Lito Atienza is presently a part of the number of candidates who will take part in the elections for Manila mayor. These Manila elections, yet once more, would be a trial of the aptitude of the discernment of the electorate to pick a candidate who is worthy of the demanding needs of the colorful city. In terms of qualifications, possibly there is no one additional who matches the post more other than Lito Atienza. And among those who will contend for mayor in the Manila elections, no one probably has assisted more.
In 1992, just as a Vice-Mayor, Lito Atienza constituted with his wife Beng the "Home for the Angels," a child care center for abandoned and abused infants. He produced this out of his downright belief that nobody should feel unwanted. He also acknowledges that a few considerations could forcefully separate a parent from his child and this is why he created this shelter for them. The center provides nourishment and all the love which these children could ever need.
This center is the image of the good heart of Lito Atienza. This is what voters should be aware of during the Manila elections. To a certain sense, we are all children of the city, needing someone like Lito Atienza to guide us in a city in which himself saw burnt to ashes and which he wants to see rise again to elusive prominence. Such efforts should not be blanked out and should be at the centerpiece during the elections for Manila Mayor.
It would be morally upright if voters on the elections for Manila mayor would pick someone who was vocally versus abortion. The stance of Lito Atienza as one of the fathers of Home for the Angels has consistently been that abortion is the ultimate child abuse and must be stopped at all costs. The Home of the Angels is a center meant to be action oriented and serves as the back up solution to anti-life challenges. It is a concrete symbol and source of hope at the same time for many people.
During these Manila elections, let us not forget that the Home for the Angels has been a uniform crisis home for abortion survivors and has assisted many neglected, abused and exploited infants ever since it was founded fourteen years ago. It has helped many victims and potential victims have a new set of lives and all of these is due to the kind heart of Lito Atienza. The elections for Manila mayor would for sure be a half-baked race if it did not admit an option such as him. The post of Manila mayor is a position of action coupled with great promises.
A total of 301 babies were served and admitted for case management and crisis intervention from year 1996 to the present and a total of 4,371 men, women and teenagers were assisted and referred through crisis intervention by phone and walk-in referrals from 2006 to the present in the center. A total of 356 students and private individuals were attended to and furnished with Respect for Life Orientation while a total of 314 children ages 0-6 years old for Early childhood care and Development were served in alternative Day Care services through the Learn and Play Outreach Program. These are works of a man who surely deserves to succeed in the Manila elections. In the elections for Manila Mayor, these are deeds of a man that had better be up there when we apply our discernment.
When Lito Atienza threw his hat into the elections, perhaps many said "finally." The man certainly has achieved a lot but more than this, he has helped a lot. There is a strong indication that all his good efforts will be rewarded during these elections for Manila mayor. He set up the center The Home For The Angels in order to take care of abandoned and neglected children. These Manila elections should reward him with more opportunities to help.
-Joel Dumayog
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