Meet the Ancop Scholars

Much has been said about Ancop's Child Sponsorship Program which is the direct beneficiary of the Ancop Global Walk but seldom can an article be found featuring an Ancop scholar. At the presscon of the Ancop Global Walk 2012, I was fortunate to talk with three of the Ancop scholars, namely, Simon Jake Beringuela, Ken Mark Agustin and John Ray Supera, all of Bagong Silang, Kalookan City.  All of them are residents of the Ancop sites at Bagong Silang.  Each one of them has a story to tell.

Simon, Ken and John Ray, the faces of Ancop Global Walk

Simon Jake Beringuela at 19 years old, is the oldest among the three.  He took up Accountancy at  the University of Caloocan and is currently attending review classes at CPAR for the CPA board in November. Orphaned by his father when he was in third year high school, his mother raised all four children by selling soda.  There never was not enough money for food and other basic expenses and the education of Simon and his siblings was sidelined.  Simon is grateful for being chosen as one of the Ancop scholars.  His dream of becoming an accountant is fast becoming a reality and hopefully this will help in plucking his mother and siblings out of poverty.

Another future accountant is Ken Mark Agustin, the poster boy of Ancop Global Walk.    Like Simon, he is in review classes at CPAR.  He is very grateful to his benefactor for sending him to college and as an added bonus, shouldered his fees for the review classes.  Second child of four children of a taxi driver and a housewife, he is the embodiment of his parents' hope for a better life.  Ken did not stop going to school even if there was not enough to start with.  His siblings stopped their schooling to give way to Ken's.  Unlike his siblings, Ken is smart and intelligent and his parents staked whatever meager resources they had on him.  They were not disappointed, he graduated magna cum laude from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

John Ray Supera is a Grade 6 pupil at the Amparo Elementary School. At a tender age of 11, he dreams of becoming a scientist someday.  With an Ancop scholarship, John Ray is confident that he will be able to alleviate his family's plight as it answers not only the tuition fees but have enough left for transportation and projects.

Simon's, Ken's and John Ray's stories are stories of faith and hope.  In seeing Jesus Christ in the faces of thousands of Simons, Kens and John Rays, hope springs eternal.  Contact us through this website or through email at cfc.westc@gmail.com.

Small Things... Big Dreams

Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said that little things done with great love often leave a lasting impact on a person. Thus, one need not perform grandiose things to make a mark. This is exactly the concept behind Ancop's Global Walk (AGW). By setting aside a measly P10 a day for a month,  one can participate in the walkathon that would help send a poor child to school.

To jumpstart the preparations for this year's Global Walk,  the West C sector under Steve Maningat launched the 2012 Global Walk last April 25 at the Santuario de San Vicente de Paul.  The main speaker for the night was Eric delos Reyes, ANCOP President. He rallied the members of the sector to support this cause which aims to raise funds in order to send less fortunate children to school, hopefully twice as many as those who were given scholarships as a result of last year's walk activity.  Adding pizzaz to the occasion was the attendance of the reigning Miss Philippines-Earth, ANCOP Global Walk advocate and SFC member Athena Imperial.  ANCOP Global Walk overall head Paolo Maningat talked on the importance of getting more walkers and donations to meet the overall target.

The sector activity was a prelude to the second ANCOP Global Walk that will be held on August 12 at 5 in the morning at the Quirino Grandstand.  The Walk will be done near simultaneously with other ANCOP Walks all over the world.  Walkers are encouraged to be a disciple of change, a harbinger of hope for children, whose continuing education provides that spark of light for a future that will be bright for them and their families.


This article came out recently at the Ugnayan supplement of the CBCP Monitor.

On Being God's Children

From the Catholic encyclopedia, recollection means attention to the presence of God in the soul.  It consists of detaching oneself from worldly matters to attend to God and to one’s soul.  Such departure from the usual distractions helps in rekindling one’s relationship with God and hopefully will lead to a spiritual renewal.

The West C Sector was fortunate to have Fr. Sonny Ramirez, OP as its speaker for this year’s Lenten Recollection. It was held in the evening of Holy Tuesday at the Our Lady of Consolation Parish at the Mira Nila Homes in Quezon City.

