To some, what is essential may be invisible to the eye. But not to this priest who served the famed Filipino rice porridge, or "lugaw", during the reenactment of Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, April 1.
Fr. Christian Ofilan, a priest from the St. John the Baptist Parish in Homonhon Island, Eastern Samar served lugaw during the traditional reenactment of Last Supper, saying they wanted to send the message that “lugaw is good, nutritious, and essential.”
“There is nothing to be ashamed of in 'lugaw'. To look down on lugaw is to look down on the poor because for many of us who are poor, lugaw means life. Discrimination against lugaw especially during these difficult times is truly anti-poor. In fact, it is even anti-Filipino,” Ofilan told the Manila Bulletin.
“So the lugaw that we served during the Last Supper reenactment this Holy Thursday is our way of telling our poor brothers and sisters that it is to have only lugaw for our food/meals and that there's nothing to be ashamed of,” he added.
It is on Maundy Thursday that the Last Supper, or the final meal that Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion, is remembered.
Lugaw became a trending topic in the Philippines after a barangay official was caught on video preventing a rider from delivering food to a customer in a barangay in Bulacan, saying that lugaw was “not essential.”
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque on Wednesday, March 31, has already clarified that lugaw or any food products are considered essential goods, and that their delivery should not be hampered.