PPC Concludes 2019 Planning and Budgeting
In a whole-day marathon last October 13 at the Eugenio Lopez Center, the CTK Parish Pastoral Council met to present, discuss and review the 2019 parish pastoral plans and budgets. The meeting, which lasted from 9 am to 6 pm, was the culmination of a full week of intensive meetings, from September 17 to 22, by Fr. Steve and the Parish Pastoral Officers led by treasurer couple Bing and Elise del Rosario, with the individual ministries and mandated organizations- renewal movements regarding the ministry-org-movement’s proposed plans and budgets. The projects that were approved and their corresponding approved budgets were shared with the rest of the PPC at the Planning Presentation meeting. As with the individual ministry-organization reviews, where the heads were requested to relate the proposed project to the 8-point diocesan agenda, the final Planning Presentation meeting required the proponents to again relate the approved projects to the diocese seven- year agenda.
The biggest chunk of time was given to Mila Bangco and her Social Services & Development Ministry, since 58% of the entire parish pastoral funds are allotted for social services projects. Mila clarified the ministry’s objectives – poverty alleviation and improvement of living conditions of the oppressed, exploited and depressed families in and around the parish and diocese. With the addition of Christian Family Movement, or CFM, the number of mandated organizations and prayer communities deputized as implementing agencies of SSDM increased to seven.
In education, on which Fr. Steve would like to continue putting emphasis, the two organizations charged with implementation are Ladies of Charity, LOC, and Knights of Columbus, KOC. LOC plans to continue giving scholarships to 130 high school and 20 college students in 2019, at the same time requiring an 85 GPA and attendance in twice-monthly catechetical lessons. The Knights of Columbus, tasked with providing financial assistance to those who fail to make the 85 GPA requirement of LOC, expects to support 80-100 high school students and 15 college students in 2019. Slightly over half the P5M budget of SSDM has been allotted for scholarships and financial assistance. In addition to the P2.8M budget for educational assistance, some P200,000 is also budgeted for the catechetical talks and recollections of the scholars.
Schoolchildren feeding takes the next biggest chunk of the SSDM budget, but is lower than last year’s budget since the parish is trying to de-emphasize feeding, given the city government stepping up to take on a bigger chunk of the responsibility. Still, nearly P1M has been allotted, divided among Catholic Women’s League, which feeds an average of 50 malnourished students each in three different schools; LOC, which has historically done feeding to 100 students at Libis Elementary School equivalent of two sections but will reduce the headcount to 60 next schoolyear; and Buklod ng Panginoon which feeds some 30 pre-schoolers in the Libis community. For 2019, CWL has dropped Bagumbayan Elementary School.
Livelihood and skills training is the third- biggest outlay for SSDM, with P650,000 allocated to three different organizations involved, though the bulk is done by Ladies of Charity, with their TESDA- approved Pinoy Hilot Massage and Hotel Housekeeping courses. Mother Butler Mission Guild continues to support the outsourced knitting and needlework operations farmed out to the Christ the King Greenmeadows GK project in Zabarte, Novaliches. Catholic Women’s League has been requested to look for a second site to outsource vestment and altar cover knitting-embroidery work.
CTK will continue with its prison apostolate at the Camp Karingal ladies dormitory, to the tune of P335,000 in 2019, with CWL and Apostleship of Prayer sharing in the outreach – CWL doing the formation talks and giving away the official yellow t-shirt while AP coordinates masses, with both teams providing snacks during masses and formation talks. A tiny piece of the prison budget is given to Buklod ng Panginoon to assist them in their work at the Molave youth center.
The tiny remainder of the SSDM budget, roughly P55,000, goes to support medical-dental missions of both Catholic Women’s League and Buklod ng Panginoon. Finally, P90,000 is reserved for CFM’s catechism classes at St. Vincent de Paul home for abused girls.
The Worship Ministry and the Formation Ministry will take the next biggest slices of the Parish Pastoral Council budget for 2019. P740,000 was approved for Worship Ministry, headed by Peter and Leila Banico and P600,000 for Formation Ministry headed by David Ong. The large budget for Worship Ministry is understandable given that there are five liturgical ministries under it – Lectors & Commentators, Greeters & Collectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC), Altar Servers, and Music. Sixty percent of the entire Worship Ministry budget is allocated to the Music liturgical ministry under Benjie Mirasol and the funds are spent primarily for the allowances of the music teachers and arrangers who train the choirs in the ten weekend masses. EMHC, led by Albert Cuadrante, gets the next largest slice, with P120,000, nearly half of which is allotted for its World Day of the Sick outreach. P70,000 goes to the Altar Servers liturgical ministry, headed by Louie Laudico, to be spent primarily for prayer books and 50% subsidy for the albs.
