With Pepe Lugay

I was invited by Sol Badoy (who was my roommate in Tagaytay during the 15th Biennial LAIKO Convention) to attend the Asian Forum for Solidarity Economy in UP Bahay ng Alumni.

I saw Pepe Lugay sitting in front, thus I sat beside him and I introduced myself. He remembered my sharing during the convention and eventually my election to the Board of Trustees of LAIKO.

During our conversation, I have known that he had been with LAIKO since the 1990s,  after the 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines. He is also the current Chairman of Committee Against Graft and Corruption of LAIKO.  The said committee trains and recruits volunteer observers to the Bids and Awards committees of different government institutions.

Although we have a big age gap, we have something in common. Both of us attended the Marriage Encounter under Fr. Jess Fernandez, SJ. He was with the Christian Family Movement, while I was with Tuklasan.  He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Ephpheta Foundation for the Blind, Inc while I am a volunteer of the said foundation as the webmaster of its website.

I hope that I can learn more about LAIKO and about the lay apostolate from people like Pepe Lugay who  have been involved with the organization for so many years.