The celebration of Independence Day was made more significant in this far-flung New People’s Army (NPA) stronghold as 40 city and national government agencies pooled resources for a “Serbisyo Caravan” spearheaded by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and the Association of Regional Executives of National Agencies (ARENA) XI.
Hundreds of residents from 13 villages of Paquibato District, a known NPA stronghold, trooped to barangay Paquibato Proper, to avail of the services offered by the government such as the City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO), City Agriculturist Office, City Veterinarian’s Office and the regional offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Justice (DoJ), the National Statistics Office (NSO), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), among others.
During the whole day affair, the DSWD distributed 20 assistive devices to people with disabilities and 8,000 food packs amounting to P2 million; 100 assorted seedlings plus farm implements from the Department of Agriculture (DA); 5,000 Tilapia fingerlings from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); abaca plantlets from the Fiber Industry Development Authority and the 196 land titles from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The other agencies like the Public Attorney’s Office and Regional State Prosecutor provided advice on human trafficking and barangay justice system, among others.
Wilma Piyal, a 36-year old widow with seven children was happy to have her quad cane. Piyal, whose husband died last year, said her cane would help her do house work more easily especially that she has to take care of her two children with disabilities. She is a beneficiary of the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilya program, which only covers three barangays in Paquibato with 206 total beneficiaries.
Issues were raised by the village leaders of the 13 barangays and the IP communities during the consultation activity.
Foremost were the improvement of road networks, construction of bridges, improvement of farm-to-market roads and the long-overdue ancestral domain sustainable development plan to help the areas jumpstart development efforts.
The village leaders said improved road networks and bridges interconnecting all barangays of Paquibato and to other neighboring villages of other districts would spur development in the area.
The 13 villages of Paquibato Proper, Mapula, Lumiad, Colosas, Panalum, Pandaitan, Malabog, Salapawan, Tapak, Fatima, Sumimao, Paradise Embak and Mabuhay are the areas in the city’s second district left behind in terms of development due to strong presence of the communist rebels.
Barangay captain Joseph Escobidal of Paquibato Proper expressed gratitude because it was the first time that all regional government agencies visited Paquibato.
Ruben Labawan, the Ata Tribal leader of the Paquibato ancestral domain, was hoping that the national government could help in the funding and speedy completion of their Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP).
Labawan said they lack support to work on their sustainable development plan, thus they anchored their programs and projects from the barangay development plan for the meantime.
DPWH XI Regional director Mariano Alquiza, who is the president of ARENA XI, said Paquibato was identified as the area where to hold their “Serbisyo Caravan” based on their needs assessment or criteria such as: it is a conflict-affected area and the poverty rate is high.
ARENA is an aggrupation of regional executives in
ARENA XI’s “Serbisyo Caravan” started in 2011 but it has been serving areas outside of the regional center.
On the other hand, 10th Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Ariel B. Bernardo said security and development is a shared responsibility.
He said the military has been present in the area for many years and aimed to facilitate bringing government service as its contribution to the total development of the community.
The “Serbisyo Caravan” concluded with the unveiling of the peace monument and the signing of the Manifesto of Commitment and Support to the Development of Paquibato District by Mayor Duterte and General Bautista.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=653192
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