The fourth day of the Congress was focused on: "Economy of Communion (EOC), An Economy for All"

by Jose Aranas

May 28, 2016 - The fourth day of the EOC PanAsian congress started with the talk of Dr. Luigino Bruni on the theme of the congress: Economy of Communion (EOC), An Economy for All. In his talk he explained that for any charism to flourish and not to decline,  there is a need to be faithful to the original charismatic questions for the historical answers change in time.  In the case of EOC, he mentioned some of the original questions: Can companies be places and tools of communion? Can market be a place of fraternity? Can we imagine and create an economy and a society without anyone in need? He challenged  each country and each person to find the right answers in their given cultural context and times. He also expounded on EOC as a vocation.

He used the biblical character of Noah to illustrate this "call" from God as he built an ark that saved humanity. He compared the ark to an EOC enterprise that safeguards all the other vocations from "floods" or future crisis and disasters.

The moving talk of Dr. Bruni was followed  by a series of experiences shared by EOC entrepreneurs, two of whom were the first to heed Chiara Lubich's call in 1991: Floro Flores of the Focolare Carpentry and Tita Puangco of Ancilla Enterprise Development Consulting Inc.. There were also two entrepreneurs who talked about their businesses which put the person at their center: Eric Yayen of Ka Inatô, a restaurant that employs persons with hearing impairment (deaf and mute); and Mr. Vic Lahoz, Board Chairman of KALAYAAN Engineering Corp. Inc., an air-conditioning industry with 2,000 employees.

Some of the five children of EOC business owners, or the second generation also shared their hopes and dreams for the enterprises that they are called to continue and improve on.

In the afternoon, there was a breakout session, where the participants in their respective group sector (academe, youth, entrepreneurs, etc.), were encouraged to come up with new and creative ideas for their EOC projects and proposals.

In the evening, there was the typical Filipino Barrio Fiesta (a village feast) to celebrate EOC's 25th Silver Anniversary with the typical lechon, a roasted cow, and other local dishes. There was a Filipino cultural show that even encouraged foreign participants to try and learn the Filipino national dance called, tinikling or the dance with bamboos. Then, there was the live 2-way link up with various countries such as Bolivia, Italy, Mexico, and Slovakia. Many others followed the live-streaming .  

May 29, 2016 - The last day of the EOC PanAsian Congress started with the talk of Dr. Augustine Doronilla, PhD. from the University of Melbourne in Australia on caring for the environment and Architect Dominic Galicia, who gave a theme on mitigating climate change through architectural design. The local catholic bishop, Reynaldo Evangelista was also invited to celebrate the Holy Mass, as it was a Sunday and the feast of Corpus Christi, which is an important feast in the Philippines. Bishop Evangelista in his homily encouraged everyone to serve the poor. He thanked the Focolare Movement through its EOC for its efforts to end inequality in the world.  

Before the end of the congress, impressions were shared by several participants expressing their willingness and openness to live EoC. As a conclusion, the International EoC Commission thanked all who gave their contributions to the success of this PanAsian Congress. Dr. Bruni formally concluded the congress, encouraging everyone to be producers of communion, and to reach out more to the poor by touching their lives. 

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