I am a native of Lapu-Lapu City or Opon, as it is called in the past. We call ourselves Oponganon and that binds us together both as residents of this small island in Cebu and believers of Jesus Christ and Mama Mary.
Have you ever gone to our local church? The Virgen de Regla Parish has a shrine of our Blessed Virgin Mother, Mama Mary, gently holding the baby Jesus – our Sr. Sto. Niño de Cebu in her arms. A lot of pilgrims and devotees flock to our church because we believe that our patron is miraculous – more so because we are praying to both Jesus and Mary every time we visit our Virgin of the Rule.
She has been our patron as far back as I could remember. Since I was a little child, I have been a part of this church – the Holy Catholic church – and God has always blessed our family abundantly with so much love. Though there may have been heartaches along the way, God has always been there and so has the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My grandma tells me that a woman who was unable to conceive for many years came to visit our Virgin of the Rule and a few years later, came back to thank the parish priest because she was finally able to give birth to a child, thanks to her devotion to our Virgin of the Rule.
Sometimes when I tell this story to my friends, I get goose bumps because I am amazed at how much God loves us and how much He loves Mama Mary… whatever she asks for us, her intercession is always honoured by our Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.
What breaks my heart is the constant attacks against our local vendors. You see, it happened outside our very own church one fateful night, the irony still lingers in my heart – there was a healing mass scheduled that night and even before it could begin, there was a truckload of policemen and their aides, who took away all of the shoes and bags and other items that were being sold by our local vendors. I remember that night because so many “nanays” (mothers) were very angry. I understand why. They voted for the same government officials who are taking away their livelihood.
Standing there, watching them take everything away, I felt so helpless. I tried calling an old friend who used to fight for human rights but I could no longer reach her. And then I asked one of the nanays, why are they taking away your “tinda” products? They told me that our mayor wants them to find a new place to sell their products and she is asking for permits and taxes. The irony is this – small business owners and sidewalk vendors have to pay taxes and permits while “The Mactan Export Processing Zone is an industrial tax-free zone.”
“The Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) is a 120-hectare industrial estate located at Lapu-Lapu City. It started out with 8 companies in 1986. Twenty-four years later, MEPZ 1 has 148 locators. This growth reflects the fast-paced economic development that is happening in Lapu-lapu City. The Mactan Export Processing Zone is an industrial tax-free zone.
Factories in MEPZ 1 deliver world-class products to the United States, the European Economic Community and Japan. Such products include watches, semiconductors, electrical equipment, garments and precious jewelry.”
Then yesterday, the same thing happened, this time closer to home. My neighbours were totally caught unawares. Their corn, guavas, pineapples and other products were taken. This is so frustrating because I do not understand why they keep taking away our sidewalk vendors’ livelihood. Why on earth would our own local government want to take away the livelihood of their own constituents? There are so many ways to help them like giving them a place where they can keep selling whatever food or items and still find customers. My uncle even said, sidewalk vendors deserve a chance to earn an honest living. And I agree with him totally.
The thing is these people are earning an honest living so why can’t our government officials just let them be? Which leads me to my next question… could these constant attacks against the poor in Opon be the reason for the rising violence? Or maybe this is unrelated. I do not know. What I do know is, based on the news that Lola shares with me from the radio, violence here in Opon is rising. People are shooting other people left and right almost every night. There are even parents selling their children’s innocence on the internet. Do we really want this to be our future?
I believe that God has put us here for a good purpose a really good one. But with the way things are going, I am confused. How can we help? Why can’t we just get along and give each other a chance? Is there a way that we can resolve this problem without destroying other people’s lives? I am reminded of the cavalier way they spray firemen’s water against squatters or start a fire there just to make the demolition easier. Our government officials should be on our side, shouldn’t they? After all, they swore an oath to serve and protect. So why are they attacking the poor? It makes no sense and it’s heartbreaking!!!
And so I pray...
Lord Jesus, please grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things that we can and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
Mama Mary, Queen of all Saints, pray for us. Amen.
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