SIMBAHANG Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) traces its history to the period of numerous protests and mobilizations after the assassination of former Sen. Benigno Aquino during the final years of the Marcos regime (1983-1986). Back then, many religious, seminarians, priests and lay individuals organized such efforts and began to work in closer collaboration toward their hopes for regaining Philippine democracy.

Eventually, this informal group became known as the Namfrel Marines (who helped secure the ballot boxes and vigilantly kept watch over the election procedures in the Snap Elections of 1986). The group further evolved and set up a registered, nonstock, nonprofit organization which is now known as SLB.

Since its establishment, it has played an active role in developing modules and implementing seminars for voter’s education and responsible citizenship, building the general public’s awareness and concern for national issues and in coordinating and engaging its members, partners and volunteers for the much needed support in times of national crises (e.g. disasters, typhoons, floods, etc.). It has worked closely with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and other like-minded groups.

In the national elections of 2007, SLB was among those who spearheaded the establishment of VForCE, the movement to mobilize 1 million volunteers for clean elections. It later functioned as its secretariat.

Simultaneous to being the Secretariat of VForCE for the May 2007 elections, SLB managed the Gabay Halalan voters’ hotline, a call center that addressed all election related queries and documented incident reports.

Another major program that has also successfully engaged concerned citizens, organized and coordinated multi-sectoral support, and contributed to the widened sense of Filipino nationhood is SLB’s Disaster Response Management Program.

Lately, SLB’s disaster response efforts have evolved to include psychosocial interventions for the survivors of calamities (e.g. in the Guinsaugon Landslides in Leyte and Typhoon Reming in Bikol.) This effort to consolidate, organize and build on groups with competencies in this field, now called Sikolohiyang Lingkod Alay sa Bayan (SiLABAN), was again spearheaded by SLB. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines to bring together different groups and experts like the UNDP, Dr. Honey Carandang and the Ateneo de Manila University Psychology Department.