(October 19, 2009) – The Circles of Discernment for Elections and Beyond is slowly catching fire in the Archdiocese of Lipa.
It started with the eagerness of the officers and members of the Archdiocesan Council of the Laity, headed by Bro. Loreto “Ito” Guinhawa. 
The ACL made the CiDE as one of their activities in the celebration of the Laity Week.
“We are responding to the challenge posed to us lay people, especially the leaders, to take an active part in social change in our country. We know that the forthcoming May elections is a means towards that change. However, the CBCP is right in pointing out that it is incumbent on us, lay people, to evangelize politics in our country,” declared Bro. Ito in appearing in an interview over the Archdiocesan radio, DWAL-FM 95.9 RAdyo Totoo, in the program hosted by Fr. Nonie Dolor and Lita Bicol, both veteran broadcasters of the defunct AM radio of the Archdiocese. The newly-opened FM radio is what Archbishop Ramon Arguelles calls “evangelization radio”.
After the CiDE, facilitated by Fr. Nonie Dolor and Fr. Lito Malibiran, the ALC officers decided to bring CiDE to the vicariate level, after conferring with Fr. Oscar Andal, the spiritual director of the Council of the Laity in the Archdiocese. Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, on his part, gave his support, noting his disappointment with the few turn-out of a previously set July CiDE, where only 12 parishes and two schools sent representatives despite his previous announcements in the priests’ assemblies. The team of Fr. Carmelo Diola from Cebu, where CiDE was born and currently being spread through the country, came over for that July CiDE, intended to be an orientation for priests and lay leaders of the Archdiocese. Frs. Dolor and Malibiran previously attended CiDE workshops in Cebu, separately.
Last October 10, Vicariate VII, under Fr. Matty Orario and its lay Vicarial Coordinator, Bro. Demmy de la Cruz, invited Fr. Nonie Dolor to give the CiDE orientation to the Vicariate lay leaders. Close to 50 leaders came to the Parish of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Fr. Nonie Dolor said that he needed to explain the role of the laity in political involvement to these leaders who have been indifferent even to volunteer to the usual political engagement of the Church during elections in movements like PPCR and Namfrel. Of those who attended only three have said that they were volunteers of PPCRV and Namfrel during election; the others were mere by-standers saying that they did not know that it is the duty of Catholic faithful to participate directly in politics. Fr. Dolor took pains in explaining to them the laity’s vital responsibility in evangelizing the political sphere.
Last October 17, Fr. Nonie Dolor went to Tanauan City to give the CiDE orientation to the lay leaders of Vicariate VI. Fr. Cris de Guzman, the newly-installed Vicar Forane, welcome the more than 70 participants. He emphasized the call of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, for the faithful’s active participation and duty in social transformation. CiDE, he said, is a way to do this, especially given the worsening political situation and culture in our country. After Fr. Dolor’s presentation, which zeroed in on the two CBCB recent documents relating to lay participation on politics and peace-building, the leaders, headed by Bro. Cris Perez of Sto. Tomas Parish, promised to bring CiDE even to the barangay or MSK level. The CiDE orientation was held in the morning.
Simulataneously with the Tanauan CiDE, 
Bro. Ding Tejada presided over the orientation to CiDE at San Juan Nepomuceno Parish, San Juan, Batangas. The half-day seminar-workshop drew some 260 participants coming from the various barangays and church-based organizations, headed by the Parish Pastoral Assembly, including lay-faculty members of Joseph Marello Institute. Bro. Ting Tejada reported that Fr. Randy Marquez, parish priest and Vicar Forane of Vicariate IV, was with them the whole of the CiDE exercise. He also said that they were able to hold a real CiDE, with 25 participants composing a circle. Fr. Marquez promised to bring this down to the “tuklongs” of the parish, as a way of political education of the people.
Some 196 participants gathered that same afternoon at St. James Academy Gym to hear Fr. Dolor’s orientation on CiDE. With the help of Fr. Jorge de Chavez, OSJ, who recently joined the National Discernment of the the Clergy in Their Role as Prophets, the participants were able to get a glimpse of how CiDE works and more importantly, why it is important in changing the political scene in the community.
Lastly, yesterday, October 19, the lay leaders of the Parish of St. Joseph, San Jose, Batangas underwent a similar orientation with close to 90 participants. It will be noted that it is only Vicariate IV that took the initiative to have parochial CiDE orientation. Others have scheduled their by Vicariates. The parishes composing these vicariates would decided on their future moves of accepting or not CiDE as a means of their political education.
Posted by noniecdolor 
Archdiocese of Lipa 