For someone like Juda Diklay, who was brought
up in an isolated tribe, it is hard to imagine how she made it through the
difficult challenges of being away from home starting from her elementary years
up to finishing college at the Western Philippines University (WPU) in Puerto
Princesa City, hundreds of kilometers away from home.
But Juda, who is now 25
years old and who belongs to the Tau’t Bato or Taa’wt Bato, an indigenous tribe
who lives in the remote, rugged lands and dense forests of Singnapan Valley in
Rizal municipality, managed to graduate last year with a degree in Elementary
Education.
Palawan
News
reported that members of her tribe are self-contained. They rarely go down the
mountain to buy food from the market. They subsist through gathering wild
fruits and vegetables, hunting, and planting rice and other crops.
Her community can only be
reached through an eight-hour hike from Barangay Ransang (pop. 4,983) where she
studied elementary and one of the 11 barangays of the Municipality of Rizal. Read more here
Photo credit: (SMU DSWD MIMAROPA)
Lawmakers
OK barangay road program, The State recognizes the barangay as
the smallest and most basic local government unit. This being said, it is
expected that barangays deliver services to its citizens. In order to do so,
the State shall provide the necessary funding for the establishment of
infrastructure and roads for the development of all barangays to achieve its
prime mandate.
This is exactly what the
recently signed House Bill 6014 is pushing for. Principally authored by Rep.
Mark Go, the House Committee on Public Works and Highways approved HB 6014 or
the establishment of the “Barangay Road Development (BRD) Program” under the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Stated therein was that the BRD
Program shall undertake the construction of all road projects allocated
directly to the identified barangays in the country. Read more here
Pimentel
bill seeks to make barangay officials regular government employees. A bill has been filed by Senator Aquilino
"Koko" Pimentel III seeking to declare barangay officials as regular
government employees.
Recognizing the crucial role
that barangay officials play, Pimentel said: "As the basic political unit,
the importance of barangays in our system of government cannot be over emphasized.
It is therefore fitting that measures to promote the welfare and prosperity of
barangays be enshrined in a Magna Carta to give due recognition to the crucial
role they play."
In proposing the Magna Carta
for Barangays, Pimentel said the punong barangay should have a salary
equivalent to that of a sangguniang bayan member of his municipality or city. Read more here
Mental
health services are now available at the barangay level–DOH. After
years since it was first passed into congress, Republic Act 11036 or the Mental
Health Law had its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) finally signed for
execution at the National Center for Mental Health last Jan 22.
The law’s implementation
seeks to provide accessible mental health services down to barangay-level,
along with measures to remove the shame that goes with mental health issues.
The IRR specifies that
mental health services, which include neurological, psychological, and
psychiatric concerns, should be “accessible, available, affordable, and
acceptable” upon implementation. This means that, now, help will not be limited only to those who can
afford the high cost of consultation at private clinics. Read more here
DILG
warns barangay officials not to engage in partisan politics. DILG
Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño warned local government and
barangay officials with suspension and, in the worst scenario, dismissal from
the service once proven to be engaging in partisan politics.
Diño’s statement came after
numerous complaints against some barangay and other local officials who are
intentionally barring prospective candidates or making it more difficult for
them to conduct lawful campaign sorties in their communities because they are
from a rival political party.
He said that all he needs is
a formal written complaint from constituents to make the barangay captain
concerned to explain within 72 hours, for him to initiate action against the
erring official. Read more here
Cebu
town barangay officials fear for their lives. Barangay officials in San Fernando town in Metro
Cebu fear now for their lives following the series of killings of local
officials, which has resulted in the deaths of two colleagues.
They expressed their fears
in a dialogue with Cebu Provincial Office Police Director Debold Sinas and Cebu
1st District Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas due to the death of Barangay
Councils (ABC) president and Panadtaran Barangay Captain Ricardo “Nonoy” Reluya
Jr. and two others during the ambush-slay attempt on San Fernando Mayor Neneth
Reluya.
Unidentified men also gunned
down Magsico Barangay Captain Johnny Arriesgado last Jan. 16.
During the dialogue,
barangay officials informed police about suspicious persons who recently moved
into town. Read more here
Batangas City barangays visited by “compartmentalized”
garbage trucks.
Compartmentalized garbage trucks (those with partitions for biodegradable and
non-biodegradable wastes) were deployed by the city government in 18 out of the
city’s 105 barangays as a means of promoting and instilling awareness among
residents of these barangays the culture of cleanliness and upkeep in their
homes and villages.
City officials led by
Joyce Cantre, chief of the city’s General Services Department, said that it is
also meant to address the intensification and enforcement of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological
Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Read more here
ALL THE BEST to all barangay officials and staff. Here’s hoping that you all benefit from the
insights gained from the latest news and events taking place in the barangays
nationwide this week. For other government officials and the general public, this report should give you a front-row seat view of
what’s going on at the grassroots level of governance that directly affects the
day-to-day lives of more than 100 million Filipinos.
This site is a
non-political, non-sectarian and non-government initiative and operated by
individuals advocating positive change at the building-block-level of
nation-building. Have a productive week ahead.
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