OUR PROGRAMS
The CHURCH AND SOCIETY (C&S) PROGRAM aims to deepen the understanding, both among Catholics and in secular society, of the role of the Catholic Church in social transformation based on Catholic social principles. Recognizing the crucial role that the Catholic Church has played in influencing Philippine social, political, and economic issues, the program seeks to foster reflection on the interface between Philippine Church and society. The program derives inspiration from Catholic social teaching and the 1991 Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, which declared the intent of the Catholic Church in the Philippines to become a “Church of the Poor.”
The specific objectives of the program are to:
promote CST among Church personnel, Catholic lay groups, people’s organizations, and NGOs, with a view to informing their strategies and action for social justice;
research on and for the institutional and hierarchical Church, Church organizations, and Church movements in the Philippines, so as to sharpen their engagement in social and political issues, as well as a critical understanding and appreciation of this engagement both within the Church and in secular society; and
assist various bodies and groups of the Catholic Church in the Philippines in advocacies consistent with Catholic social principles.
The FAMILY LIFE (FL) PROGRAM aims to promote and protect the rights of children, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and under Philippine laws, and to promote the use of natural family planning methods.
Through the conduct of research, advocacy, and capacity building activities, it works with child rights groups/networks, children and the youth, relevant government agencies that support children and families, and other civil society organizations to:
influence policymakers to craft laws and programs to promote the rights of children to survival, development, protection, and participation; and
provide technical assistance to various groups in relation to children’s rights and natural family planning.
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The URBAN POVERTY AND GOVERNANCE (UPG) PROGRAM addresses urban poverty and its principal manifestation–the lack of access to humane and secure housing. Through research and advocacy, the program aims to empower urban poor groups to work for better urban governance. The program’s main objectives are to:
improve housing and resettlement policy and practice by engaging government agencies and institutions providing development assistance;
collaborate with urban local governments for the development of poverty focused plans and interventions, particularly in housing;
assist peoples’ organizations and engage them in participatory researches such as city-wide urban poverty mapping and profiling;
promote in-city housing by producing studies on innovative tenure systems that make such housing affordable and sustainable; and
create a stronger advocacy base for urban development and housing reforms by networking with urban poor-allied groups.
The RURAL DEVELOPMENT (RD) PROGRAM recognizes that the majority of the Filipino poor live in rural areas. It also sees that the lack of access to land and other productive resources hinders the rural poor from participating in economic activities to improve their incomes.
In the face of formidable structures that perpetuate poverty in the countryside, the Rural Development Program sets its sight on alternatives, substitutes, or options that would address the issue of access, along with control and management of resources.
Primary areas and topics of concern for research and advocacy include:
access to land and water resourcesagrarian reform, alternative and secure tenure arrangements, delineation of municipal waters, and land use policy
access to capital and credit – microfinance services and schemes, and other sustainable financing approaches towards savings and capital build-up
access to technology – diversification through intercropping and processing of value-added products, and promotion of sustainable technologies
access to market – alternative trading and marketing
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REVIEW OF THE YEAR
JANUARY
Housing that works for the poor. The UPG Program began work with ICSI’s partner NGOs to come up with a unified position on proposed bills in the House of Representatives that seek to extend the corporate life of the National Housing Authority (NHA) for another 25 years. NHA implements the government’s resettlement program intended for the poor.
ICSI drafted a position paper calling for a comprehensive review of the NHA’s place in the housing ecosystem. A thorough assessment of the agency’s performance, the group stressed, is needed to come up with a forwardlooking, evidence-based proposal for performing the NHA’s crucial housing functions. The role of community organizations in the business model of the NHA must also be delineated to give credence to the government’s avowed intent to mainstream communityled housing in its shelter programs.
By also participating in public consultations called by the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, ICSI ensured that the concerns of communities in relocation sites of the NHA—mostly undermining their wellbeing— will be considered in the discussions. ■
Green cities for all. The Urban Transformation Working Group (UTWG), which ICSI steers with other member-organizations of the Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA), invited Architect Nathaniel von Einsiedel to talk about green development in Philippine cities.
The activity is part of a series of learning sessions that aim to equip the staff members of the NGOs with basic knowledge about the impacts of climate change on people, especially the urban poor, and the environment in cities. Architect von Einsiedel’s presentation delved into the environmental impacts of urban areas, which he said can be the healthiest places to live and work but also the least healthy, especially for the poor. ■
Making children’s rights real. The Civil Society Coalition on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC Coalition) released its first Annual Child Situationer, which ICSI, through the FL Program, helped develop as the lead organization of the coalition’s Systems Working Group. The document took stock of how the Philippine government has fared in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). ■
FEBRUARY
Engaging in principled partisan participation. Heeding the call of the Catholic church in the Philippines for lay individuals and organizations to “campaign for candidates they believe to be competent, honest, and public-service minded in order to reform our country”, ICSI endeavored to research the track record and agenda of candidates vying for a seat in the Senate in the crucial elections of 2022.
Those whose platform and stances are consistent with Catholic social principles (human dignity, social justice, solidarity, care for God’s creation, etc.) were freatured in ICSI’s Facebook page. ■
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Making discerned voting decisions. ICSI designed and facilitated a process for communal discernment for the Iloilo Catholic Educators Discern (ICED), composed of 46 educatorparticipants representing 18 Catholic schools in the province of Iloilo. Entitled Responding to the Signs of the Times: Discernment Circle for the 2022 National Elections, the program sought to help participants identify shared values and principles to guide organizational and network responses to present issues that challenge the community and country, and propose interventions and undertakings in response to the urgent needs of the community and country in the context of the elections. A national situationer based on CST was also provided as input and points for reflection and conversation.
The Discernment Circle was an integral part of the prayer and discernment process undertaken by ICED, which led the organization to declare support in the national elections for a presidential and vice-presidential candidate that the group felt had the qualities and values that can address the critical socio-political realities faced by the country. ■
Promoting spaces of compassion. With support from the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR), the C&S Program concluded an in-depth study on Catholics’ Attitudes and Responses on EJKs and the Government’s Anti-Illegal Drug Campaign to understand Catholics’ views and attitudes towards the issue of drugs and the anti-drug campaign. Outputs from the study included a full report as well as an issue briefer and notes on New Understandings and Approaches to Drugs for broader dissemination. Recommendations from the study sought to review and strengthen the Church in its pastoral role of journeying with people who use drugs and those affected by the drug war; in its teaching role in shaping narratives about drugs and people who use drugs; and in its healing role in promoting reconciliation after a divisive anti-drug war. ICSI also found
that the Church can play a critical part in creating “spaces of compassion” in which real conversations could be had about drugs and anti-drug efforts.
Building on the findings and recommendations generated by this study, ICSI secured a new grant from FGHR to contribute to building spaces for a more compassionate and evidencebased discourse on drugs and drug users, particularly among Church communities, anchored on human rights and Catholic social principles. With the new grant, ICSI worked with NoBox Philippines to conduct stakeholder consultations in July. Insights from the consultations helped ICSI in developing a toolkit to guide Catholic communities in engaging in compassionate conversations on drugs and drug use anchored on experience, evidence, and faith. ■
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MARCH
Putting faith into action. On Ash Wednesday, ICSI’s C&S Program offered a new set of Lenten reflection guides—in English and Filipino —that invite readers to reflect on the challenges facing our world today: poverty and inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation. Incorporating themes from Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’, each reflection was an invitation towards an ecological conversion in which we learn once again our identity as sisters and brothers in one human family, and our interconnectedness with all of God’s creation.
