Baguio City barangays should keep computerized records of its residents – City council

The City Council encouraged Baguio’s 128-barangays, each to maintain database of inhabitants who have been profiled through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Form 200.

In a resolution, the body stressed, data gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic should be maintained for ready reference, especially in similar future emergency situations.

They added, available data gathered in barangays can be used as reference for identifying future projects, programs and activities, making delivery of services to the city’s constituents more effective and efficient.

In the resolution, the aldermen articulated, data gathering and maintenance of records are important tools for efficient barangay planning, enhanced program execution, easier identification and as reference to the number of inhabitants in a specific barangay in the city.

They said, the data would be of great help in the establishment of an integrated command center and in aiding policymakers in the identification and prioritization of development projects in the barangays.

It could be remembered, DSWD issued Memorandum Circular No. 04, series of 2020 on the distribution of the national government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (R.A. 11469) provides measures to ease some 18-million low income households in the country from the impact of COVID-19 during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), a national government strategy to “flatten the curve”.

Consequently, inhabitants in barangays were profiled as means of verifying those qualified to benefit from the SAP in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) using Disaster Form 200 prepared by the DSWD.

Data gathered now shows Baguio City has 93,000 households. The SAP in the city meanwhile covers 48-percent or about 45,000-families benefitting from an allocation of P247-million. (Content and photo reposted from HeraldExpess)

House dog joins Iligan City barangay peacekeeping force

At four months old, Tomtom’s first mission was to patrol their village in Purok Matinabangon (Helpful), Barangay Ubaldo Laya here when the enhanced community quarantine was imposed in the city to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

He was with a group of Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) who are tasked with guarding the village during nighttime, making sure no one would violate the curfew hours and the community quarantine policies.

Tomtom is a dog with a mixed breed but his owner, Morris Niasca, said it did not concern which particular breed his companion belongs.

“Actually, I did not mind about breeding. I got him from a friend because I wanted to have a buddy,” Niasca told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday.

In 2008, Niasca’s wife died of illness. His only child, now a grownup, lives in Davao City. Although he lives with his mother and two nephews, he wanted to have a companion--especially during his night watch duty being a BPAT member.

“When he was a little puppy, he would sleep beside me. Now that he has already grown up, he prefers to sleep at my feet,” Niasca said.

Village watchdog

Niasca named Tomtom from the popular cartoon show, Tom and Jerry.

“I always heard that title (of the program) and I find it cute,” Niasca quipped.

When the 22-member BPAT in Purok Matinabangon was reactivated in March to be deployed every night to monitor community quarantine compliance among residents, Niasca could not leave Tomtom home.

The dog would look for his owner and, fearing Tomtom would go outside and get lost, Niasca decided to tag the dog along.

“I have to bring him when I am roving around and he likes going with us,” Niasca said.

Tomtom has no proper training as the other trained canine used by policemen but his owner said his furry buddy has protective instincts and is loved by the neighborhood.

“He is very helpful like when somebody wanted to destroy the barricade that we put at the entrance and exit points, he would bark until we take notice of any incident,” said Wilson Areola, one of the BPAT personnel.

After days of going with the peacekeeping action team, a barangay councilor decided to “issue” an identification card for Tomtom.

“He is treated as our fellow BPAT member. When we rest, he will also rest. When we take our evening coffee, we also give him something to eat,” Areola added.

 For the people in the community, Tomtom might be an ordinary dog but when they saw him walking by without the owner, they would treat him as their “bantay” (guard), especially during night time, Areola said. (Content and photo reposted from Philippine News Agency)

In photo: Morris Niasca introduces Tomtom, a card-carrying Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team member in Iligan City, to the members of the media on Tuesday, May 19. (PNA photo by Divina M. Suson)

Albay “gulayan sa barangay” gives fresh veggies for free to residents during Covid

A seven hectare coconut plantation is now a vegetable farm where residents of Barangay Salugan in Camalig town can avail of a variety of vegetables for free while the entire Bicol is under a modified general community quarantine.

The plantation is owned by the family of Salugan village chair, Shiela “Kap Shie” Dino, who came up with the “gulayan sa barangay” (vegetable farm in the village) initiative so that residents of the barangay can continue having a healthy and nutritious diet while staving off the coronavirus.

Salugan has become the sole village in Albay that has a 7-hectare vegetable plantation.

Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara has also been providing vegetable seedlings to Albayanos so that they can have their own backyard gardens to ensure food sustainability. A similar program was initiated by 3rd district Representative Fernando “Didi” Cabredo.

“We opted to use our private land to be the gulayan plantation during the enhanced community quarantine so we can provide free vegetables to our residents... With our gulayan sa barangay, the people can have vegetables on their table,” Dino said.

Planting the vegetables, she added, helps them fight boredom throughout the quarantine period, too.

There’s quite a buffet of vegetables to choose from the “gulayan sa barangay”. There’s lettuce, eggplants, pechay, kangkong, tomatoes, ampalaya, string beans, chilli, okra, peanuts, sweet corn, and dragon fruit, among others.

While getting their share, residents should still observe physical distancing and wear their face masks.

When the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine was imposed in mid-March, Dino began conducting a feeding program 3 times a week among Salugan residents in a bid to fight malnutrition specifically among children, pregnant and lactating women, and senior citizens.

Dino said that the feeding program dubbed “Kauswagan Pantawid Feeding Program” was delivered to the residents through a house-to-house and zone-to-zone system, all while practicing physical distancing.

A businesswoman before entering politics, Dino said she spent her personal money for the feeding program as the barangay council does not have enough funds, considering that the food ration was given to the residents from March 20 to May 15.

Barangay Salugan is an agricultural village with a population of 2,236 persons, comprising 618 families. It is home to 147 children aged 2 to 5 years old and 170 senior citizens, among others.

Salugan is known for abaca, coconut trees, pineapple, and other natural resources, as well as for “pinangat”, the mouthwatering Bicolano coconut meat and shrimp dish wrapped in taro leaves.

Salugan was also twice visited by Miss Earth International candidates in 2018 and 2019 from 30 countries for its pro-environment activities. (Content and photo reposted from Rappler)

In photo: A worker sweeps off dried leaves from one of the vegetable beds in the 'gulayan sa barangay', an initiative of Salugan barangay captain Shiela Dino. Photo by Rhaydz B. Barcia/Rappler