#ChurchInAction: more than a hashtag, it is an activism

In a letter to the editor, the authors have explored how the social media hashtag #ChurchInAction has become a narrative of the Philippine Church's social engagement with the poor during the pandemic and the public perception of its dynamism. But I argue that there is more to it than its perceived meaning. The hashtag plays a more political role as a symbol of activism against the emerging anti-church sentiment at the onset of intense lockdowns during the pandemic. More than just a display of Church prosocial engagement, the #ChurchInAction is embedded with connective and collective identity as in any activism against the critics of the Catholic institution.