Second National Rural Congress (NRC II)

• Proponent: Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc.
• Amount: 400,000.00
• Project Start Date: June 25, 2008
• Project End Date: June 25, 2009
• Grant Type: Constituency - Building Grants
• Area: National
• Grant Status: Past

Project Goals and Objectives

The national congress seeks to draw out from the rural poor themselves their experience of life in the rural areas at this time, and encourage them to articulate their experience of rural poverty. In so doing, they will hopefully come to realize that their destiny lies primarily in their hands and proceed to discover that they can change their situation if only they band themselves to common goals and actions. Specifically, the NRC II will a. describe the current situation of various sectors of the rural poor; b. describe the role of Basic Ecclesiastical Communities and church-based programs in rural development; c. review the impact of social legislation and engage government agencies in the implementation of social reform programs under CARL, IPRA, etc.; d. apply the social teachings of the Church to the concrete problems of Philippine rural society and arrive at recommendations and action plans; and e. collate and disseminate research findings through media channels, and promote continuing dialogue among local churches, NGOs and academe in the social transformation of rural, as well as urban communities.

Outputs and Outcomes

The issues prioritized at the congress reflected the real aspirations of the rural poor: landlessness, food insecurity, climate change and poor waste management, and basically, poor governance (lack of infrastructure, corruption, slow resolution of labor cases, unemployment, lack of basic social services, etc.). In terms of social legislation, rural poor participants were polarized: one group wants to strengthen the implementation of laws, whereas the other one proposes to have a new set of laws that reflects the interests of the poor. Moreover, the role of the ecclesial communities in the Church in social development was put in spotlight. The Catholic Social Teachings were hailed as inspirations for the rural poor in that the thought that they have the Mother Church on their side and speaks in no uncertain terms in their behalf for justice and peace. The bishops also seemed to have awakened to the reality of the rural poor and not a few expressed their desire to understand and learn more about laws that directly impact the plight of the rural poor.