MANILA, Feb. 24, 2012—The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People will be commemorating the 26th National Migrants’ Sunday on February 26 at the Mariners’ Court, Pier One in Cebu City at 8 o’clock in the morning.
With the theme “Migration and the New Evangelization,” the celebration invites everyone to reflect, pray and do something for the situation of those negatively affected by migration, particularly the overseas Filipinos and their families.
According to the press statement released by ECMI, an average of 4,000 Filipinos leave the country to work abroad since 2006, when the government had made a quota of one million Filipinos to be deployed overseas annually.
Dubbed as “modern-day heroes”, OFW’s keep the Philippine economy afloat with billions of remittances sent annually.
But ECMI also pointed out the psycho-social effects of migration to both OFWs and the families they have left behind.
The psycho-social effects include being caught up in civil war, victimized by drug smuggling, affected by natural calamities, and execution.
“Despite the danger they face abroad, they would rather stay rather than go home without a means of livelihood,” ECMI stated.
The National Migrants’ Sunday is a yearly event that celebrates and recognizes the heroism of Overseas Filipino Workers as well as their families.
The Archdiocese of Manila started the event in 1986 and has been celebrated annually on the first Sunday of Lent.
This year’s National Migrants’ Sunday is organized by the Archdiocese of Cebu.
Although the main celebration will be in Cebu City, various dioceses in the country are also commemorating the event by holding several activities.(cbcpnews.com)
