The Biblical Apostolate of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan is spearheading the celebration. National Bible Week is celebrated on 23-30 January 2011.
The Philippines began celebrating National Bible Week and National Bible Sunday annually after President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Presidential Proclamation no. 1923 on October 27, 1979 in recognition of the Bible "as an excellent source of principles for the development of moral and personal discipline." Celebration of NBW every last week of January was re-emphasized by President
Corazon Aquino's Proclamation no. 44 in 1986. This was later followed up by President Fidel Ramos' PP 1067 which recognized that "national attention be focused on the importance of reading and studying the Bible, in building the spiritual, moral, and social fiber of our citizenry.The “i-proclaim” is a public reading of the Bible intended to raise the profile of the Bible in the community and encourage people to rediscover the richness and relevance o God’s Word. It is a continuous reading of the Bible by different persons assigned to read a part of the Bible. The book to be read during the “i-proclaim” is the Book of the Gospel of John. Different Christian churches will participate in the continuous reading using the MTBO Tagalog version “Ang Mabuting Balita” . The Gospel of John has twenty one chapters.
The celebration will start with the Enthronement of the Bible. Msgr. Renato P. Mayugba, DD, Auxiliary Bishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, will
welcome the participants and delegates from the different Christian churches of Pangasinan. Ms. Silvana M. de Vera, the Chairperson of the “i-proclaim” will explain the significance and procedures of the celebration.The following will take part in the continuous reading of the Gospel of John: The Roman Catholic Church, Church in Dagupan, Victory Christian Church, Chinese Baptist Church, Iglesia Filipina Indendiente (IFI), United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP), United Methodist Church (UMC), International Heritage Baptist Church. The Business Sector will read one chapter. The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen choir and the different choirs of the Christian Churches will sing during the intermission of the reading.
i-Proclaim! is patterned after the Canadian Bible Society’s Proclamation which began in Quebec, Canada. Over 200 readers came together in 1995 to read the Holy Scriptures in 12 different languages. The “i-Proclaim” is an historic,ecumenical, public oral reading of the Bible that seeks to draw Filipinos together during these trying times, under the banner of God’s Word. i-Proclaim! also offers a unique opportunity to support the May They Be One Bible Campaign which seeks to produce and distribute 5 million Bibles to 5 million poor Filipino families within the next 5 years.
