Familians Advocate “Huwag Kang Magnakaw” on CLF Day
The annual celebration of CLF Day in Holy Family School was held last September 28, 2018 along with the celebration of St. Lorenzo Ruiz's feast day. The whole event was centralized on the advocacy of the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP): “Huwag Kang Magnakaw”. To show support for the advocacy, the entire Familian community wore white t-shirts with an imprinted statement: “Huwag Kang Magnakaw”.
The first half of the program was held at the Familian Court with the a Eucharistic Celebration themed “Raising to Life is to walk with the Suffering of the Messiah.” Upon the arrival of priest presider, Fr. Ronnie Banaria, CMF at around 8:30, the mass officially commenced and Gr. 9 councilor, Darlene Dizon delivered the introduction for the mass. There she spoke about the martyrdom of St. Lorenzo Ruiz wherein she quoted his line: “If I had a thousand lives, I would still give them all to God.” After the introduction, the mass entrance song was played, signaling the start of the mass.
After the mass, Familians took their short break and resumed the next activity for the morning program. The school invited Carmelite Missionaries, Chairperson Fr. Nonong Fajardo as guest speaker for the symposium. There he discussed the advocacy: “Huwag Kang Magnakaw” and how it began in 2014 when the issue on Janet Napoles’ Pork Barrel scam erupted. He shared how Cardinal Tagle spoke to him about the issue quoting: “Hanggang dito na lang ba tayo?” during their conversation. The discussion led to how stealing sometimes starts in the family, in the child through the act of “Pangungupit”, as Filipinos call it. The advocacy was a call for action, to reclaim the stolen dignity of the Filipino people through acts of honesty and integrity. In their effort to promote the advocacy, he encouraged everyone to wear the white t-shirt that stated: “Huwag Kang Magnakaw.” The symposium concluded with an open forum where students asked Fr. Nonong several questions regarding his talk.
The morning program ended and the students had their lunch. Thereafter, the first activity for the afternoon program began. Familians once again gathered at the Familian Court and Gr. 12 SBMO President: Margaux Alpajora came up the stage to explain the wearing of shirts. After her short explanation, it was followed by a presentation of artworks made by students from every batch. The message of their artworks, which centralized on the advocacy, was shared by each representative. Thereafter, an intermission number was presented by the Gr. 12 B. They presented a meaningful modern theatrical play centralized on the theme "Huwag Kang Magnakaw ng Buhay", showcasing social injustices the country is faced with and how it robs Filipino's peaceful lives. It was then followed by a life testimony delivered by the people whom the school has invited to share their traumatic experiences regarding social injustice.
First to voice out his experience was Amir Barzabas, a Maranao tricycle driver who witnessed the violent battle in Marawi between the government troops and Maute groups last 2016. In his story, he shared how traumatic the event was for his family especially for his child who got injured and sick while walking for several days just to find an evacuation center that would accommodate them.
After him was Mae Fuerte, a Lumad student who shared her story on how her ethnic group in the provinces of Mindanao underwent the injustices and discrimination brought by the martial law. In her talk, she said how the military often identified them as rebels or members of the NPA and would kill them. Aside from labeling them as rebels, she also said that with the military groups roaming in their place, their education was greatly disturbed. Their teachers were filed with cases and some of their schools were shut down.
The last person to share her story was Ms. Lorna, an informal settler within the area of Barangay Botocan. In her talk, she spoke about how life was very hard for her family to live in such small spaces and how hard it is to deal with the fact that they can be evicted from their homes anytime. The three guests ended their sharing and the life testimony was concluded.
To conclude the program, Familians went out of the school and paraded along the streets in Diliman as they proudly wore the t-shirts of “Huwag Kang Magnakaw.” Each batch carried banners that had HFS’ core values written. After the parade, Familians went back to HFS which officially ended the event.