Fr. Sonny Ramirez, OP

The church was jam packed to the last pew so with the parking lot.  All came ready to do some soul searching and relaxation.  It also helped that Fr. Sonny was the guest speaker and after two years of not hearing or seeing him on TV and radio due to a near fatal stroke, everyone was eager to hear him out.

He started with the question “Sino ka?”  One answered that he is a child of God.  Fr. Sonny said that we are all God’s children and being such, He has only good plans for us, His children.  He sent His Son to live on earth only to die on the cross for our salvation. 

Problems occur when we do things that are not pleasing to Him.  Power that doesn’t fail to intoxicate us, material things that make us secure and invincible, sudden fame. All of these may hinder us from having a relationship with Him.  When we remain complacent and unresponsive to the cares in the world, we might find ourselves one day stripped of everything that are valuable to us.

Not all is lost.  Pleasing God, which is everyone’s primary reason for existence, is easy.  We can do things that make us and our loved ones happy provided that we do only good things.  Let us open our hearts and listen to the musings of the people around us.  Do you see Jesus in their faces, hear Jesus’ voice?

2000 Hail Marys

Last Sunday was an auspicious day for me.  It marked my first participation in the 2000 Hail Mary's.  It was sponsored by our chapter and as such, my husband and I arrived early at the venue, the ground floor of Bahay Rekoleto at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Quezon City.

From home, I brought food to be shared with everyone, crucifix, table cloth, candles, projector, laptop and of course, a rosary.  The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, flowers, prayer guides and a tall vase to be used as a receptacle for the personal petitions were brought by Sis. Rose Banzon and Sis. Estela Baytan.

It was on March 25, 1933 when a teenage Salesian seminarian, Juan Riu Farran, heard from a co-seminarian that he will obtain at least three graces if he prays 2000 Hail Mary's on  the feast of the Incarnation of the Son of God.  When the day arrived, Riu prayed the 2000 Hail Mary's and asked that he become a Salesian, to become a priest and to become a missionary.  In a span of 19 years, Riu obtained all three graces.  The devotion of the 2000 Holy Mary's has spread to many countries with the Marian devotion and fervor of the Filipino people.

How do you go about with the 2000 Hail Mary's?  From the 2000 Hail Mary's, a sample schedule is attached though the time could be adjusted.  The sequence of the prayers are included plus the Divine Mercy chaplet and other prayers.  There are 20 petitions and the prayer leaders for each petition have to lead in praying 100 Hail Mary's.  After completing the 100 Hail Mary's, personal petitions that are written in small pieces of paper could be dropped in a vase, box or any container.  To mark each petition that just ended, a rose is put in a vase.  To check on how many petitions had been prayed for, one has to count the roses in the vase.  Dropping of petitions while in the midst of praying the 100 Hail Mary's is allowed though it would be better if it will be done in between praying of the petitions so as not to distract the body.  

After singing praises to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the petitions in the vase should be burned. Usually it takes nine hours for the entire proceeding to be completed.

While I was writing down my petitions, I sensed a liberating experience in entrusting my cares and woes to the Lord through the intercession of Mama Mary.  Now I have somebody else praying with me and for me.for all my troubles and aspirations.  Days after Sunday, my husband and I received several blessings, most of which were included in the petitions we wrote.

CFC West C Magnificat Echo Weekend

This article came out today on the Ugnayan issue of the CBCP Monitor.


A month after the first Magnificat Weekend for the leaders of Couples for Christ Metro Manila was held, it was time to bring the message to the Unit Leaders, Household Leaders and senior members of CFC West C.  Led by Bro. Steve and Sis. Minnie Maningat, the sector held their Magnificat Echo Weekend at the Teacher's Camp in Baguio City from March 2-4, 2012.

Steve Maningat, sector head of West C, Metro Manila

As early as the morning of Friday, more than six hundred participants from the six clusters of West C converged in Baguio City to participate in this monumental event.  By Friday night, the echo conference proper started with a fellowship night-cum-chorale competition entitled "West C Goes Glee."

Saturday's and Sunday's activities started with the praying of the Rosary followed by a Mass celebrated by Msgr. Allen Aganon, Couples for Christ Spiritual Director.  To kick off the Saturday sessions, Msgr. Aganon gave the prologue, expounding on the significance of the Magnificat from which CFC's theme this year is based on.

Over the course of the conference, four talks were delivered and all of them delved on the faithfulness of Mary to her Son, Jesus.  From these words, we learned that Mary was always there for Him at all phases of His life and therefore, she could be considered the first disciple of Jesus.  It was Mary's "yes" to Angel Gabriel that paved the way for mankind's salvation.  The Blessed Sacrament was exposed at the end of the Saturday sessions.

The CFC West C Magnificat weekend ended with a praisefest and healing session.  As the echo conference came to its inspiring end, everyone was spiritually high and ready to emulate Mary and ready to take on the mission that God has entrusted to them.

Magnificat Weekend

One of the biggest activities that we go to being leaders of the Couples for Christ community is the MC Weekend.  This is a gathering of the members of the Mission Core (MC) Group, the top leaders of Couples for Christ. The MC Weekend Conference is a retreat cum fellowship that every MC member looks forward to every year.  It is held at Baguio City on the last weekend of January.  Every year, the theme for the conference changes.  For this year, it is called the Magnificat Weekend based on the community's theme "Proclaim the greatness of the Lord"  (Luke 1:46).

Photo taken from the CFC website

My husband and I prepared well for this trip.  As early as the first week of January, Jun bought a new pair of tires to replace the worn-out ones.  He also made sure that our vehicle was in tip top condition so as not to encounter mechanical problems while out of town.  Three years ago we had that unfortunate experience when this same vehicle conked out in Baguio City for the 2009 MC Weekend.  We had to leave the vehicle in the repair shop of Jun's client.  We traveled back by Victory Liner a week later to retrieve the vehicle.  Meanwhile, Bro. Rainier and Sis. Meng Figueras welcomed us in their vehicle for our trip back home to Manila.

We checked in at Hotel Elizabeth on a Friday afternoon.  I readily fell in love with the hotel the moment I stepped in their lobby.  The hotel staff were friendly and attended to our needs immediately.  I am not surprised, Hotel Elizabeth has been voted Baguio's Best Hotel a few years back.  The room was clean and doesn't smell musty.  I told myself, "I have found my home in Baguio".  After resting and freshening up, we, together with another CFC couple, Bro. Deng and Sis. Reiah Yango proceeded to the venue, Camp John Hay. 

Breakfast with Reiah at Hotel Elizabeth.

Jun and I at the driveway of the hotel.

The conference had fellowship on the first night and talks on the next two days.  There were worships and Mass before each session and a praise fest capped the conference on Sunday noon.  Though Sis. Reiah and I suffered from hypertension from Day 1, the conference and bonding time with CFC brothers and sisters made the trip all worthwhile.

Great Divide

This is the original article that I submitted for In His Steps, the daily prayer guide of the members of Couples for Christ and its ministries.  My initial attempt at writing for In His Steps appears in the Sept. 12, 2012 issue.

LUKE 6:20-26

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:  “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.  Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.  Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.  Blessed are you when people hate you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!  Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.  For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.  Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Jesus Christ has always been the champion of the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed.  At the time this gospel was written, there was no middle class to speak of that would bridge the elite class and the poor.  The elite had everything including access to the churches but the poor had practically nothing. Fast forward to the 21st century and although there is already a middle class, the elite still owns almost everything while the poor still suffer. Look around and the great divide is still evident.  Though it is not a sin to be rich and endowed, sharing of resources to the poor is expected of us.  Sharing could be in the form of giving them equal opportunities and opening doors for them to uplift them from their present predicament. This gospel is about hope.  Jesus is assuring us that there is something better to look up to in His kingdom.  Whatever suffering we have endured or are enduring on earth will be rewarded in the afterlife.  Heaven is one great equalizer:  both rich and poor have equal chances of entering His gate.