BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Secretary Dinky Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a love-hate relationship with Manila’s homeless population and street children. She is known to have rounded up street families and hauled them to resorts outside Manila during the visit of Pope Francis as well as during the APEC summit.

Soliman now wants to make it up to these families.

National government officials — from the president to the members of the Supreme Court to Cabinet secretaries all have their summer houses and cottages in Baguio City.  Most of them spend their Holy Week vacation in Baguio, as a way to unwind and escape Manila’s summer heat.

Well, this year, Soliman is making the ultimate sacrifice.  She is offering her Baguio cottage to  a dozen homeless families for an all-expense paid vacation to Baguio from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Most Filipino Catholics give up eating meat during the season of Lent. Soliman chose to give up her Baguio cottage.