The IEC and World Olympics

At a gathering the other night organized by the Cebu Archdiocese for members of the local media, I was able to catch up on the background of the International Eucharistic Congress from the first time it was held in Lille, France in 1881 until the 50th edition in 2012 in Dublin, Ireland.

Presented by Msgr.  Junie Tupas, the IEC is seen as a global event that will mobilize the economy and social life of the host country in humongous terms.  From food, transportation, hotel accommodations, and other services that usually cater to the needs of foreign and local visitors, the benefits for the host country and city are unquantifiable.

We will be seeing the movement of people from other countries mingling with local visitors who are already here during the Sinulog week.  Think of  millions coming to and from The Pavilion, parish churches for daily masses, prayer vigils, Visita Iglesia, processions, etc.

I am actually tempted to disappear to avoid the traffic jam and other attendant hassles, but because this one-in-a-lifetime event cannot happen in another 79 years (the gap from 1937 when the IEC was held in Manila to 2016 when it will be held in our city, as pointed out to me by lawyer Eddie Barrita during the media fellowship) I intend to be a media volunteer.

In 2012 when Pope Benedict XVI announced that the 51st IEC will be held in Cebu City, Fr. Junie said he was celebrating Mass in a  parish in the United States.  After the celebration, a local priest walked up to him and excitedly informed him about the papal announcement.  The US priest who already knew Fr. Junie was Filipino tried to ask if he came from Cebu.  That a Cebuano visited the US parish to celebrate Mass ahead of the 51st IEC sounded extraordinary for the American clergy.

For his part, Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma was also in foreign shores celebrating Mass in a cemetery when the Vatican announced the news.  As narrated by Fr. Tupas, Archbishop Palma received warm greetings and well wishes from the crowd after learning the priest in their midst was actually the Cebu archbishop.

That’s how other people in other countries anticipate the IEC — with interest, excitement and delight that it does not make sense when some try to denigrate the event when it’s being described as comparable to the Olympics, the international multi-sport event that draws at least 10 thousand athletes and billions of audiences worldwide.

In terms of drawing the highest attendance, the most notable Olympiad was recorded in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia where more than 8.3 million tickets were sold to sports lovers who left homes, spent money and braved human traffic to watch the so-called Summer Olympics.  Some 3.5 billion people watched the games in the comfort of their homes.

In fact, worldwide live feeds on television made even more money than ticket sales, with broadcast carriers in international, regional and national networks trying to outdo each other in terms of technology to bring action from more than two dozen sports arenas that conducted more than 300 events.  The 2012 Olympics in London drew 4 billion people around the world, who watched the Olympics in some part or another during the 17-day sporting event.

Summing it up, the economic benefit for the Olympic host country and host city is mind boggling.  It extends to other countries that advertise the event.  The euphoria built around new world records accounts for spill-over celebrations usually matched by marketing of some products by new Olympic stars.

That is basically the same effect of the IEC — in the enigmatic sense — according to Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, quoting Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle who subscribes to the idea of IEC as a spiritual Olympics.

I agree.  People around the world will not only be hooked up to Catholic television EWTN, the international broadcast carrier and Radio TV Malacanang RTVM in our own backyard, but will also follow the event through hand-held gadgets which can be taken anytime, anywhere.  People from all corners of the globe will be virtually seated in the official venue or present in off-sites listening and participating in different programs, thanks to multi-media platforms which didn’t exist or  weren’t widely used before  2012.

These ideas intersected with the point raised by Bishop Villarojo during the media function in response to a comment that IEC attendance, estimated at 15 thousand local and foreign delegates and thousands more from all over the country, is but a fraction of the attendance in the recently held Olympics in London.  Bishop Villarojo stressed that the impact of the IEC on people who seek God goes beyond our human comprehension.

Indeed, conversion of the heart and mind and the return of “prodigal sons” are unseen and partly explain the enigma or mystery of our faith in the Eucharist.
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The first National Congress for Indigenous People and Muslim Cooperatives is set to open today in General Santos City, marking the last of cluster congresses organized by the sector and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to highlight the celebration of the centenary of Philippine Cooperatives.  This milestone of the event is also being coordinated with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

The main objective of the congress, according to Datu Pendatun “Penny” Disimban, a member of the CDA Board of Administrators, is to craft a roadmap for the IPs and Muslim cooperatives based on the identified successes, problems, issues, needs and concerns of the sector within the sector.

I have been invited to this congress to share my advocacy of telling the cooperative story to ensure the co-op identity and help mainstream the co-op economic model. I look forward to knowing fellow cooperators and getting first-hand info about their best practices and listen as well to the input of counterparts from Malaysia.

With much interest, I anticipate presentations on the topic “Opportunities for Coop-Private Sector Partnership” by Mr. Abdulgani Macatoman, chairman of the Foreign Chamber Council of the Philippines (FCCP).  This will be followed by a corresponding output from the PH co-op movement through Ms. Sylvia Paraguya, CEO of NATCCO. Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao will deliver the keynote speech in the two-day co-op congress.

Big thanks to CDA and the staff of Administrator Penny Disimban, especially the lovely Jam Disimban Ramos for coordinating my visit to Gen San.