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PFV Community observes a traditional house cleansing ritual

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The belief in the supernatural is very prominent in the Filipino culture. Performing some house cleansing rituals come into play when, people are building houses or moving to a new house. Generally people do these to ward off evil spirits and other mystical entities. As a show of respect to traditional practices of Taclobanons, I have documented a seasoned ritual called “Padugo” or offering blood of an animal as a form of sacrifice at Pope Francis Village yesterday. The ritual was performed during the pre-concrete pouring for foundations of the first batch of rowhouse units.. It involves slitting of the throat of three white chickens and dripping the blood to the excavated holes before actual pouring of cement. This was performed by a folk healer who happened to be one of the community members of Pope Francis Village. According to traditional beliefs, this practice of taking the life of a sacrificed animal will prevent the evil forces from taking the life of workers or anyone conne...
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Building Permit for Three Row House Designs Approved for Pope Francis Village

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After almost two months of persistent negotiations and lobby work with Tacloban City Housing Office and engineering department, building officials finally approved and released the building permit for 3 row house designs of FRANCESCO’s integrated and people-driven in-city relocation project. This is an important milestone for communities who played a compelling role in several dialogues with city authorities for the purpose of securing exemptions from building permit fees  and other related charges.  Approved row-house designs for Pope Francis Village; Photo credit: FRANCESCO, Inc.  “I feel relieved that we now have a full grip of our building permit. This is like a step closer to getting a house that we can claim our own”, says Yolanda Sembrero, one of the frontline leaders involved in building permit processing. Mrs. Sembrero also recounted a few challenges and takeaways that they have experienced in dealing with the LGU. They were initially apprised...
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Community Enlivens Bayanihan Spirit

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Bayanihan or the outpouring cooperative spirit of Filipinos is traditionally exemplified when communities extend service to those in need without expecting anything in return. This is vividly captured in simple acts like lending a hand to someone carrying a heavy load,  helping an elderly cross the street or extending material or financial assistance to families affected by catastrophic events or disasters.  Even typhoon Yolanda survivors have their own ways of keeping the Bayanihan tradition alive. Community volunteers usually form part of additional workforce at Pope Francis Village. As members of the construction team, their volunteer service becomes their counterpart for the resettlement project.  Women volunteers assist in hauling of earth filling materials for the ongoing School Building construction. Amidst the sun's blazing heat, these volunteers worked all day as the school building project now gears up for the preparation of second floor slab....
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