The CfC split isn't something to ignore, especially by the media, so expect more coverage in the coming days.
The latest in the dailies:
Boo Chanco's Is Gawad Kalinga too good to last? in ABS-CBN Interactive:
(edit: the article was moved to ABS-CBN Interactive)
Excerpt
The good, the crab, and the ugly, in the Inquirer.net's Viewpoints:
Excerpt
Crabs and God’s design, in the Inquirer's Opinion section:
Excerpt
Anybody else notice the seafood theme? I'll have a Fried Piranha with that crab platter please.
That was a joke people.
Still praying for peace...we'll keep it light until we really know what direction this is all heading into. We still have the much maligned Council Elections to cover...
Just in, the FFL's SEC incorporators, the status of their denied application for incorporation, and...how does one receive tithes without a legitimately incorporated company?
The latest in the dailies:
Boo Chanco's Is Gawad Kalinga too good to last? in ABS-CBN Interactive:
(edit: the article was moved to ABS-CBN Interactive)
Excerpt
"I guess the story of the leadership crisis is too good to ignore for long. Vic Agustin wrote two columns in the Standard over the past week on the subject and Ces Drilon had a report aired on it last Tuesday evening on ANC. Newsbreak had a story on it too in its website. What I find sad is the impression it leaves that we Pinoys can’t stand a successful venture. Soon enough, crab mentality sets in and the venture becomes too good to last."
The good, the crab, and the ugly, in the Inquirer.net's Viewpoints:
Excerpt
"In the first town development summit held by Gawad Kalinga last weekend, Filipino-American Robert Sanchez, chief executive of a $500-million IT company, told more than 100 governors and mayors that he was part of a group of successful second-generation Filipino-Americans who had banded together to advocate for Gawad Kalinga. Before ommitting themselves and their resources to Gawad kalinga, they instructed their lawyers to research on Gawad Kalinga and perform due diligence on the organization. In his own words, Robert said, "Gawad Kalinga has no corruption, Gawad Kalinga has no arrogance."
Crabs and God’s design, in the Inquirer's Opinion section:
Excerpt
"I’m sure the “breakaway group” headed by Couples for Christ (CfC) founder Frank Padilla would be the first to deny that “crab mentality” is the reason they caused a split in the leadership of CfC and its social development arm Gawad Kalinga. News reports and magazine articles say the conflict was “ideological” in nature, though I won’t ignore talk that it was in part “personal” too."
Anybody else notice the seafood theme? I'll have a Fried Piranha with that crab platter please.
That was a joke people.
Still praying for peace...we'll keep it light until we really know what direction this is all heading into. We still have the much maligned Council Elections to cover...
Just in, the FFL's SEC incorporators, the status of their denied application for incorporation, and...how does one receive tithes without a legitimately incorporated company?
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19 comments:
this would die eventually - its just in the 'after shock' effect.
i pray our cfc leaders/elders would just shut up too and turn down any media interviews.
the more you give the public/media something, the longer this "unnecessary bad publicity" will drag on.
isnt it enough what we cfc family ministry members have been experiencing.
this is ain't no CIRCUS! we're Christians!
some guy/gal from Canada
Singles For Christ
C.D. said "That was a joke people"
... and so i laugh... HAHAHAHA
sounds like Fried Piranha is good with crabs... SOUNDS lang... baka BITTER taste
Yes, Gawad Kalinga will last! The recent "test" it had to pass, i.e. the accusation that GK is veering away from the teaching of it's mother organization, CFC did not hold any water!
In the recent CBCP meeting with both the leaders of FFL, led by Frank Padilla & CFC with Joe Tale its Executive Director, the Bishops did not agree with that accusation, for right from the very start that charge was as hollow as an empty wine barrel.
Even the handful of men who followed Frank to FFL and who had a stint for some years in GK sites will tell him that they too did their part in the evangelisation of their assigned GK sites.
Before the GK leaders of Mindanao, Frank Padilla admitted that his problem was not with the GK program nor the caretaker teams of CFC but with the person of Tony Meloto.
So Mr Boo Chanco, you will still write about the beauty and the good that is Gawad Kalinga for many years to come!
No more media interviews please - whatever is said can be twisted,taken out of context. There will never be an end to the bitter exchanges.
No more unChristian remarks please -
Truths and opinions can be expressed in a loving manner - that's what we had learned all along in CFC
Love God, Love neighbor
Mr Boo Chanco wrote that if the Philippine Catholic Church abandons "ownership" of this great work with the poor program, then there would be other groups that would gladly have GK.
