INC steps up livelihood, anti-poverty programs

In its continuing bid to alleviate poverty in the country, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) has accelerated its livelihood programs for the poor, particularly indigenous peoples (IP) and impoverished communities.

Citing that it is a basic human right for every individual to live comfortably and have a decent living, INC General Auditor Glicerio Santos said the INC through the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation wants to help even those belonging to other religious groups to fight and get away from poverty.

“It’s the church’s way of showing we should provide succor and concrete assistance to the least of our brethren,” Santos said in a statement from the INC Central in Quezon City.

Apart from enriching the lives of people through spirituality, the INC in a statement said it has actively engaged members and even non-members in various livelihood and assistance programs in needy areas throughout Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

A November 8, 2015 launching of INC’s self-sustaining “eco-community” in Barangay Bakal, Paracale, Camarines Norte was the church’s immediate follow-up to the “EVM (Eduardo Villanueva Manalo) Self-Sustainable Eco-farming Community” in Alangalang, Leyte launched earlier this year.

The project was made in response to clamor for livelihood of local residents in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda, which struck the province in November 2013.

Santos said the Paracale project involves a 100-hectare site for the Kabihug indigenous peoples, and benefited 300 households.

Meanwhile, the EVM community in the Visayas is a 3,000-hectare property that will provide shelter and sustain the victims of typhoon victims.