders, businessmen, professionals, physicians, and all parishioners to invest time, resources, and energy to help curb the complex problem of drug menace in the society.
“We must commit to greater church and state collaboration to eradicate the problem of illegal drugs,” Lagdameo said.
“Through the facilitation of JASAC (Jaro Social Action Center), we can join hands in partnership with groups like the DILG for MASA MASID and UBAS to fight criminality, corruption, and illegal drugs,” he added.
Lagdameo’s pastoral statement was read in front of all the churchgoers during the recent Sunday mass in all parishes under the archdiocese.
DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno thanked Lagdameo and the entire diocese of Jaro for their support.
“We are very thankful for the support of Jaro to our MASA MASID and UBAS program. It is my fervent hope that with the close collaboration of DILG and our church organizations, we will be able to win the war against illegal drugs through various approaches which include values reorientation and spiritual nourishment,” Sueno stated.
Newly-launched MASA MASID is a barangay-based anti-criminality, anti-corruption, and anti-illegal drugs program.
It encourages the coming together of volunteers from different sectors for a more inclusive and efficient implementation of the program.
The program will mobilize the UBAS Expanded Technical Working Group at the city or municipal level to convene the members of the MASA MASID Team, which shall be the main implementing arm of the program at the barangay level.