“Give people job opportunities, give children education, and then you bring them out of poverty. Just giving them condoms and contraceptives will not automatically draw them out of poverty,” says Rev. Joel Jason of the Archdiocese of Manila. But some women say lack of access to family planning and free birth control makes it harder for them to improve their lives. More →

June 12, 2015

To lift the Philippines out of poverty, economist Antonio Meloto, founder of Gawad Kalinga, believes the next generation of Filipinos needs to create jobs at home rather than seeking jobs abroad. More →

January 17, 2014

“The comment I have heard is God can send the cyclone here because the Filipino people are so strong we can overcome even a storm this strong,” says Catholic Relief Services emergency coordinator Elizabeth Tromans. More →

January 10, 2014

He arrived in the Philippines in 1972, inspired by the Second Vatican Council to “get out of the rectory and into the streets” to fight human trafficking. More →

October 19, 2012

The militarized island of Mindanao is the only area of the Philippines with a significant Muslim presence. It is also the place where international civilians are working with local civic groups to monitor a ceasefire and advance the peace process. More →

September 28, 2012