A recent incident involving a young sampaguita vendor being chased away by a security guard at a large mall in Manila has ignited conversations about the depth of poverty and the injustices embedded in our corrupt social system.
This event is more than just an isolated case—it is a stark reminder of the systemic inequality and exploitation that pervade our society.
This reality brought me back to my own childhood experience when I was in Grade 4. With no allowance for school, I had to sell maja blanca—a side business of my teacher—just to eat during recess.
One day, my clumsiness caused me to spill an entire tray of the dessert. I was harshly scolded, and while I later understood my teacher’s frustration—she too was struggling to make ends meet—the incident left a scar.
Her treatment of me worsened, and the burden of shame and poverty ultimately led me to stop attending school and transfer elsewhere.
These experiences, both mine and the vendor’s, are not merely personal struggles; they are theological questions. What kind of society allows its children to bear the weight of its economic injustices? Why do we tolerate systems that deny dignity to the most vulnerable, forcing even the young to work just to survive?
From a progressive-critical theological perspective, the Gospel calls us to confront these systemic sins head-on. Jesus proclaimed liberation for the poor, justice for the oppressed, and a radical inversion of power.
His ministry consistently challenged unjust structures, from the exploitation by temple authorities to the Roman imperial system. In the same way, today’s pervasive poverty and inequality demand a prophetic response.
The law says children should not work. But what good are laws if the state fails to address the root causes of poverty that force families to rely on their children’s labor?
The moral burden does not lie with the children or their families but with the structures that perpetuate economic injustice. As the prophet Isaiah cried out, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees” (Isaiah 10:1).
In this context, the mission of the Church must extend beyond charity to advocacy and systemic change. Feeding the hungry and clothing the poor are essential acts of compassion, but they are not enough.
We are called to dismantle the very systems that create hunger and poverty in the first place. The Church must be a prophetic voice, standing in solidarity with the poor and confronting the powerful systems that perpetuate injustice.
This is not just a social or political issue; it is deeply spiritual. The reign of God, as Jesus envisioned, is one where no child is forced to sell sampaguita, no family is left without hope, and no one is cast aside as worthless. To work toward such a society is to participate in God’s liberating mission in the world.
How long must we endure this? When will we heed the Gospel’s call to justice and liberation? As followers of Christ, we must refuse to accept the status quo. Let us transform these moments of injustice into opportunities for collective action, fueled by a faith that does not merely comfort but also confronts and challenges.
For it is only in doing so that we can truly live out our calling as a Church—not as an institution of privilege, but as a community of disciples working toward God’s vision of justice, dignity, and abundant life for all.
Bishop Antonio Ablon of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church) is presently the Chaplain of St. Catherine’s Anglican Chaplaincy in Stuttgart, Germany of the Diocese in Europe, Church of England. He is a former chaplain to the seafarers in Hamburg, Germany and Bishop of IFI Pagadian. The Philippine Independent Church is a member of the global communion of the Anglican Church. Bishop Ablon is one of the most persecuted church leaders in the Philippines. In 2021, the German government officially granted him asylum.