kaban galing - front cover - galing pook

Making Development Happen
Basic social services and other needs were immediately addressed in
41 priority barangays. A total of 868 families from 39 barangays were
enrolled in the government’s health insurance program. A reservoir for
potable water supply was constructed and connected to surrounding
barangays using 1,900 meters of polyethylene pipes per barangay.
School supplies were distributed to indigent primary school pupils.
Agricultural productivity was encouraged. Vegetable seeds and fruit
tree seedlings were distributed to farmers. Ubi (purple yam) plantations
were developed. New technology in nature farming allowed farmers to
reduce expenses on fertilizers and other farm inputs by as much as
P2,000 per cropping season. Backyard gardening not only reduced the
cost of living but made the residents healthier. In Barangay Villafuerte,
Carmen, the farmers’ cooperative, which runs a hybrid corn farm, supplied
seeds, allowing farmers to substantially reduce their cost of inputs.
Farm-to-market roads were constructed and rice mills were put up.
Electrification was installed in several barangays resulting in more
economic activities for the households. In the once insurgency-afflicted
Barangay Nueva Montana, municipality of Buenavista, for example, the
residents were able to engage in handicraft activities even at night.
Women who have been trained in dressmaking have received more
orders for bed sheets, pillow cases and athletic uniforms from other
barangays.
In terms of peace and order, insurgency and armed encounters have
been dramatically reduced. In Nueva Montana, movements of communist
guerillas who used to roam freely even at day time have been restricted
as more able-bodied residents joined the local militia. In addition, no
foreign or local tourists have been reported harassed or molested. The
improved situation has encouraged the influx into the province of more
visitors.
Sustainability: The Secret Ingredient
Governor Erico Aumentado believes that a poverty reduction program
should not only exist and be pursued only because there are laws and
policies that mandate it. Success and sustainability will need something
more. He says: “It is important that governments, organizations and
institutions have a heart that can see, feel and suffer the poverty that
stares them in the face everyday.”
A Roadmap Out of Poverty 11