The Official Newsletter of the Shrine of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life Release 49 CHRISTMAS ISSUE 2016
Help for Taal Evacuees Shrine of Jesus donates PhP 500K, truckload of relief goods by Bro. Ramie Bernardo and Bro. Lito Perello
It was the afternoon of January 12 when Taal Volcano erupted, sending a plume of steam and sulfur skyward, and releasing ash 14 kilometers into the air. The ash fall reached as far as the Shrine of Jesus just after the 5:30 PM Sunday Mass. Churchgoers wondered why there were sand-like particles falling from the sky. The authorities later on ordered a “total evacuation” of around thousands
of people residing in the 14-kilometer radius danger zone. This prompted our Shrine Rector, Rev. Msgr. Bobby Canlas, to organize a relief operation and to take immediate action after receiving a text message from the office of Archbishop-Emeritus Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales on January 14. The good Cardinal said people affected by this catastrophic event needed support and assistance. On January 17, only three days after that text message, Msgr. Bobby Canlas with the help of the Shrine of Jesus Service Ministry was able to prepare a truck of relief goods
and had it transported directly to the Lipa Archdiocesan Social Action Commission (LASAC), which served as a Taal Volcano eruption relief operations center. The truck was loaded with boxes of blankets, sleeping mats, sandos and t-shirts for children, face masks, toiletries, noodles, canned goods, milk, juice, drinking water, and bath and laundry soap. The LASAC center is where relief Continued on page 8
Rev. Msgr. Roberto “Bobby” C. Canlas, rector of the Shrine of Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, together with some Shrine volunteers bring a big truck of relief goods in response to a request for help from the office of Manila Archbishop Emeritus Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales (wearing cap) for the Taal evacuees.