Seven months after it was launched nationwide in all parishes and Catholic schools, the “piso-piso” fund-raising campaign for the 2016 International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in Cebu City has collected a total of P5 million.
“The amount we collected was as of February 2015 only. Other dioceses are still sending whatever they collected for the IEC,” said Fr. Charles Jayme, chairman of the Piso Para sa Misa ng Mundo (PPMM).
More than half of the amount came from Cebu.
Jayme said the PPMM campaign is expected to be full-blown in those archdioceses and dioceses which had been busy preparing for Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines last month.
He clarified that the amount generated from the PPMM will be used, among others, to finance the accommodations of speakers and interpreters during the international gathering in Cebu City on Jan. 24 to 31, 2016.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma earlier said that the “Piso Para sa Misa ng Mundo” is an invitation to anyone to contribute in their own little way for the IEC which is expected to gather about 15,000 delegates from different parts of the world.
In June 2014, donation boxes designed with two hands holding the Eucharist were distributed to parishes, chapels, Catholic institutions and some malls.
In the spirit of transparency and accountability, Fr. Jayme said they will give updates of the amount collected and that all donations will undergo audit.
He said donations will be collected by parish priests and school administrators and will be remitted to the Economic Affairs Office of the dioceses and archdioceses. Acknowledgment receipts will be issued to the parish priests and school administrators.
The donations will then be remitted to the Metrobank branch in Intramuros, Manila before it will be forwarded to the IEC main account.
Although there is no need to spend much for a Eucharistic celebration, Msgr. Dennis Villarojo, the IEC secretary-general, said that the Church needs financial assistance to defray the cost of the expenses which include spending for the board and lodging of speakers and interpreters during the IEC.
The church also needs to refurbish the templet or little temple at the South Road Properties in Cebu City where the statio orbis or culminating Mass will be held. The templet, located on a 27-hectare portion of the SRP, was where the national thanksgiving Mass for the canonization of San Pedro Calungsod was held last Oct. 30, 2012.