PhilCARE

Philippine Catechetical Apostolate & Religious Education (PhilCARE) Foundation, Incorporated

Dear Friend,

     We live in the midst of a deep economic, cultural and moral crisis. We look at all these with apprehension not only for the present, but especially for the future, since the greatest victims of these crises are the young of today.

      We, the Episcopal  Commission  on  Catechesis  & Catholic Education (ECCCE) and Catholic Educational Association  of  the  Philippines (CEAP), are responsible for the Christian formation and  Catholic  Education in  our country, yet oftentimes incapable of counteracting the negative tide simply because of lack of  adequate means.

    That is why we established the PhilCARE Foundation, Inc. with the aim of helping the Catechists and Religion Teachers fulfill their role efficiently in the Christian formation of our youth.

      PhilCARE Foundation will be able to achieve its goal only through a close collaboration with its  generous Donors.

       For this, we turn to you with hope. 

HISTORY OF ORGANIZATION

The Philippine Catechetical Apostolate and Religious Education (PhilCARE) Foundation., Inc. has been established, born out of the concerns raised during the Joint Jubilee Congress of Catechesis and Catholic Education 2000 at Philippine International Convention Center.

The organization was conceived by the Chairman Abp. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP, DD and Br. Rolando Dizon of De La Salle University-Manila.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) – Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE) and Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) coordinated to set up the foundation that will source out and manage the funds for programs that will promote the development and welfare of catechists and religion teachers.

The new foundation (PhilCARE) is to be a non-stock, non-profit entity independent of both CEAP and ECCCE. Members of the board of trustees however will consist of five representatives from ECCCE and five representatives from CEAP. This may take the support form of financial subsidy geared towards the on-going training of catechists and given to poor catechists of the diocese. Furthermore, the Board decided to use only 30% of the accumulated interest of the capital and return 70% interest to the capital.

Aside from helping out catechists and Religious Education teachers, PhilCARE will assist dioceses, parishes and schools carrying out catechetical and religious instruction among public and private school students.

It has been the tradition that the President of the De la Salle University-Manila is the President of the Foundation.

Specifically, the Foundation will strive to make recommendations regarding programs for the training and formation of catechists and teachers, as well as instructional materials in catechesis and religious education; provide feasible welfare assistance programs for catechists and religion teachers; establish networks and linkages with related agencies; generate funds from grants, donations, income generating projects and other sources; and provide possible financial and other assistance to ECCCE for its operations and programs.

The board finalized and approved the by-laws of the Foundation last April 4, 2001 when the members also voted for the first batch of the Foundation’s officers: Elected were Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP,DD as chairman; Br. Rolando Dizon, FSC as president and vice-chair of the board; Sr. Ma. Jesusa Enginco, OP as secretary; Msgr. Gerardo Santos, treasurer; and Fr. Salvatore Putzu, SDB, executive director.

BACKGROUNDER

We worry about the present economic situation that condemns many Filipinos to live way below the poverty line, forcing a good number of them to eke out a living abroad or simply take the road of child labor and prostitution.

What should concern us more, however, is the Moral degradation that is affecting our people, especially our youth.

This loss of moral values and principles threatens the very future of our nation and of our Christian community with a mission to Asia.

The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (1991) has listed Catechesis and the Catholic Schools as the most important “Agents of Renewal” in the fight for moral recovery. A program such as this can be achieved only through the promotion of values and character building.

The National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal (2001) proclaimed “integral faith formation” as the number one priority of the Catholic Church in the new millennium. But this “faith formation” can take place only if we have adequately trained catechists equipped with proper pedagogical tools to teach the catholic faith to children and youth.

Our Constitution guarantees the right of parents to request that their children received religious education in the elementary and high school levels in the public school system, but “without additional cost to the government”.(Art. XIV, Sec. 3, par. 3)

Simply put, the government only provides school facilities and regular class time, but does not shoulder the salaries of Catechists nor does it supply the materials to be used in these Religion classes.

SCRAPING ROCK BOTTOM

The burden of compensating Catechists and supplying instructional materials is now left to the parents and parishes, which, because of financial difficulties are constrained to rely on “Volunteer Catechists.” 

They receive no financial compensation for the work they do in giving a Christian formation to our children and youth in the public schools and parishes.

There are thousands of Volunteer Catechists nationwide. While a few may receive from their parishes a uniform and a meager transportation allowance, most of them lack the indispensable instructional tools such as teachers’ guides and audio-visual materials to make their teaching of the Catholic faith more effective.

In addition to this, the catechists often feel helpless because their students do not have any learning materials, such as Religion textbooks and activity books which they could use in class and even bring home to the benefit of the whole family.

All this because of lack of funds!

THE SPIRIT IS WILLING BUT…

Consequently, Volunteer Catechists at times feel demoralized due to lack of support and cease to offer their services simply because they too have mouths to feed. Many qualified Catechists stop teaching Religion when given the opportunity of a well-paying job. 

As a result, the younger generation is growing ignorant of the basic truths of the Catholic Faith, while at the same time being exposed to the negative influence of sects, materialism and hedonism.

This factor is very relevant in the ongoing threat of the “dechristianization” of the Philippines.

As a practical way to solve this situation, the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE) and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) have joined forces in establishing the PhilCARE Foundation.

The Foundation’s primary goal is to improve the formation and status of the Catechists, as well as to provide them with effective teaching materials for their Religion Classes in the public schools. In this way, they will feel supported in the fulfillment of their most noble and indispensable mission.

• Operations of the National Catechetical Office 
• Joint Annual Meeting of Catechetical Ministers (AMCM) & Association of Catechetical Centers and Colleges with Religious Education Program (ACCCRE)
• National Catechetical Study 2016-17 in partnership with UST Research Team
• National Association of Catechists in the Philippines (NAC-Phil)
• Certificate in Catechetical Leadership & Supervision under the supervision of ECCCE and De La Salle University.Revision of the Framework of the Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC)
• Inclusion of the Study Guide in the National Catechetical Directory for the Philippines (NCDP)

+Roberto C. Mallari, D.D. (Chairman)

Bro. Raymundo B. Suplido, FSC (President & Vice-Chairman)

Mo. Ma. Jesusa G. Enginco, OP (Treasurer & Executive Director)

Fr. Ernesto B. De Leon (Corporate Secretary)

Fr. Bernardo G. Carpio

Dr. Lysander P. Rivera

Msgr. Michael Feliciano Veneracion

Fr. Nolan A. Que

Fr. Alain Manalo

Msgr. Manny Bravo

Fr. Neil Sta. Ana

Contributions may be remitted to the CEAP National Office
or you may deposit at the
Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI)
Account Name: PhilCARE Foundation, Inc.
Account No.: 0051-0547-41
Kindly send us a copy of the deposit slip if contribution was sent thru BPI. 

PhilCARE Foundation, Inc.
CBCP-ECCCE Office, CBCP Bldg., 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, 1002 Manila 
Telefax: 63(2) 527 – 5417
Mobile #: 0927 433 4307
email: philcare.foundation@gmail.com

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