Every day we saw the hardships felt by our fellow constituents as they hike the almost 1.3-km difficult trail from the “sitio” up to the highway, making us feel guilty and our hearts crumpled.  These constituents from the “sitios” strives the condition everyday of their lives, while we at the barangay proper who live in a comfortable place even sometimes feel unsatisfied.

Barangay Tugbong proper is located along the national highway. It is 2.5 km away from the town proper of Kananga. It is accessible by transportation via multicab, motorcycle, bus, and jeep.  Farm products are easily transported, and children go to school stress-free.

Contrary to our situation is a worst scenario, struggled by our co-constituents living in the three sitios: Sagka, Lawis, and Manka. Most of the families living in these sitios are farmers and laborers, with income below the poverty threshold. Their products consist of rice, copra and various root crops such as, sweet potato, cassava, and gabi.

Rice is being sold @ P500.00 per sack. Aside from the expenditure in planting up to harvesting, a farmer also has to spend P65.00 per sack in transporting products from the sitio to the municipal proper.

Community folks from the sitios have to hire someone to carry their products. Every sack costs P50.00 from the sitio up to the highway, with an additional P15.00 charge in ferrying the products from the barangay up to the municipal proper using a vehicle.

This situation is true during sunny days; however, during heavy rains the trail tends to be muddy causing nobody to dare carry a sack full of products.  And if someone forces one to transport his products he has to pay much higher than the usual cost.

Some farmers find other ways where they could transport the farm produce for their daily survival.  It is difficult indeed because they will have to cross a river then hike a 3-km trail as they reach the barangay of Leyte,Leyte where they could market their products.

Children likewise are forced to trek the “pilapil” along the rice fields which is rather hazardous. Children endure the dirty and slippery way just to attend school.  However, some children became drop outs because they could not survive the everyday difficulties.

This condition makes community folks come up with the idea of questioning the government on the services provided to them.  Why is it that despite the many opportunities entering the barangay, until now no development takes place? Why is it that there are people living in comfortable places, while some continue living in worst conditions? Some people are benefiting projects from the government while a community in a sitio is taken for granted.

Looking for funding

Almost three administrations, this problem on inaccessibility of farm to market road was presented and financial assistance was sought. Unfortunately, the problem has not been addressed due to insufficiency of funds.

Negotiations with private land owners were made, hoping lot donations for the areas that could possibly be traversed by the project.

When KALAHI-CIDSS entered the barangay last September 2006, sitio residents hoped that this program could also help their problems. Unfortunately, within the barangay itself the problems of the abovementioned sitios were not prioritized which led the people to doubt the realization of their dream.

People from the sitios became dismayed as to what had happened.  They thought that because they were just living in the sitios, development opportunities were far from being reached.

I felt my heart crumpled thinking that these people needed support to augment their living but opportunity evades them.

At last, opportunity comes

When the second cycle of KALAHI-CIDSS implementation came, I never wasted time to coordinate with the barangay council in order that barangay can now participate in another cycle of implementation.

When the re-visiting of Participatory Situation Analysis (PSA) was conducted we highlighted the worst condition of our sitios. With the full cooperation and support of the barangay council and the volunteers, we were able to boost the strong participation of our disheartened community folks in the sitios. Their active participation, especially during the barangay assembly aided the other community folks from the barangay proper to empathize with their condition in the sitios.

At last, obstacles that blocked the way to finally answer our hopes were removed.

During the prioritization process at the barangay level, we took out the doubts in the hearts of the other community residents that the project will not be funded. We spoke and appealed to the private lot owners to donate the portion of their lands that will be covered by the road opening.  Lastly, we mobilized volunteers to actively participate during the KALAHI-CIDSS municipal activities in order to get the sympathy of other volunteers from other barangays to vote for us so that we will be included in the prioritized list.

Efforts bear fruits

Our efforts did not disappoint us. After the Participatory Development Prioritization Resource Allocation (PDPRA), our barangay was selected as one of the prioritized barangays for KALAHI-CIDSS funding.   We’re almost there, near to the opportunity that change will happen to the lives of my fellow constituents.

But the challenges did not stop there, when we were about to begin the implementation, one lot owner refused to donate his land. He commented that the project is impossible to be implemented so he declined to give his promise. Some communities also doubted that the project may not push through. But we never lost hope until the project started its implementation.

When the sub-project started its implementation, the hard-headed lot owner finally donated a parcel of his land.

Today, community folks from the three “sitios” are reaping the fruits of our labor, from a worst foot trail to a wide and accessible barangay road that uplifted their living conditions.  Spending P65.00 in every sack of farm products lessened to P25.00 cost of transporting from the sitio directly to the municipal proper.  Motorcycles can now easily transport products and even four- wheel vehicles can enter the “sitios”  to pick up products.

Children can easily hike when they go to school. Some are already able to hire the services of a motorcycle because their parents could already provide them with additional allowances taken from the additional income they earned in transporting products.

It is not only high-ranking government officials or any government office which could provide as with better living. Even ordinary people with pure hearts can help uplift living conditions of depressed communities.  Pure intentions and a good heart are strong weapons that could help alleviate the impoverished conditions of our native land.

KALAHI-CIDSS did not only provide us sub-projects that eased our transportation, it also provided us opportunity to boost our dignity that even ordinary people can help solve difficult problems such as ours.