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

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Caritasmanilalogo.png

This appears at the end of the said commercials.

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.[1]

Throughout the 1990s, several Caritas Manila commercials were aired to promote the organization or inform people to give charities to the poor which are said to be creepy or unsettling to viewers.

Background

Recreation of the Caritas Manila PSA end screen

Every commercial of Caritas Manila concludes with the Caritas logo on a black background and a 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 what followed are commercials that are laid-back or not creepy commercials.

Variants

"Gutom"

Status: Lost

A teenage boy wearing a dirty white T-shirt is shown against the black background. While he leans over holding his stomach, a circle of flame appears then appears and slowly perforates his stomach. The word "GUTOM? (Hungry?)" was then displayed. It is accompanied by the strum of a guitar, which gradually becomes louder. The lines of "PWEDE KANG TUMULONG (You may help)" were then shown as the music gradually fades out.[2]

"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.”[3]

The stained glass pictures are said to be taken from the Manila Cathedral, although this is unconfirmed.[4] Unlike the other commercials, it shows the address of Caritas Manila after the Caritas logo.

"Dead Beggar"

Status: Found

An unseen person drops a coin onto a child beggar's can. The camera then pans around the child, which is revealed to have died before, then the screen fades to black to show the Filipino proverb "Aanhin pa ang damo, kung patay na ang kabayo? (What good is the grass when the horse is already dead?)"

"Strayed Children"

Status: Found

At the start, a mother and her baby as beggars were shown. Then, a series of child beggars were shown with the words shown:

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

During this, it is accompanied by eerie choir humming then a foreboding suspenseful music.

Availability

The "Street Children" and the "Dead Beggar" commercials were found in 2016. The "Gutom" PSA was found by UndustFixation on June 19, 2024 and will be available beginning July 23, 2024, leaving the "Stained Glass" variant the only one remaining completely lost. The PSAs were first aired in 1994 and last seen in 2002, and mostly seen during the commercial breaks of daytime programs of ABS-CBN, GMA Network, NBN/PTV-4, IBC-13, and RPN-9.[5] Many viewers found this series of PSAs scary, citing the background music and its representation of the themes.[6] A recreation of the lost commercials, "Gutom"[7] and "Stained Glass",[8] were made based on the viewers memory.

It is said that the "Gutom" PSA was available on YouTube in 2020 until it was deleted.[9][10][11] The "Stained Glass" commercial was allegedly aired again in 2004 on ABC 5 (now TV5),[12] even after Segunda Mana. However, it is unclear if the other commercials were rebroadcasted.

Videos

Found media

"Strayed Childen" Caritas Manila commercial.

"Dead Beggar" Caritas Manila commercial.

"Gutom" PSA


Recreations

Recreation of "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 "Gutom" commercial, with a still-picture is only presented. Also the recreation is inaccurate - the boy wearing black T-shirt.

Recreation of "Stained Glass" version without using background music. In the original PSA, it uses ominous music.

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

Recreation of "Gutom". (Archived)

References