I think we should not like to see this happen to the Catholic church.
Gawad Kalinga is a pearl, a prize possession that the Catholic church should keep at all costs, with our without Frank Padilla.
The Catholic Church in fact should insists that the caretaker teams of Gawad Kalinga, by the way they are the ones who really keep this program going, not Tony Meloto should be in CFC and subtly imply they be Catholic.
That's why it is so absurd for people like Oskie Contreras, Rolly Nillas, ED David, etc push so hard for the separation of GK and CFC.
These guys probably dislike Tony Meloto so much that they are throwing the baby with the water. (huwag na kayo mainggit, hindi pala totoo na libre ang SHELL gasoline ni Tony for life!)
What if the Manalo cult - Iglesia ni Kristo takes it?
Frank and his group deplore the fact that CFC is not acknowledged in the work of GK and aver that GK turns only to CFC for warm bodies. But consider this - the news about the split brought people to really look at the situation. From all news sources, you can read affirmation of what is unheralded - that what sustain GK are not the partners, nor the come-and-go volunteers, but the padugo by CFC members and caretaker teams. It is the selfless giving of their time, talent and treasures, without fanfare, in the name of God -- fueled by the burning passion to bring God to the poor and the poor to God. CFC, SFC, YFC, HOLD, SOLD do this without fanfare. For God knows and God sees and God touches.
So, rather than succeed in proving that CFC has veered away from its mission and vision because of GK, Frank and FFL have actually succeeded in beaming the spotlight on how CFC has been truly doing God's work thru GK. The split has drawn people's attention to the work of the faceless CFC members in GK sites who, thru selfless giving and caring, have become the witnesses of Christ among the poor. Wasn't it Frank who taught us that in order to evangelize, you don't even have to speak well - that you need only to live out your day as a disciple of Christ and voila! - people will see, believe and be transformed.
GK residents see how CFC members steadfastly and passionately give care and services as Christian brethren. And many believed and were transformed. That is evangelization. That is doing precisely CFC's mission to attain its vision of Christian renewal of families.
By forming the splinter group FFL, by distancing themselves from GK and discrediting GK leaders, workers and its system, Frank and his group have unwittingly bolstered and affirmed CFC's position: that GK is evangelization thru action.
GK is not a perfect program, it is not traditional nor hard-sell evangelization, but it is bringing souls closer to God.
This thing that happened to GK affecting the whole country, soon revealed internationally and made available in the virtual world presented a lot of issues and concerns for a true believer in God the Father Almighty to think about.
Groups and organized religions are tools that could either aid in one's spiritual enlightenment...or, sadly, in one's eternal doom.
To reveal the truth is to allow people the chance to see what they are following...not blindly.
If this is really God the Father Almighty's work and for His own glory, He will protect it the way He has protected the Ark of the Covenant when it fell into the hands of the Philistines.
What transpired in GK is to reveal the truth about people's true intentions, the insincerity of others and the monopoly of one religious group in expressing love for others when in truth what matters in the Last Judgment is the purity of our heart and soul.
Here also ... what is revealed are the whitewashed walls and how unleavened ...or leavened...the bread is.
CFC started only in the early 80s...and GK followed. All these happened in the midst of the continuing plunge of the state of morality in our country worsened by corruption and dirty politics. Also, the fact that serious issues regarding conflicts among Christian groups are still not settled, especially about doctrines.
The questions is, why did and what made the country arrive in that sorry state prior to the foundation of CFC? Were we not believers ever since?
Therefore, there are still a lot of stories to unfold as the battle to introduce God the Father Almighty and His will to the people continues against forces that either try to ignore Him or twist His truth.
What a true believer in the message of Lord Jesus Christ must do is to study the real essence of Christianity and endure till the end...because the sad thing to hear when that time comes is " I never knew you" ...from Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Joel F
We have Vatican support, says Meloto
MANILA, Philippines -- After the split into two factions of the lay movement Couples for Christ (CfC), one side now claims to have the official recognition of the Church hierarchy.
Commenting on the split in an interview over dzBB Friday, Antonio Meloto, who was the head of the CfC's highly successful flagship housing program Gawad Kalinga, noted that the recognition of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Vatican is with the group supporting Gawad Kalinga.
Meloto also downplayed the split as "tampuhan lang 'yan" (just a tiff) further noting that Gawad Kalinga is not siding with any one side in the falling out. He stressed that Gawad Kalinga's work is toward nation building.
