The drive to help the community is one of the most difficult things to sustain especially when you also have so many different priorities in life such as family and career. But according to Cesar Chavez, an American labor leader, we cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity of our community.
He also added that our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
Coretta King, wife of 1960s civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., also said that the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.
Many people from different races, religion and gender had proved that collective action is important in the community to take a big leap to a better future wherein the residents of Barangay Ilaor Norte attested to that belief.
Barangay Ilaor Norte is one of the biggest barangays in the municipality of Oas. The neighborhood is located near the central business district area of the municipality.
According to Lilia Rances, barangay captain of Ilaor Norte, the community has experienced three (3) main problems such as poverty, health and cleanliness.
Since the barangay only receives minimal Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), they only prioritize the projects that they can cover.
“Kaunti lang naman ang mga nakalaan na mga gagastusan. Kaya nga nung nakasali kami sa Kalahi, guminhawa na yung mga namomobrelema (Before, we can only cover a number of projects, with the inclusion in the Kalahi program, most of the people were able to experience comfort),” she explained.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS) is a poverty alleviation program of the Philippine government.
It uses the community-driven development (CDD) approach, a globally recognized strategy for achieving service delivery, poverty reduction and good governance outcomes. The program also encourages barangays or communities to participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting and implementation.
In 2015, the community’s drainage canal was included in the prioritized sub-projects of the program in the municipality.
During the construction of the sub-project, not all people supported the intervention. With the complementation of the community volunteers and barangay council, they explained to the residents the importance of the program to the community.
“Yung mga iba [residentes] ayaw ipagalaw yung mga lugar na dapat pagtrabahuhan namin. Sa mabuting pakiusap, naipaliwanag namin sa kanila ang magandang resulta (Some of the residents do not like to dismantle their respective areas to give way for the construction. Through dialogue, we have explained to them the good results.),” Rances explained.
“Sabi ko, pinapaganda natin yung canal para continuous ang flow ng tubig at naiintindihan naman nila (I also said [to them] that we are constructing a drainage system for the continuous flow of wastewater.),” the barangay captain expounded.
To ensure that transparency on the construction of drainage canal, the volunteers together with the barangay council continuously update the residents through the barangay assembly.
“Nagpapatawag kami ng barangay assembly para maintindihan nila [residentes] kung saan galing itong patrabahong ito kaya sinasabi ko sa kanila na dapat maki-alam sila. (We are conducting barangay assembly to explain to the residents about the program and how we were able to acquire the funds for the construction so I said to them that they have the right to know),” she explained.
“Gusto naming [barangay council] na-iinvolve sila kasi partners kami (We want the residents to involve themselves in the community activities),” Rances furthered.
UNCEASING COMMUNITY SERVICE
Upon the completion of the sub-project, the community oversees the maintenance of the drainage system to avoid floods in times of heavy rains. The Red Cross is a community-based organization of the volunteers who continues to clean, dredge and unclog the canal every month as part of their endeavors in the neighborhood.
“Isa pa sa na very appreciative pa po ang mga kababayan naming dito dahil we have a certain group na Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries na nasa ilalim din ng DSWD ay nagkakaroon sila ng monthly na clean and green program (One thing that the community is very appreciative are the group of 4Ps beneficiaries under DSWD who also conducts monthly clean and green program),” Celia Ragot, barangay councilor said.
Aside from the Red Cross and 4Ps beneficiaries, the youth also renders community service in which cleaning the canal is part of its activities.
“Sa ngayon po na climate change na po tayo, ang pina-prioritize na din po naming ay yung kapaligiran naming na maging malinis kaya itong drainage system na ito ay siguradong mapapangalagaan naming ng maigi (Since we are experiencing climate change, we also prioritize the surroundings wherein we are trying to maintain the cleanliness of the drainage system and we assure [you] that we will take care good of it),” she elucidated.
Ragot also added, “Kasi po sa ngayon, collective na ang service naming na ibinibigay sa pamamagitan ng paglinis ng kapaligiran. (As of now, we are giving collective service like cleaning for the environment.)
The service for the community does not only ends within the residents. The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) of the barangay also gave assistance for the cleanliness of the neighborhood.
“It started in the last part of 2017. Nagbigay sila ng pondo para sa beautification at clean and green program kung saan pinadaan nila ito sa contest sa taga-purok. (It started in the last part of 2017. They gave funds for the beautification and clean and green program in which they conducted a contest per zone),” the barangay councilor said.
Ragot assured the OFWs have promised to continue giving their support to the barangay to continue the clean and green program.
“Naging aware na sila [OFWs] na maganda pala na makita nila ang barangay na malinis lalo na tuwing mayroong contest. Naisip nila na may katuturan pala ang paglilinis ng kapaligiran (The OFWs became aware that the barangay is indeed beautiful when it is cleaned especially during contests. They also thought that there is significance in cleaning the surroundings),” Ragot added.
Likewise, Dolores Brijuega, 59 years old, president of Red Cross Organization as well as a community volunteer of their barangay shared her experience in maintaining the cleanliness of their sub-project.
“Pagkatapos ng bagyo, tinitingnan namin kung may nasira sa drainage canal. Rinereport naming rin sa barangay kung mayroong sira dahil mapapaayos ang drainage para walang ma-stagnant na tubig, (After the typhoon, we inspect the drainage for any damages. Then, we report it to the barangay if there are findings to avoid stagnant water),” Brijuega said.
Brijuega also added that she would often call for a meeting with the members of Red Cross Organization and other 4Ps beneficiaries to discuss the scheduling of weekly maintenance.
“Masaya rin kami kasi mayroon ng nagbibigay na dito snacks matapos namin maglinis. (We are also happy because there are people who gave us, snacks after cleaning the canal),” she narrated.
The volunteer also imparted her message to fellow volunteers in serving the community.
“Ang masasabi ko lang sa kapwa volunteers ay pagbutihan lang nila, at i-maintain ang magandang asal para sa komunidad (For my fellow volunteers, continue to serve and maintain the good deeds for the community),” she noted.
Due to the unwavering love for the community, all sectors despite differences continue to provide collective action not just because for the improvement but the sense of fulfillment.
Fulfillment is not seen through the success of the barangay but the immeasurable smiles of the people as they greet each other every morning. /ramsertan/
About DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS
Albay has implemented Kalahi-CIDSS in eight (8) municipalities with a total implementation grant of Php 363,564,740.69 and local counterpart contribution of Php 8,418,938.69 from barangay and municipal local government units (LGUs) to fund community-managed sub-projects.
DSWD had allocated Oas with Php 40,000,000.00 with a counterpart from the LGU of Php 1,400,746.42
The construction of 1.867.5 linear-meter drainage canal has a total project cost of Php 2,742,388.80.
For more details about DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS, follow this link: