The Communication Foundation of Asia (CFA) together with its partners TV Maria, Archdiocese of Manila, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBPCP) and SIGNIS launched a nine-part documentary series and the five-comic series in celebration of the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.
The nine-part documentary series entitled “Unwrapping the Gift” traces the birth of Christianity and the Church’s contribution to nation-building. It also features important events that helped shape the Catholic Faith. It premiered last April 15 on TV Maria channels and social media pages which aired every alternate Saturday.
The five-comics series is published in 3 languages (English, Tagalog, and Cebuano). It features the historical highlights of the Catholic faith and practical catechism about sacraments through the journey of a fictional character. The comics were made by Jomar Fabio from Bulacan. “This is not ordinary storytelling,” said Ms. Pie Mabanta – Fenomeno, executive director of CFA, in her interview with Ms. Angelique Lazo and Rev. Fr. Douglas Badong in the Barangay Simbayanan program of Radio Veritas on August 17, 2022.
The first book is titled Asier – which is a Spanish word for Beginning. Since it is the first book, it will tell the beginning of the Faith that covers the years 1565 to the early 1600s. Asier is also the main character of the first comic book. Ms. Pie also mentioned in the interview that “It is not just history.” The first comic book was made to understand the value of the sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation.
These comics series come in print which the public can buy on Shopee or directly from their Diocese. They can reach out to their Diocese if they want to buy a copy or they can visit the CFA’s Shopee shop, CFA Sales.
Before the interview ended, Ms. Pie reiterated that the public should buy the comic book not only to know or to see the history and importance of faith but also to see the importance of the sacraments and the struggles of ordinary people to put their faith into practice.
Today, both documentary and comic book series are still available online. They can still watch the documentary series on CFA’s Facebook page and they can still order Comic books online.