For nation building
"This will be resolved (CfC split issue) because we're all friends but the CBCP and the pontifical recognition of the Vatican is with the leadership of the international council of CfC that is fully supportive of the work of Gawad Kalinga," Meloto also said in the radio interview.
Other faction
But the other faction, the CfC Restoration Movement, is saying that neither of the two groups can claim official Church recognition ahead of the release of the official communiqué of the body of the bishops that investigated the issue on the alleged "veering away of Gawad Kalinga from the vision-mission of the Couples for Christ."
"We would rather be prudent and wait for the official communiqué of the bishops so we can be more categorical on that issue," said Nonong Contreras, one of the four people currently in the interim committee organizing the CfC Restoration Movement. Contreras is also a former member of the Board of Elders of the international council of the CfC.
Meloto preempting bishops
Contreras noted, however, that nothing in the CBCP statement last Wednesday stated that the international council supportive of the Gawad Kalinga, Meloto's group, retains the CBCP recognition. Meloto's statement, he said, is preempting the bishops and is "just creating confusion."
The CBCP had confirmed the split within the CfC, one of the Catholic Church's largest lay movements in the world, last Wednesday after a closed-door meeting.
Frank Padilla
Contreras added that Frank Padilla, one of the cofounders of CfC in 1981 and now part of the CfC Restoration Movement, sits in the Pontifical Commission for the Faithful, the pontifical body responsible for the supervision of all lay communities all over the world.
Padilla, he also said, is the one that defended the CfC statutes before the CBCP that had eventually earned CfC the CBCP endorsement to be recognized by the Church hierarchy at the Vatican.
Open to reunification
Amid the falling out, representatives of both groups are saying that they are open to a possible reunification.
Contreras also said that despite the breakup of the two groups, they are always open to a dialogue.
"Our track record shows that we have exhausted all means to have a dialogue when tensions within the CfC are mounting. Our doors are always open to a dialogue," said Contreras.
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=85941
Got a copy of an email with the subject: Meloto breaks his silence. I am really apalled (tama ba spelling) by what that email says, i find it too offensive, sarcastic, unchristianlike coming from the FFL side.
to think this coming from my mother who right now is going to FFL and me who stays with the original CFC. hopefully this does not turn into a major split even in my family.
i really do hope in time these two groups reunite. but at the rate the FFL is backing down, even after the bishop's statement which clearly should have ended hostilities.. i don't know.
in response to the Eastergroup email of Aug.31 to wit:
"...it remains a fact that spouses Frank and Gerry Padilla continue to sit in the Pontifical Council for the Family at the Vatican. Despite this fact, the CFC-FFL has chosen to be prudent in claiming any recognition..."
WAKE UP !!! the recognition was not given to FAP and Gerry. its about the 1 million members of CFC. FAP nor FFL cannot lay claim on such recognition. It goes without saying that the recognition was given to and is retained with CFC !!!
even if they do continue to sit in the Pontifical Council - sige na lang sa inyo na lang.
Delicadeza would dictate that they should RESIGN and VACATE the SEAT. tutal naman nagresign na rin lang nung Feb.13 eh! they dont have the RIGHT to be there anymore. bye bye :-p
in response to the Eastergroup email of Aug.31 to wit:
"...it remains a fact that spouses Frank and Gerry Padilla continue to sit in the Pontifical Council for the Family at the Vatican. Despite this fact, the CFC-FFL has chosen to be prudent in claiming any recognition..."
WAKE UP !!! the recognition was not given to FAP and Gerry. its about the 1 million members of CFC. FAP nor FFL cannot lay claim on such recognition. It goes without saying that the recognition was given to and is retained with CFC !!!
even if they do continue to sit in the Pontifical Council - sige na lang sa inyo na lang.
Delicadeza would dictate that they should RESIGN and VACATE the SEAT. tutal naman nagresign na rin lang nung Feb.13 eh! they dont have the RIGHT to be there anymore. bye bye :-p
I could only agree with Kapatid and Francisco on their comments here.
Frank missed the point about GK, he actually supposed that his fears of GK 'veering away from CFC's teaching' was an actual situation that's widespread in all 1,200 sites. His idea repeated too often by him and his followers became their genie.
Meantime the caretaker teams of CFC/GK just plodded along building relationships, and doing evangelisation, i.e. showing the residents their faith in their God, Jesus Christ.
Frank and his FFL team were good in creating scenarios, even non-existing ones like: Disobedience to the Bishops, contraceptives in widespread use in GK, etc..They had an agenda: to bring Frank back to the Council of CFC. (Refer to Playboy Bunny minutes of Meeting)
That's the problem when your grasp of the subject is superficial! I think Frank missed seeing what was the real score in GK, because he goes to GK sites only when there are big affairs in the GK, while the caretaker teams go there very frequently.
