True to the adage that no man is an island, sharing of a community life is always beneficial to both the society and individual persons. There is more than enough empirical evidence in this fact when one traces the good the organization of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) has brought to many Philippine communities.

It is a singular honor therefore for Bohol to play host to some 3,000 delegates - an unprecedented number - attending the 28th anniversary of the BCBP in Bohol over the weekend.

It is probably indicative of two things: (a) that there is unity in community life and (b) that Bohol remains a prime tourist destination in the country. The arrivals exceeded by 1,000 as several participants arrived on the day of the celebration.

The presence of BCBP as a renewal movement is a factor to reckon with as the nation is rocked with confusion. It is a lighthouse amid the deepening shadow of despair and powerlessness. An enlightened mind is the "call for the day" in order for everything to fall in their proper perspective. There is massive corruption anywhere, the destruction of moral values and debasement of institutions.

There has to be a counter culture. And it seems the BCBP community - a gathering of men and women in business and the professional world provides part of the answer, indeed the light that refuses to be put under a bushel, a voice that is not quieted by the cacophony of worldly sounds of Babel. It provides some real answers to the hard questions of our time and age.

The BCBP evangelization program is one that is considered strategic as it targets to penetrate the men of influence so that the "good news" can easily filter down. Far from being an elitist group, its main reason for gathering businessmen and professionals together is for the strategic evangelization to take its place. Many of them considered "movers" in their different fields - they provide the "influential" warm bodies that make the spiritual world step in cadence with the strides of the material.

Understand that the core values of righteousness of any community can only be predicated on the spreading of the "good news" in a world that is so preoccupied with modernities in life. We were glad to hear businessmen highlighted in yesterday's anniversary fete proclaiming that time is quite short for us to just consume all our time in work - and more work. A retired international lawyer narrated how he wanted to merely recline a bit and feel the freshness of life. At the end of day, he realized that

there is a God who takes care of our concerns. Why fret indeed, we men of little faith?
We therefore laud the BCBP for putting their full shoulders behind its call for honesty as its prime advocacy. Even if the "Be Honest" campaign has been launched many years ago - it has one of timeless significance. It becomes more meaningful today especially during this time that the nation is being haunted by so much lies peddled every now and then. Telling the untruth and hiding the truth seem to have become a national malady. It is done with no compunction and with impunity.

We need the BCBP advocacy to be carried all the more in this quest for honesty - not just in words but with firm action to back up the rhetoric.

It is really heart-warming to see lay people doing their little contribution in spreading the good news - other than the formal church organization. The world and its problems are just too enormous to put all burden on Mother Church. This almost-heathen world needs parallel good news to compete with the loads and loads of bad news which we hear and read everyday.

For Boholanos, it was a pride as a people to host the national celebration of one of the country's biggest renewal groups which are all over the key cities and municipalities, trying to bring God's message of love in the business milieu.

The BCPBP community also thanked the Boholano people and its leaders because they have seen and felt how the people here have kept religiosity close to their hearts. And this they say: no wonder why Bohol is favored to be much blessed with what is good and pleasing that Mother Earth can possibly offer.

As the 28th Anniversary comes to close today - we wish all the delegates to bring a piece of what Bohol is in their hearts and homes - there to stay forever.

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