Developed with the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ), Prophet Project PH, and the Christian Life Community in the Philippines (CLCP), these
Lenten reflections aim to help readers on their journey of personal conversion and social and ecological transformation. ■
Children’s rights are human rights. ICSI’s FL Program led the writing of the NGO report for the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. The report, which covered ten most pressing children’s rights issues in the Philippines, was submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It presented evidence of violations of children’s rights and proposed concrete recommendations to promote compliance with international human rights standards. ■
Stressing ethics in governance. In this first issue of the Lights & Shadows for 2022, ICSI looked at the Duterte administration’s policies, programs, and responses to some of the issues that Filipinos dealt with in the last half of 2021 and continued to face at the start of 2022. From the coronavirus pandemic, punctuated by record surges of infections, to the catastrophic power of Super Typhoon Odette that left behind staggering damage in December 2021, the challenges that the government had to address required both immediate and long-term measures to protect the dignity of the human person, put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first, and ensure a safe and healthy environment for all. Highlighted in each assessment were some of the policies and actions of the Duterte administration that are consistent with the key themes of Catholic social teaching (the “lights”) as well as those on which public vigilance and engagement are needed (the “shadows”). Readers were invited to examine and reflect on the national situation with these assessments not only in the light of their faith and values but also with serious consideration of what is at stake for the country when voters head to the polls in May 2022. ■
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Planning our family size the natural way.
ICSI’s FL Program, which serves as the secretariat of the Responsible Parenthood and All Natural Family Planning Network (RPANFP), served as a resource speaker in a number of seminars and capacity building activities. These included monthly online NFP training in partnership with the Diocese of Cubao’s Family and Life Ministry, parenting seminars with all male participants called ERPAT, and one-on-one orientation on Standard Days Method (SDM).
No to historical revisionism. In the face of the present and pervasive disinformation in social media, ICSI’s issue of Intersect Quick Facts (IQF) for 2022 sought to correct some misinformation and disinformation about Martial Law and the Marcos regime. This issue of the IQF aimed to bring out the truth using information, facts and figures from legal documents, research from experts, and stories of those who survived that dark period of the nation’s history. References to Bible verses and Church teaching used to support the disinformation were clarified. The issue concludes with some reminders and concrete recommendations on how readers can safeguard the truth amidst lies and deceit. A total of 7,000 copies were distributed to requesting organizations and communities. ■
A compassionate approach to women using illegal drugs. High-risk behaviors such as using illegal drugs have been one of the common causes of women’s coming into conflict with the law. In the Philippines, the antidrug campaign has resulted in more individuals, women included, getting apprehended, incarcerated, and, in some cases, treated inhumanely and unjustly. As part of the advocacy for alternatives to incarceration and improved access to justice by women in conflict with the law under the “Delivery of Women’s Legal Literacy and Access to Justice Services in the Philippines” Project, UN Women, PHILSSA, and ICSI organized a learning session on harm reduction. This is an emerging paradigm which seeks to regard with compassion people who use drugs and thereby help minimize subjecting them to criminal prosecution and the unnecessary use of penal sanctions including imprisonment. Ms Ma. Inez Feria, founder and executive director of NoBox Philippines, a member of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) and one of the pioneer advocates of harm reduction in the country, served as the resource person. ■
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APRIL
Enhancing youth political participation. Electionrelated conversations hosted by the RD Program were an important part of the election experience of ICSI’s rural youth partners.
Following through on action plans generated during the previous year’s conversation of rural youth on engaging in elections and politics, ICSI convened a second electoral and political conversation entitled Kilos Na! Kabataan sa Kanayunan. Engaging the same youth representatives from KAISAHAN, CARRD, ISO, and PAKISAMA, the session provided a venue for the discussion and crafting of an electoral agenda for the rural youth anchored on a set of common values, and for discussing feasible ways of disseminating the rural youth agenda to national and local candidates.
Beyond the elections, this loose network of youth groups and NGOs committed to advocate continually for the rural youth agenda under the new administration.
Priority agenda are the passage of a Magna Carta of Young Farmers and a capacity-building program that will develop potential young leaders in the rural areas who can run in the forthcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections. ■
The vote of the poor. Meetings convened by ICSI’s UPG Program for the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL) provided a venue to discuss issues facing the urban poor and strategies to pursue common advocacies.
