Pope Francis and My Letters to City Hall

 

As Pope Francis said, "A good Catholic meddles in politics offering the best of himself so that who govern can govern well."

So today, Ash Wednesday, I delivered an 11-page letter to the City Administrator of Victorias City to follow up on the things that I enumerated on my February 3, 2025 letter, and then to also raise some.😞

Sometimes, you need to remind the city officials to stay focused and not lose sight of what's important and what's being asked by the public they serve.😭

At times, I ask myself, "Why should I care?" I could have just gone along with my day where my biggest problem usually is: "What do I feel like having for merienda today? Or, should I have for lunch my lettuce-cucumber-tomato salad which I bathe with roasted sesame dressing and sprinkled with cheese and James Ham, then paired with Coke on ice?" (Yes, the latter is a question-slash-challenge because it takes me about ten minutes to prepare! And about 30 minutes to finish! Not to mention that by 3PM, I'd be starving again!)

But I do this because somebody has to speak up for the voiceless and for those who are afraid to speak up. (We are all aware that the word 'retaliation' is in most politicians' vocabulary).

And of course, I just love to write! Of the 11 pages, the five pages were just photographs, while the six were text that took me an afternoon to finish while sipping wintermelon milk tea with pearls.

Over the years, I must have written the various offices at City Hall a lot of letters, which should now be masterpieces in communication.

I have written letters to the Office of the Mayor, the Office of the Vice Mayor, the Sangguniang Panlungsod and a few councilors, the City Treasurer, the City Accountant, and the Committee on Anti-Red Tape! And those who are just local offices! I have to enumerate the national offices!

But here's the thing. We have to ask ourselves: where were you and what have you done when your fellow citizens needed you?

Well, I do not need to brag that I have joined volunteer groups in distributing relief goods way back in 2020 (read blog here) and during the floods of 2021. And for crying out loud, I have even organized my own community pantry in 2021 with the help of anonymous donors (read blog here) and a clean-up drive of the Malihaw River in 2022 (read blog here)! And I'm not even running for office!

I just hope that someday, when the future Victoriahanon judge us, the Victoriahanon of the present, they will be kind to us because we spoke up.

And when we finally stand in front of the Creator, we would have something to tell Him as to what we did with our time and what we did to help our brothers and sisters.

#popefrancis #goodgovernance #victoriascity #victoriaslgu #negrosoccidental #Philippines #DILG #publicservice #publicservants #concernedcitizens #civilsociety