Formation Ministry will spend its P600,000 for its Coffee After Church program (30%), ‘School of the Word’ Bible Formation Series (25%), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church monthly series (15%). Life in the Spirit (LSS), Parish Renewal (PREX) and other formation talks take up the rest.
Youth Ministry, Vocation Ministry, and Family & Life Ministry come next in the 2019 budget allotments. The P500,000 budget for the Youth Ministry, headed by Louie and Lei Abando, is divided into several activities: Parish Youth Day sometime August; three-day Youth Camp in April and November; overnight weekends by Days with the Lord in January and May; World Youth Day vigil in January; weekly youth prayer meetings to be held jointly with Living Hope’s Timothy Ministry; PREX Youth in April; and Day of Sacraments outreach in August.
Of the P400,000 budget for Vocation Ministry, 75% is allotted to sponsorship of diocesan seminarians. This budget will support three seminarians at P5,000 per seminarian for 10 months. Headed by Louie Laudico and Anna Lagman, the ministry’s other activities include: CTK alumni priests reunion on St. John Vianney’s feast day in August; subsidy for parishioner participants in the Life Directions Seminar; Parish Vocation Month celebration; breakfast encounter between CTK altar servers and diocesan seminarians; and Vicariate Vocation Sunday.
The P300,000 budget approved for Family & Life Ministry, headed by Regie and Joanne Polancos, is planned to fund the following: weekly meetings of the Courage program for youth feeling same- sex attraction; Father-Daughter Camp in March and Father-Son Camp in October, to foster closer relationship, bonding, and me-time with fathers; monthly facilitated meetings of single parents; and parenting talks for parents of the LOC-KOC scholars. Several talks are also lined up – family planning, Courage-related, single parenting, depression and suicide, etc. The Family & Life Ministry is also responsible for the quarterly Marriage Vocation Program but the activity is self- funding since fees go directly to the ministry.
The Children’s, Seniors’, Catechetical Ministries and the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) have been given P125,000-P175,000 budgets for 2019. The P175,000 budget for the Children’s Ministry, also known as Mustard Seed Ministry, and headed by Sonny and Mina Mejia, is directed at several projects, which include: the annual Kingdom of Heaven Fair, or ‘Holyween’; the Easter Fair; Feast of Sto. Niño; the annual First Communion; children’s choir support; volunteer workshop; plus art material and book expenses. The P160,000 budget request by the Seniors’ Ministry, also known as Sunrise Ministry, headed by Drs. Doy and Estrelle Lopez, was approved, to fund: two general assemblies of seniors in May and November; monthly visits to the sick and elderly in the parish; monthly tai-chi and dancing sessions; and every other month painting sessions. Also planned is a pilgrimage to Metro Manila heritage churches in February.
Catechetical Ministry, headed by Alma Yeh and Sheryl Coronel, has a P150,000 budget, 80% of which will be spent of the Flores de Mayo activities, which some 100 children from the Libis community attend daily afternoon catechism classes, requiring snacks, transport, and culmination ceremonies. The budget for the annual Kumpilang Bayan also comes from the Catechetical Ministry. But the biggest demand on their time is still with the catechism classes for the twice-monthly LOC and KOC scholars. The P128,000 BEC budget will be divided among – BEC Awareness talks in June; weekly Bible sharing in Libis; Salubong during Holy Week; monthly street masses in Libis; plus various Libis transportation-related costs. BEC is headed by Eileen de Leon.
Rounding out the bottom are Public Affairs Ministry and Media Ministry, with P70,000 and P85,000 budgets, respectively. Public Affairs Ministry, headed by Jing Alampay and Rene Montemayor, will provide PPCRV Election Watch support at the barangay level in May; and conduct the Seven Habits for Highly Effective Individuals Workshop for PNP officers in September. Media, headed by Bing and Elise del Rosario, will continue to publish the quarterly Herald newsletter; support the Christthekingparish.ph website; operate the electronic bulletin board display at the entrance of the main church; maintain the FB page; and for 2019, to install large screen TVs as projection screen at Matthew-Mark and Luke Rooms. 80% of the 2019 media budget will be for website hosting charges since Herald printing continues to be provided for free by Mila San Juan of The House Printers.
Lastly, administrative charges of P375,000 have been built into the 2019 budget. 55% will be for the salary cost of the PPC administrative assistant and 40% will be for the 2019 planning and budgeting meetings in the June timeframe, as the diocese moves to a July to June fiscal year.