Through the learning session organized by ICSI, UP-ALL Mega Manila leaders and community members were informed about existing mechanisms for participatory auditing. In their conversations regarding the national elections, UP-ALL Mega Manila leaders were guided by the
questions in discussing and sharing their ideas and insights on making the vote of the poor matter in the 2022 elections. They also had opportunities to share strategies in encouraging community members to participate in the elections and campaigning for common national candidates whose track record epitomize adherence to good governance, as well as sources of information and campaign materials. ■
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MAY
Making sense of the national elections. The outcome of the national elections disappointed many of ICSI’s partners who actively campaigned for candidates who they believed represent democratic values and ideals but lost in the polls. ICSI facilitated several post-election debriefing sessions with NGOs and people’s organizations to help process the insights and reactions following the elections.
In the wake of the results of the elections, members of PHILSSA gathered in May and sought to understand the sentiments and narratives that defined the votes of millions of Filipinos outside the echo chamber of civil society and advocates. It initiated the “Voices Outside the Echo Chambers (VOTE)” Research Project to gather input to support the network in devising strategies to help strengthen civic
engagement of its members and partners, especially those in the communities. It also sought to identify entry points for translating community development efforts into political gains or informing people’s political decisions. Aside from contributing resources for this small research project, ICSI participated in project planning and developed the interview guides and templates. Focus group discussions were organized in several areas where ICSI’s partners work, involving a total of 156 community leaders and members. Initial research findings were presented in one of the learning sessions of the Social Development Week of CODE-NGO (or the Caucus of Development NGOs) in October. The insights gained from the research will be used to inform the political engagement strategies of PHILSSA in the next five years. ■
Sustainable development for all. ICSI’s FL Program conducted a series of workshops for the CRC Coalition to assess the status of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on quality education (SDG 4) and gender equality (SDG 5) in the Philippines. The results of the workshops were included in the Spotlight Report of Local CSOs published by Social Watch Philippines in June 2022 for submission to the UN Hgh Level Political Forum of Sustainable Development. ■
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Living our faith. ICSI’s C&S Program organized its third full run of the Faith That Does Justice: CST Formation Program that it had designed, piloted, and conducted the previous year. For this run, more than 30 volunteer formators of Caritas Manila participated. After completion of each run of the program, each participant was given a facilitators’ toolkit, which included a guide to the module, participants’ notes, presentation slides and session recordings. These would aid their own delivery of the material to others. Feedback received from those who completed the program served as input in developing Sa Yapak ni Hesus, a customized CST formation program for Caritas Manila volunteers and communities. This new and expanded formation program seeks to encourage the participantsto live out a faith that does justice. ■
Monitoring a resettlement action plan. ICSI commenced its work as the External Monitopring Agency (EMA) for the implementation of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) of the fourth phase of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The infrastructure project financed by an official development assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) involves the relocation of hundreds of informal settlers. In the next three years, ICSI will monitor, through interviews, changes in the situation of at least 70 projectaffected families. Its reports shall serve as basis for the project implementers to undertake necessary interventions to ensure that these families will not be worse-off in their new community. This project provides ICSI the evidence and deeper insight on how off-city resettlement impacts low-income families. ■
A final assessment. Hopes were high when the popular mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, took office as the 16th president of the Philippines in 2016. Many expected that his would be an administration that could bring the change that people needed and wanted to see in government as well as in their lives and society. But what kind of change? And at what cost?
As the Duterte’s exit from office drew near, ICSI offered a rapid assessment of how his administration has upheld and violated key principles of Catholic social teaching over his six years in office.
