Dumaguete barangay residents clamor for solution to flooding woes

Residents in Barangay Banilad here are urging village and city officials to address the perennial flooding problem that has not been solved over the past years and which continually pose a threat to lives and properties.

Retired Brig. Gen. Rey Lyndon Lawas, in an interview Friday, said he talked to Banilad village chief Pacencio Maquiling, Jr. regarding the problem that has spanned several administrations already.

Lawas disclosed that in a meeting with the barangay council early this week attended by some complainant-residents, “we found out nga wala pa na brief ang mga barangay officials of any plans (the barangay officials have not been briefed yet on any plans) to address the problem.”

He said he was told the city has allocated a budget of PHP8 million for the flooding problem but there are no specifics yet.

It was agreed that the barangay shall invite concerned heads of government offices like the city planning, city engineer’s, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and others to present and brief the affected barangay residents of the plan at the soonest time possible.

“Just today, I requested to propose a barangay resolution requesting these concerned offices to present the plan before the affected residents to make it more official,” he said.

The move comes as residents in the areas of Barangays Banilad-Mangnao experienced heavy flooding on Sunday night caused by rainwater that gushed down from the mountains.

Some residents complained that their houses were flooded for hours up until after midnight.

The following day, the affected residents were cleaning up mud and debris from the flooding which took more than a day or two to finish.

DPWH personnel were also seen cleaning out drainage systems.

Veronica Paras Gascon, the next-door neighbor of Lawas, said she watched as the floodwaters poured out onto the road in front of her house, turning it into a mini-river.

Gascon said it has always been like this for more than a decade, with several officials making promises that were never fulfilled.

Connie Gregore, a person with disability, shared the same sentiments, saying that she is worried because there are two other PWDs in her home.

Gregore said she will attend the next meeting with barangay officials and will rally behind whatever has to be done to get the attention of concerned officials.

Lawas said that he will initiate a campaign to identify the number of households affected by the flooding that takes place more frequently these days than in the past years as well as a signature campaign to petition a faster and concrete response to the problem.

He said the barangay chairperson told him that the mayor has assured to deal with it once the pandemic is over.

However, residents are becoming restless and fearful that if not given immediate attention, the next huge flooding might just claim a life. (Content reposted from Philippine News Agency)

 

DOH, DILG strengthens barangay health emergency teams to boost healthcare

The Department of Health (DOH) together with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will strengthen the role of Barangay Health Response Teams (BHERTs) to help boost the country's healthcare system up to the grassroots level.

"Napakalaki pong tungkulin ang ginagawa ng barangay health emergency response teams," DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said during the DOH Media forum on Monday, Oct. 5.

Malaya said they it is important  that these teams  be sustained to ensure they regularly function and able to render the necessary service to the public especially during time of emergencies.

The DOH also cited the importance of BHERTs in the communities. There are 39,347 BHERTS all over the country as of August 20.

"Ang mga BHERT friends po natin ang pangunahing health defense sa ating community ngayong pandemic," DOH Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said.

The BHERTs are responsible for the home visits in search for COVID-19 active cases as well as the conduct contact tracing and monitoring for home-quarantine. They also refer patients to quarantine facility or treatment and monitory facility if they observed signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

"BHERTs are crucial in enhancing the Universal Health Care law which specifies that each home in the country must have one barangay health emergency response team assisting them," Vergeire said.

Vergeire added that BHERTs are tasked to provide immediate and proper emergency assistance and coordinate with the national government regarding the necessary health protocols.(PIA-NCR)

“Malaki po ang impact ng efforts ng DILG sa ating laban kontra COVID-19 lalong lalo na po alam po natin ang pinaka effective na measure sa COVID-19 is for us to bring down the response dito po sa pinaka-mababang antas o level ng ating gobyerno, and that is our barangays,” Vergeire said. (Photo and content reposted from PIA-NCR)

 

 

Life at Fuga Island, a far-flung barangay in Cagayan

 

Wide-spread poverty, lack of social services, and not having a land of their own these are some of the sad realities that residents of Fuga Island in Aparri, Cagayan face everyday.

So how do some 2,000 residents of the far-flung island survive? (News and video credits: CNN and YouTube)

 

Why should measurement of GDP or the national gross domestic product start at the barangay level?

OPINION

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounting system has been used for many years now to measure the health and condition of the national economy.

I wonder, however, how the data is being collected to overall GDP computation, because I have always believed that all data collection should start from below, to be eventually integrated and analyzed at the top.

Perhaps there is no direct connection to this main subject matter, but I also believe that Bottom up Budgeting (BUB) should be the default standard in local government budgeting and accounting, in line with a Barangay Development Plan (BDP).

As a requirement that is based on the Local Government Code (LGC), BDPs should be prepared and approved by the Barangay Development Council (BDC).

