Quake ruins in Bohol, Cebu prompt firm to build more churches

The recent quake that destroyed or damaged historical churches in Bohol and Cebu has firmed up the advocacy of wholly-Filipino tobacco company Mighty Corporation (MC) to build more churches in the country.

Retired Judge Oscar P. Barrientos, executive Vice President and spokesperson of MC, said in a statement that the destruction of churches during the quake in Bohol and Cebu has prompted MC to continue with its mission to strengthen the Filipino faith.

“The recent calamities that hit the country last year only strengthened the Filipino faith. Mighty Corp. will continue to build churches that Filipinos go to in their times of great trials,” said Barrientos in the statement.

The advocacy has prompted Church leaders, like Caceres Archbishop Rolando Tirona, to express support for MC in its struggle to clear its name amid charges of technical smuggling and tax evasion.

In a statement released by MC, Tirona was quoted as saying that MC “adheres strictly to the company’s commitment to its corporate social responsibility.”

The family that owns MC, the Wongchukings, has a record of building and repairing churches.

Last year, the Wongchuking Foundation Inc. (WFI), helped renovate the Diocesan Shrine of Immaculate Conception in

Naic, Cavite, and rebuild the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat in Cagayan.

WFI, said the MC statement, also supports poor but deserving students through scholarship programs, with beneficiaries from the elementary to the college level.

The foundation has also initiated relief operations when

Bulacan, the host province of the MC tobacco factory, suffered heavy damage from monsoon rains. It also launched relief operations in Naic, Cavite when the town was hit by

Typhoon “Gener.”

Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan, of the Archdiocese of Cagayan, also earlier expressed support for the Wongchuking family.

In a handwritten letter, Talamayan said, “For the past many years, I have personally known Mrs. Nelia Wongchuking. She, together with the entire family, are great devotees of Our Lady of Piat.”

Talamayan added that the family has built a chapel in Malolos, Bulacan as a gesture of their devotion.