Tapusin nannatin ito. Masiyado na tayong naabala sa gawain ng Panginoon. Bayaan na natin ang mga tumiwalag.
Ang pakiusap ko lang sana ay gamitin ng mga tumiwalag ang tunay nilang Pangalan. They were not able to register the CFC FFL name so they should not be calling themselves CFC specially when dealing with the parish priests. Magpakatotoo sila and not to mislead the parish priests at saka yong mga members na hinatak nila.
Huwag na rin nilang ipilit at kung ano anong argument ang sinasubmit for them to get the reconsidreation of SEC. Habang ang CFC will not agree to lend its name to their group, siguradong hindi iapprove ng SEC yong pangalang CFC FFL. Kahit sinong pipitsuging lawyer alam ito.
hi po, i'm from yfc. nakakalungkot lang po na iniwan na kami ng mga tito namin dahil wala na daw silang tiwala sa council. ang nangyari po yata eh nauna silang makausap ng FFL, kaya malakas ang hatak. pati ang yfc leaders sa area namin, yung mga anak ng FFL, eh bumitaw na din. sana ma-heal na ang rift, napakasakit pa rin po. malapit na ang board exam namin, kaso ito pa rin ang madalas kong iniisip. hindi na ako makapag-aral ng maigi. hay.. sana naman way lang ito para makita ng Diyos kung siya nga ba ang sinisilbihan natin at hindi ang organization, dahil kung Siya nga eh di dapat walang personalan at siraan na nangyari sa mga leaders natin. i'm still praying for reunification.
Last night Sept 02, 2007 at DZMM radio cum TV show, two men from FFL were guests.
And they were again talking about the views of FFL about the CFC election.
And they were again talking of everything supposedly wrong about GK.
And Nillas tried to convince the listeners about his / their BIG LIE "...that in GK areas, GK has now adopted the two-child policy".
Makes one wonder, why is it the Ateneo University, with its Catholic high school and college students who go to Nueva Ecija and Payatas GK areas regularly, don't see a clear indication or evidence that policy is really in place. Fr Ben Nebres of Ateneo U is more knowledgeable about GK than these former members of CFC.
Why is it that Franciscan Missionaries of Mary at a QC GK site (I forgot the name & place) where they are a partner, do not complain to Bishop Tobias about the existence (supposedly) of this two child policy?
How is it possible for these men, Contreras and Nillas, make sweeping allegations like that?
The answer: Perhaps they are well trained in scheming / trickery as proven by their June 07 meeting of Playboys and Bunnies at the residence of Contreras, where they plotted to WALK OUT on the June 22 CFC Election Day if Election is made.
This meeting was attended by Antipolo resident Frank Padilla, so we can assumed that the plot / plans / steps from June 07 to June 22 was with his blessings.
But I am not sure if Bishop Gabby Reyes knows it.
Unless Gary Faustino sent him a copy of the minutes without the knowledge of the other Playboys and Bunnies.
To all my Bros. and Sis. in CFC:
I am saddened by the split in the leadership of CFC but I'm more hurt by the actuations of the people who are visiting this blog.
It seems everyone has something bad to say about the other. Someone always has something to blame about the other. Fine Bros. and Sisters but let me just ask, before you spoke or stated your opinion..HAVE YOU PRAYED ABOUT IT?
Isn't it that it is in our culture to pray always. Moreover, our Lord told us to pray unceasingly. The current situation CALLS for it. If we pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, He will make us instruments of PEACE and UNITY not mediums of HATE and DIVISION.
If our leaders are causing us to divide, then LET US ASK GOD to make us channels of HIS PEACE so that we can once again be ONE CFC. Unfortunately Bros. and Sis. it seems even the membership wants the community to divide based on what I observed here. My Household and I will continue to pray for unity! We have committed not to say anything bad about the IC and FFL, and are seeking what unites both, not what separates them. To God be the Glory!
To Zac - You must be mistaken about Ed David "working hard with Contreras and Nillas to separate CFC and GK. You must mean Oland David, one of the incorpotators of FFL. Ed David supports the IC and our work with GK.
I am a CFC member here in Europe, I am also sad about the splitting of CFC into two, but I view it in positive way. If the leaders say that the separation of CFC is the only option to survive...well I agree. For me CFC is something like a team in olympic game. It has a group of good swimmers vying for swimming and a group sprinters for running competation. Maybe we can't be a good swimmer and at the same time a good runner...so it is. What we should do now is to do our best, whichever group we belong to obtain more gold while supporting each other for the CFC team. Mabuhay CFC-ffl, mabuhay CFC-cgmfi. Yun lang my dear brothers and sisters in CFC.
The c- factor
ASK GONEGOSYO By Joey Concepcion
Thursday, September 6, 2007 Philippine Star
The past two columns talked about how the education system should nurture the e-factor for their students to have a greater chance of becoming successful entrepreneurs. I also cited the top negosyo professors who mentioned how they would nurture the e-factor. Now what is the c-factor? These are the traits quite common among Filipinos, but one that we have to eliminate in our culture. C stands for the Crab mentality that becomes one of the greatest hindrances of a successful entrepreneur, aside of course from being pessimistic.
While in San Francisco last week, I had dinner with Dylan Wilk of Gawad Kalinga and his wife who is about to give birth to another baby girl anytime now. A couple of years back it was my wife who told me I had to meet this guy, a foreigner who talks so passionately about the Philippines and what Gawad does. I was asked to co-chair a Pitoy Moreno fund raising event for Gawad Kalinga and this is where the friendship started with Greg Monteclaro, Boy Montelibano, Tony Meloto and his son-in-law Dylan Wilk. We did have a successful fund raising event but more than that, it was the start of a relationship that allowed greater trust. I have been able to convince the whole Concepcion clan to donate close to 400 homes to Gawad Kalinga beneficiaries which is now called the Concepcion Village behind the RFM building, beside the Pasig River . Selecta also started its own village with my brother John and is now piloting eco-farming units with Gawad.
Dylan, prior to marrying Tony’s daughter, has a great story to tell, being one of England’s wealthiest at a young age who started as an entrep and sold his gaming business. He was supported by the Prince’s Trust program which he says was the reason for his success as a negosyante. Dylan today works for Gawad for free. He is now in San Francisco giving almost 10 speeches a week in different schools, parishes and universities, getting Filipinos there to support the Gawad cause. During our lunch, I asked him a very frank question about the changes I see in Gawad. He did say his father-in-law which he calls Papa, whom he greatly respects, has continued to remain silent all this time.
Among us Filipinos, we somehow get jealous when people do better than us and it is something that we need to change. When Tony won the Ramon Magsaysay award, Inquirer’s Man of the Year and so many other awards, I knew problems will start. Couples for Christ which was founded by Frank Padilla provides the important component in Gawad Kalinga which is the value formation. It is not a matter of building houses but homes and communities and the reformation of residents in the GK communities. Apparently, some of the advisers of Frank Padilla have somehow been successful in convincing him to set up a new group and get the new Couples for Christ (CfC) organization to focus only on developing spirituality and continue the mission of increasing its fold. Frank is a remarkable man who founded CfC, which is the largest Catholic charismatic organization which I am told has close to a million members.
More than the material awards given on earth, the greatest award await these people in heaven. Both Gawad Kalinga and CfC need each other and we hope they would continue to be together. As for CfC, it is where they can practice their spiritual belief and nourishment by helping GK communities change their lives. Being part of Bukas Loob sa Diyos many years back, and after attending a lot of prayer meetings, I started to realize that spirituality must be practiced, and what a great way to complement it with Gawad Kalinga, the best outreach ministry ever started by Couples for Christ thru the stewardship of Tony Meloto. I have also great admiration for Frank Padilla who has inspired a lot of people spiritually.
GoNegosyo actually has drawn great inspiration from the Gawad Kalinga program and today we continue to work with them. Vivienne Tan, a trustee of PCE has gotten the Entrepreneurs School of Asia to work with about 24 high schools for their selected students to mentor GK communities to improve the marketability of their existing products and make these negosyo projects really feasible and sustainable in the end, on commercial basis. Each high school and GK community is assisted by a GoNegosyo mentor and they form a team that will compete in what we call the “Teenpreneurship Challenge.” A very encouraging challenge indeed, and one that supports the vision of sustainable community-based “kabuhayan” projects of GK. The “kabuhayan” projects we believe are important undertakings complementing the “kabahayan” component of GK.
Let us not allow the evil one to draw up on the c-factor that destroys many good things that we have. We Filipinos take good pride in what GK has been doing, which has also been adopted as a very sound and workable development model in many countries. As with GoNegosyo, we are happy when programs like these succeed in helping people. Let’s continue to inspire people. Let’s enhance the e-factor in us and destroy the c-factor.
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