As it is now, the performance of the President is already being measured by the health and condition of the national economy during and after his or her term of office. Of course, the measurement is always based on the national GDP since there is no other credible measure that could be used as an alternative.

 That being the case, my friend and fellow columnist Manny Valdehuesa suggested that we should also measure the GDP at the barangay level, and in connection with that, to also use the barangay GDP to measure the performance of the barangay based on the health and condition of the local economy. Valdehuesa has the credibility to suggest this idea, being the founder of the Gising Barangay Movement (GBM).

Aside from the BDC, there are also supposed to be Municipal Development Council (MDCs), Provincial Development Council (PDCs) and Regional Development Council (RDCs), also as required by the LDC.

What this means is that there is already an existing structure or organization to collect GDP data from below, so that these could be submitted upwards for eventual integration and analysis. That way, the BUB standard could be easily implemented without any additional implementation costs.

Although there is really no empirical basis that would correlate the local barangay budget to the local GDP, there could be lessons that could be derived from the comparison. Besides, it would be logical to say that the quality of the BDP should somehow result in a positive GDP.

As it is supposed to be, all cities and municipalities are supposed to submit their Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs) to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). As it is now, the HLURB does not really require the Local Government Units (LGUs) to submit their CLUPs in Geographic Information System (GIS) format, but that would be a practical idea.

Also as it is supposed to be, all local government units (LGUs) are supposed to submit their Local Master Plans (LMPs) to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

As it is now, the DILG also does not require the LGUs to base their LMPs on the Geographic Information System (GIS) format, but that would also be a practical idea. In other words, both the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and the LMP could be integrated into the GIS format.

Over the years, we have gotten used to presidential candidates promising to improve the economy. Although they are not really saying it directly, what they really mean is that they will make the national gross domestic product (GDP) increase or grow.

That being the case, why should we not demand that our local candidates should also promise to grow or increase the local economy, by way of the local GDP, starting with the barangay level?

Based on the LGC, the Governors have authority over the Mayors and down the line; the Mayors also have authority over the Barangay Chairmen. That being the case, why don’t we interpret the law so that all these officials in all levels would be responsible for computing and reporting their respective GDPs?

Given the fact that the barangay and municipal governments may not have the resources to compute and report their respective GDPs, we should perhaps make it a rule that the Governors should fund the whole process out of their own funds.

As I have observed, however, there is hardly any Non-Government Organization (NGO) that vets the GDP data that is reported by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

What is happening now, whatever GDP data that is being issued by the NEDA is generally accepted as gospel truth, because nobody really challenges it.

Surely something should be done about that in the national level, but right now we have the opportunity of starting fresh at the local level, by putting in a vetting process down below.

Many of our citizens are already saying that the politics of patronage should already be replaced with the politics of performance. I agree with that, but I would be quick to add that the performance should not only be measured in the delivery of local public services, but also in the improvement of the local economy as it is reported in the local GDP.

By comparison, any candidate of average intelligence would be capable of improving the delivery of local public services, but it would take more talent to really improve the economy.

That said, it is now time to vote only for the candidates who have a track record in improving the economy. It is not enough for them to be honest; the candidates now should also be savvy in economics. (Content reposted from PANAY NEWS under its original title: Localizing the gross domestic product accounting system by Ike Señeres)

Pasig barangay holds webinar to empower women, children amid pandemic

 

To empower women and children amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a barangay in Pasig City recently held two webinars on how women and children can protect themselves from abusers and online sexual predators.

Barangay San Antonio Chairman Raymond Lising said the webinar themes were “Equip the Women, Empower the Children” and “How to Protect our Children from Online Abusers.” Glenda Resurrecion, an advocate of sexual abuse awareness in the country, was the resource speaker.

Citing Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center data during the COVID-19 pandemic, Resurrecion said there are 804 reported cases from all over the country, pertaining to violations of eight laws: Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children; Anti-Rape; Acts of Lasciviousness; Concubinage; Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism; Anti-Trafficking in Persons; Anti-Sexual Harassment; and Safe Spaces law.

“During the pandemic, we have data showing the surge in the number of cases of violence against women basically due to COVID-related stress, unemployment, mental instability, anxiety , depression, among others,” the barangay chairman said in a statement.

Lising said that most of the victims of abuse and violence, according to studies, are women.

As such, he said the abuse may be in the form of physical and psychological and many women or wives are trapped in their homes by their abusers because of the lockdown.

Resurrecion also discussed how to prevent online sexual exploitation among children as they are usually the targets of sexual predators.

Despite the existence of laws against anti-trafficking and child pornography, she said cases of online sexual exploitation among children are still rampant nowadays. This is why, she said, the role of family is very essential to prevent online sexual exploitation. Strong parental guidance and supervision are needed to protect children from any form of exploitation.

