Kalahi CIDSS MIMAROPA Gazette 1st Quarter 2018

The Town That Made It Right -- Sablayan
Nature enthusiasts and adventurers at heart
may know this town in Southern Luzon as home
to the prestigious Apo Reef, the second largest
contiguous reef collection next to Australia’s the
Great Barrier Reef. Lies between the Mountain
Rages of Iglit and the West Philippine Sea, the
wonder-filled town of Sablayan is not only known
for its natural resources, but it is also known to be
the first municipality in MIMAROPA to incorporate
the process of Community-Driven Development
(CDD) in their local governance strategy.
Sablayan is home to various ethnic and indigenous
groups in the country which includes migrant
Ilocanos, Cebuanos, and Visayans and the native
Alangan Mangyans of Mindoro. Agriculture is
the primary source of income of the people. The
waters of Sablayan is home to massive schools of
tuna fish and it is now competing with General
Santos City as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines.
Despite being a first-class municipality, Sablayan
has a high poverty incidence compared to its
neighboring towns. This was the reason why it was
selected to implement the first leg of DSWD Kalahi-
CIDSS Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay
(KKB) in 2003. The communities in the town built a
total of ten projects in the span of seven (7) years.
Later in 2011, the town also received funding
from DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS under the Millennium
Challenge Corporation Makamasang Tugon. It was
a bonus one-year modality for municipalities that
implemented the KKB.
One of the basis to know if a community actively
participates in Kalahi CIDSS program is the
Barangay Assembly Participation rate, from
the two mentioned modalities of Kalahi CIDSS,
Sablayan has averaged 70-80% per cycle.
Nevertheless, Dionisio Recente, one of the first
community volunteers from Brgy. Batong Buhay
admitted that it was never easy to build the trust
and encourage the people to attend the community
assemblies. “Nagpapa raffle ang barangay noon
para lang mahikayat ang mga tao na dumalo
kasi kung walang mga ganoong pakulo ay nako,
paniguradong kami kaming mga volunteer lang rin
ang andun sa BA” enthused Dionisio.
These strategies, nevertheless, was effective as
there has been a growth on people’s participation
in the Kalahi CIDSS program. Soon, there are no
more raffle draws to entice the people and yet they
continually attended the Barangay Assemblies.
Salvador Quinio, a resident of Barangay San Agustin
said “Nakita namin yung kagandahan ng pag
punta sa mga patawag ng barangay na pulong kasi
napapakinggan yung mga pangangailangan namin
at pag sinuswerte ay nakakakuha ng project para sa
aming barangay.”
The LGU found the acceptance of the community to
participatory development process as noteworthy.
Municipal Councilor of Sablayan Hon. Walter B.
Marquez saw how the LGU realized the true meaning
of participative governance when they witnessed
how the community worked hand-in-hand with the
LGU in implementing the Kalahi-CIDSS project.
Being a Community Volunteer himself before
venturing politics, he saw how the CDD strategy
unites the people to improve their community by
addressing their basic needs.
“Ang LGU ay katuwang ng mga tao sa pag-unlad.
Mas mapapaganda ang pag hahatid ng serbisyo
sa mga tao kung aktibo silang nakikilahok para
masabi kung ano ang pangangailangan talaga ng
kanilang barangay, at ganoon na nga ang nangyari
sa Sablayan.” Said Hon. Marquez.
The LGU of Sablayan broadened their experiences
and learning on participative governance from their
implementation of Kalahi-CIDSS.