This issue of the Lights & Shadows realeased in June wrapped up ICSI’s CST-guided analysis of the Duterte presidency. ■
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JUNE
Making the invisible visible. The Access to Justice Project of UN Women and PHILSSA sought to strengthen community mechanisms for addressing the needs of women in conflict with the law (WICL) in select working class barangays in Quezon City and Davao City. As the lead NGO for research and advocacy, ICSI, through the UPG Program, organized a dialogue participated in by leaders and members of organized communities with similar environments and contexts that create or exacerbate the challenges WICLs experience. The activity expanded the constituency of support and cooperation for efforts to improve WICLs’ access to justice, especially at the community level, and for common advocacies on gender equity and women’s empowerment. The participants were leaders of people’s organizations under the Urban Poor Alliance (UPALL) and the Aksyon sa Kahandaan sa Kalamidad at Klima (AKMMA). This activity capped ICSI’s participation in the project, which included the development of information and education materials. ■
Closing the gender gap in the fisheries sector. The RD Program undertook the study Kayang-kaya, Kababaihan sa Pangisdaan, A Documentation of Select Women-Managed Areas (WMA) in the Philippines to understand and reassert the roles and contributions of women in the fisheries sector. The research focused on WMAs in the municipalities of Siruma, Camarines Sur; Salcedo, Eastern Samar; and Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur. A holistic view (environmental, economic, social, and political) of the WMA concept was construed from the cases, including environmental, economic, social, and political opportunities and challenges for women in these areas.
ICSI conducted the study in partnership with the members of NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR), particularly the Institute of Social Order (ISO), Center for Empowerment and Resource Development.
(CERD), and Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya (SIKAT). Outputs of the study included a full report and a policy brief. The study was ICSI’s contribution, with NFR, to the elaboration on the concept of women-managed areas, and how it can be a useful tool or strategy for resource management. ■
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Giving voice to Filipino children. The FL Program prepared a two-page advocacy briefer presented by the CRC Coalition representative to the pre-session of the UPR in Geneva, Switzerland. The briefer summarized four issues facing Filipino children: online sexual abuse and exploitation; violence against children; teenage pregnancy; and discrimination against children of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The briefer included recommendations lobbied with other state parties for inclusion in the UPR Outcome for the Philippines. ■
Building the urban poor’s climate resilience. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released the Philippine country report for its knowledge and technical assistance project called “Advancing Inclusive and Resilient Urban Development Targeted at the Urban Poor.” The report Building Resilience of the Urban Poor in the Philippines had ICSI Associate Director Dr. Anna Marie Karaos as one of the authors. The project aimed to strengthen the country’s capacity to design and implement investment projects that strengthen resilience of the urban poor, thereby advancing inclusive urban development. The country report identified investment opportunities for strengthening resilience of the urban poor. ICSI’s UPG Program staff wrote the sections on housing, livelihood, and health for the vulnerable urban poor for the country report. The key findings were presented to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in September, which ICSI also helped conceptualize. ■
Business with faith. ICSI was invited to provide sessions to over 300 employees of the Joy Nostalg Group (JNG) of Companies connecting the company’s core values and CST towards strengthening a culture of social mission and responsibility across the organization. Following these sessions, JNG and ICSI plan to expand the partnership and initiatives in the coming year. ■
12 AUGUST
Empowering the laity. During the launch of the 2022 National Laity Week Celebration, ICSI, through its C&S Program, presented the significance of CST in the Church’s synodal journey, where the laity is included and empowered. At this event, ICSI offered a formation program developed in partnership with and support from Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas. Mapasaamin ang Kaharian Mo aims to promote CST and inspire civic engagement and action among the Filipino laity. ■
Good practices in lobbying for childfocused laws. ICSI’s FL Program produced a documentation report of the strategies employed by the Child Rights Network (CRN) to push for childfocused policies. The report captured the experience of the network in engaging the 18th Congress (2019-2022) that led to the passage of several child-focused laws, such as Republic Act (RA) 11648 which increases the age for determining the commission of statutory rape from below 12 years to below 16 years; RA 11596 which prohibits the practice of child marriage; and RA 11930 which protects children from all forms of abuse and exploitation, especially those committed with the use of information and communications technology. ■
Monitoring children’s rights. To update the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the situation of children in the Philippines, CRC Coalition submitted an update to the 2020 CSO Alternative Report. ICSI’s FL Program led the writing of the report, which discussed issues on education in the new normal, the COVID-19 pandemic and the health of children, children with disabilities, and attacks on child rights defenders. ■
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SEPTEMBER
Never forget, never again. To mark the 50th anniversary of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s declaration of Martial Law, ICSI released a statement offering guidance in remembering the hardships and pains Filipinos went through, especially those who were victims of martial law.
The statement stressed that it is necessary to continue to defend the victims of injustice and their rights to uphold their God-given dignity. Forgiveness does not negate the claim to justice, but rather requires it. If what we want is forgiveness, the purpose of which is to heal broken relationships, we cannot lose or set aside the correction of violence and other ‘unjust’ actions. ■
OCTOBER
Housing for all. ICSI, through its UPG Desk, helped form a platform for NGOs engaged in low-income housing to craft an advocacy plan and agenda in response to the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Project. By prioritizing the relocation of informal settlers to high-rise buildings, this flagship project of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is deemed by the NGOs as unresponsive to the needs and paying capacity of the urban poor. ICSI provided secretariat assistance to the group led by Cebu-based Pagtambayayong Foundation, as well as financial resources and technical assistance such as documentation of meetings and drafting the Manifesto on Housing, a document presenting five alternative and pro-poor housing approaches.
An article which appeared as a letter to the editor in the Philippine Daily Inquirer questionned how the 4PH will reach the poorest among the homeless in cities. ■
Promoting the conservation of municipal waters. In 2021, ICSI, through the RD Program, completed KarapatDagat: An Assessment of the Policy on Commercial Fishing in Municipal Waters in Select Local Government Units in the Philippines which examined the enforcement as well as the effects and implications of policies and ordinances on commercial fishing operations within municipal waters towards allowing a more meaningful implementation of the policy to benefit the municipal fisherfolk. This year, ICSI contributed to the development of a draft primer by Rare Philippines intended to promote awareness on the issue, especially among coastal municipalities. ICSI stressed in the primer the importance of delineation of municipal waters, implementation of relevant laws and policies on municipal waters, and the roles and mandates of LGUs national agencies with regard to municipal waters. ■
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NOVEMBER DECEMBER
Towards a synodal Church. As a Catholic cultural center, ICSI was invited to participate in a conversation titled Enlarge Our Tents led by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Culture. The activity sought to raise participants’ awareness about the “noises” that affect how they listen to others in dialogue, and help harvest from experiences realizations and insights about listening and dialogue to discover new pathways for bridging social and cultural divides. ICSI facilitated and documented the conversation held at the Asian Social Institute in Manila. ■
Faith that bridges divides. ICSI produced God With Us: Nurturing a Faith That Bridges Divides in English and Nasa Atin and Diyos: Pagtataguyod sa Pananampalatayang Mapaghilom in Filipino to serve as prayer and reflection guides for the Advent season. These guides were designed to accompany Catholics in a journey of seeing reality with greater clarity through the lens of our faith; judging these particular realities, guided by insights from Scripture and CST; and acting in response to the urgent needs and invitations presented to us as our humble offering to God. The guides seek to facilitate for its users an intimate encounter with God who calls his people to be his loving and merciful presence in the world. ■
Social issues through the lens of CST. ICSI has contributed a total of 157 articles for Veritas Editoryal, the five-minute commentary segment of Radyo Veritas (DZRV 846), a Roman Catholic AM station owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Manila. Read by Radio Veritas President, Fr. Anton C. T. Pascual, and aired thrice a day from Monday through Wednesday, these essays discussed current events and pressing social issues in relation to Catholic social teaching. Some of the articles were translated into English and published as commentary articles of Fr. Pascual in the Business Mirror. These were further disseminated by posting them on Veritas 846 AM’s website, sharing them on Facebook, and sending to ICSI partners them through email bulletins. ■
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