Lising theorized that the lockdowns may have contributed to the surge in the number of sexual exploitations of children online, because of the increased and unstructured time online.

“As more children are usually surfing the Internet during this pandemic, we need to protect them from the dangers and risks of being abused. But the real challenge is for parents to guide and teach their kids not to be victims of online sexual exploitation,” he said.

According to the barangay chairman, they decided to conduct the webinars to create awareness and educate his constituents as he believes that community involvement is very important in battling the problem.

Lising said that Barangay San Antonio has been regularly conducting programs or counselling to prevent violence against women and children and they have Barangay 24/7 and VAWC hotline to report any case of domestic abuse and violence and online sexual exploitation.

“The lockdown should not make us lax on the child protection and safety of women and the barangay must step up awareness and education programs on this matter,” he ended. (Content reposted from  MANILA BULLETIN)

Photo from Barangay San Antonio

DTI Laguna brings closer business assistance to MSMEs in barangays

 The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Laguna brought closer its assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through its Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay – Livelihood Seeding Program (NSB-LSP).

DTI Laguna has lined up series of visits to different barangays in the province with the aim to support the MSMEs who were affected by the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic and guide stakeholders who may also be of help to assist them on the ground.

“NSB-LSP is an initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Negosyo Centers that allows a wider reach of business development assistance by bringing programs, activities and services closer to the people, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by calamity, disaster, epidemic, pandemic and human-induced hazards,” Sr. Trade-Industry Development Specialist Christian Ted O. Tungohan, Unit Head of Office of the Provincial Director, explained.

Capability Building Seminars are employed not only for MSMEs and beneficiaries, but also for Barangay Development Council (BDC) Members and Barangay Officials.

MSME beneficiaries of the LSP-NSB Program may include sole proprietors, cooperatives, or sectoral associations that are located in identified barangays, including those in Local Communist Armed Conflict (LCAC) affected areas and vulnerable communities.

The identification of prospective beneficiaries is being done by the barangay officials, while DTI-Laguna is in charge with the validation and final selection.

The first leg of the program in Laguna took place at the town of Majayjay last July 21, where DTI Laguna Provincial Office held a Capability Building Seminar for the 1st Batch of Barangay Officials and BDC members of four Identified Barangays in the locality.

Alongside the seminar, they have facilitated the setting up of NSB Desks for every identified barangay. The desk serves as venue for the would-be and existing entrepreneurs in the barangays to obtain necessary information on business-related concerns.

They have also brought the program to the towns of Luisiana, Paete, Magdalena, Pangil and Victoria this month.

He said this program is expected to help increase the awareness of barangay officials about the services offered by the Department through the Negosyo Centers.

This will also be instrumental in identifying the MSMEs with business operations within the barangays including those in Local Communist Armed Conflict (LCAC) affected areas and vulnerable communities such as the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and refugees or stateless persons also known as Persons of Concern (POCs), among others.

The department also conducts business development assistance and provides services to the identified barangays and grant individual package of Livelihood Kits amounting to Php 5,000.00.

Through this initiative, DTI Laguna seeks to assist in the business recovery of MSMEs affected by natural and human-induced calamities which at present is experienced specifically due to the health disaster arising from COVID-19 pandemic.

“Priority assistance shall be given to MSMEs affected by natural and human-induced calamities including health disasters arising from epidemics and pandemics,” he stated.

Moreover, this will also help increase the number of MSMEs in the formal sector and create more jobs that will be helpful in the economy that was hardly hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the micro enterprises, aspiring entrepreneurs and those affected by the pandemic, do not lose hope, and be receptive to government assistance like attending business related seminars & coaching sessions to help them and our economy bounce back,” he pronounced as an encouragement to the country’s MSMEs.

More NSB-LSP activities will be held in barangays of other towns such as Paete on August 4, Magdalena on August 5, and Pangil on August 7, 2020. (Content reposted from Philippine Information Agency)

Lipa City Barangays issued Nissan Navara pickups

The Lipa City government recently distributed to 40 of its barangays, Nissan Navara pickup trucks, as part of strengthening their respective response teams. Led by Sen. Ralph Recto, Lipa City Mayor Eric Africa, and Vice Mayor MakMak Luancing, government officials turned over the “Team Talino at Puso” trucks during a ceremony last June 26 with barangay officials.

“These challenging times call for smart and compassionate action. These vehicles are part of Team Talino at Puso programs that provide timely support and services for our constituents,” said Sen. Recto.

“These multipurpose, durable, and reliable vehicles empower our barangays to advance crucial services to more Lipeños faster,” said Mayor Africa. (Content and photo reposted from Autocar Philippines)