Adamson + Jun Lozada: Speak the truth

'Jun, ang buong Adamson ay nasa likod mo!' - Fr. Gregg

By Jay Calleja, DLSP Media Bureau Chief
Update 2

At least 1,000 truth seekers trooped to St. Vincent de Paul Parish along San Marcelino Street, Ermita, Manila to pray together for the triumph of truth and to show their support for NBN-ZTE star witness Jun Lozada in a service presided by Adamson University President Fr. Gregg Bañaga, Jr., CM on 24 February.

The mass is the 3rd installment of a series dubbed 'Misa para sa Katotohanan', after Eucharistic celebrations held at La Salle Green Hills (17 February) and Ateneo de Manila University (18 February). The schedule of masses and activities in the following days include:

25 February/3 pm/Mass at Baclaran Church
27 February/3 pm/Ecumenical service at St. Paul's University - Manila
29 February/4 pm/Protest action at Ayala Avenue
2 March/10 am/Mass at University of Sto. Tomas
9 March/10 am/Mass at De La Salle University - Manila

Representatives of the member-schools of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) and the South Manila Inter-Institutional Consortium (SMIIC) were also present.

Samaritan woman

Fr. Danny Pilario, CM's homily here

In his homily, Fr. Danny Pilario, CM added to the seemingly growing list of pseudonyms and nicknames related to the NBN-ZTE scandal being mentioned in media by calling Jun Lozada a 'Samaritan woman', citing similarities between the life stories of the engineer and the lady from Samaria mentioned in the Gospel - with both far from being saints, their unexpected encounters with God and the 'consuming fire' they experienced soon after.

Other nicknames that have caught the Nation's attention of late include 'probinsyanong Intsik', 'big boy' and 'George'.

In a sermon that did not mince words, Fr. Danny, Dean of the St. Vincent School of Theology, declared 'This government does not only steal from us, it grossly insults our intelligence as well!' This was said in the context of the apparent inability of the government to track Jocjoc Bolante, a government official implicated in another scandal dubbed the 'fertilizer scam', even with superior technology at its disposal that can, among others, tap into phone conversations. The priest from the Congregation of the Mission (CM) also warned the beleaguered president: 'God’s voice could not be drowned forever. We cannot just walk out on him every time he talks to us at our own wells. If you always turn a deaf ear, his messages might soon be seen as writings on the Malacañang walls. By then, I am afraid it might be too late for you.'

As an end to another stinging rebuke from a member of the clergy, he reminded the faithful that 'there is also a Samaritan in all of us...Jesus also appears at our own wells at some crossroads of our lives... and challenges us to stand up for truth, to speak for it whenever and wherever we are.' He shared the related sentiments of a friend that sprung while watching her 5-month old child sleep - 'I should come out and do something… anything… except be quiet and indifferent. For, in the future, I would like my child to know that I stood up for her today.'

Nothing but the TRUTH: Adamson University students participate in a communal action for truth (DLSP/Jay Calleja)

Seat of truth: Br. Armin Luistro FSC (blurred), Brother President of DLSU-M and DLSP, and NBN-ZTE star witness Jun Lozada exchange brief remarks as they share a pew with former president Corazon Aquino and Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) co-chair Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB. (DLSP/Jay Calleja)

Carrying on: Br. Mike Valenzuela FSC, former lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission Ging Deles with other members of the civil society pray with the community. (DLSP/Jay Calleja)

Daughters of Charity: Sr. Corazon Manalo DC, DLSP National Mission Council member, with other members of the Daughters of Charity congregation. (DLSP/Jay Calleja)

Adamson in green: Members of the Adamson University community wear green ribbons, the pins that have now taken the symbolism of a Nation's search for truth. (DLSP/Jay Calleja)

Exterminate who?: Artistic forms of protest have turned to t-shirts bearing slogans such as this, a take on Sec. Neri's alleged instruction to Jun Lozada to 'moderate their greed'. (DLSP/Jay Calleja)