Caritas Manila "Give to Catholic Charities" (partially found Filipino charity PSAs; 1994-2002)

The end logo of Caritas Manila in the PSAs

Status: Partially found

Caritas Manila is a non-profit organization that leads the social service and development ministry of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and was established on October 1st, 1953, as a social welfare program.

Throughout the 1990s, a series Caritas Manila PSAs were aired, known by the tagline, "Give to Catholic Charities", in order to promote the organization and inform people to give to Catholic charities for the poor, the PSAs of which are said to be creepy or unsettling to viewers.

Background

Recreation of the Caritas Manila PSA end screen

Every PSAs of Caritas Manila concludes with the organization's logo in a black background, and text saying "Give to Catholic Charities" is displayed. Many viewers described the ending screens to be "creepy" or "disturbing", given the content and the background music. In 2003, following its 50th anniversary, they launched the Segunda Mana donation campaign, and the PSAs that followed were more laid-back and not at all creepy.

Variants

Gutom ('Hungry')

Status: Found

In front of a black background, a teenage boy wearing a dirty white t-shirt leans over and holds his stomach. The word "gutom" (lit. hungry) in American Typewriter font is then displayed. The shot returns to the boy, now holding his waist, then a small circular flame appears and slowly perforates his stomach. During this, it is accompanied by the constant piano note and unsettling background music. It ends with the text "puwede kang tumulong" (lit. you can help) as the music stops.

It is said that there was a second variant of this PSA, wherein the boy is instead standing while holding his stomach, and uses the constant guitar note as a background music instead of piano note. This version is still yet to be found.

Stained Glass

Status: Lost

A series of stained glass artworks is shown, depicting Biblical figures being persecuted in ways such as getting burned alive (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), being fed to the lions (Daniel), crucified upside down (Peter) and stoned to death (Stephen), followed by an artwork depicting a coin being placed in a beggar's can. A voiceover, said to be narrated by Father James Reuter – an American missionary to the Philippines, that goes along these lines plays in the background:

“To be a Catholic these days right here, right now, you don’t have to be burned at the stake, or fed to the lions, or crucified upside down, or stoned to death. You begin by frequenting the sacraments and by practicing the virtue of charity. Charity is love. Love thy neighbor.”

The stained glass pictures are said to be taken from the Manila Cathedral, although this is unconfirmed.

Dead Beggar

Status: Found

An unseen person drops a coin into the cup of a child beggar. The camera then pans around the child, which is revealed to have died prior, then the screen fades to black to show the Filipino proverb "Aanhin pa ang damo, kung patay na ang kabayo?" (lit. What good is the grass, if the horse is already dead?)"

Strayed Children

Status: Found

A series of shots showing a vagrant mother and her baby, a child approaches the vehicle to beg, another child standing beside the pole, a child running in the street, a child looks through the window, and lastly a child appears underneath the table. During this, a series of text displays on every transition says:

What will his future be like?
At three years old, he could be on the streets.
At five, he could be addicted to drugs.
At twelve, he could be a petty thief.
At sixteen, he could be a murderer. Or he could be dead. Unless you start caring

Availability

The "Strayed Children" and the "Dead Beggar" PSAs were found in 2016. The "Gutom" PSA was found by UndustFixation on June 19, 2024, and became available to public on July 23, 2024, leaving the "Stained Glass" variant the only one remaining completely lost. The PSAs were first aired in 1994 and continued to broadcast until 2002, and mostly seen during the commercial breaks of daytime programs of ABS-CBN, GMA Network, NBN/PTV-4, IBC-13, and RPN-9. Many viewers found this series of PSAs scary, citing the background music and its representation of the themes. A recreation of the lost PSAs, "Gutom" and "Stained Glass", were made based on the viewers memory.

The viewers claimed that the "Gutom" PSA was available on YouTube in 2020 until it was deleted, but on June 19, 2024, archivist UndustFixation recovered the "Gutom" PSA and was premiered on July 23, 2024. The "Stained Glass" PSA allegedly was aired again in 2004 on ABC5 (now TV5), even after the Segunda Mana campaign. However, it is unclear if the other PSAs were ever rebroadcasted.

Videos

Found media

"Gutom" Caritas Manila PSA.

"Dead Beggar" Caritas Manila PSA.

"Strayed Children" Caritas Manila PSA.

Recreations

Recreation of the "Gutom" PSA, with a still-picture of a boy and an animated circle of fire. In the recreation, it shows a child in a school uniform, but in the now-lost PSA, it depicts teenager in a dirty t-shirt.

Another recreation of the "Gutom" PSA, with a still-picture is only presented. The recreation is also inaccurate—the boy here is shown wearing a black t-shirt.

Recreation of the "Stained Glass" PSA with background music, which may not accurate to the original.

Recreation of "Gutom" version, this time in C chord guitar strumming.

Recreation of the "Gutom" PSA. (Archived)