FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016
CLENRO clears campaign materials on streets by Samantha Kaye C. Correos
CAGAYAN DE ORO – The City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO), here conducted on May 17 “Operation Baklas,” to clean up the campaign materials used during the 2016 national and local elections. Volunteers gather at 6:00 a.m. in front of the Cagayan de Oro City Hall where the assigned areas for each team were identified. The areas covered were Tiano Brothers St., Burgos St., NazarethMacasandig main road, Agora road, Gaabucayan St., Pimentel St.,
Lapasan-Cugman Highway, Puerto Highway, Macabalan-Puntod Road, Brgy. Carmen, Patag, Bulua, Iponan Highway, Canitoan-Pagatpat Road, Kauwasagan-Bonbon main road. Operation Baklas aims to remove campaign materials such as posters, tarpaulins and stickers from private
areas as mandated by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to avoid posting in public places. CLENRO also encourages the people to make use of the materials through recycling to lessen the trash in the city. The activity was participated by
150 volunteers from the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO), civil society groups, Carmen Barangay Council, Mangaycayay Association, Bombo Listeners Club, and CLENRO Personnel.
Kolambugan mother personifies volunteerism by Shaun Alejandrae Y. Uy
KOLAMBUGAN, Lanao del Norte– Meljoy Cabatuan, 27, of Barangay San Roque, Kolambugan town, Lanao del Norte is married to Jako, 31, with whom she has a son with - Jan Mark, 7, an incoming second grader. Meljoy is a former volunteer of the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI CIDSS) Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB). She now works as a staff of Municipal Coordinating Team (MCT) of Kolambugan. “Gi-elect mi niadtong Barangay Assembly sa San Roque, ang community sub-project sa KALAHI CIDSS-KKB mao ang Copra Dryer with Warehouse nga mibalor ug 1.14M, nagsugod ako isip volunteer sa project preparation team hangtud gi-elect ko sa akong mga kauban sa
komunidad isip Barangay SubProject Management Committee chairperson (BSPMC).” We were elected during the Barangay Assembly at San Roque. our community sub-project in KALAHI CIDSS -KKB was the Copra Dryer with Warehouse amounting to 1.14 Million. I started out as a volunteer in the project preparation team until I was elected as the Barangay SubProject Management Committee chairperson),” said Meljoy. Kolambugan and the CommunityDriven Development The fourth class Municipality of
Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte is home to some of the region’s champions of community-driven development. Kolambugan is taken from a word “Kolambog,” a kind of tree that grew abundantly in the area. Kolambugan’s main source of income comes from Agriculture where 54% of the entire area of the municipality is utilized for agricultural purposes, commercial and service centers, and the fishing industry. Kolambugan is situated along the Panguil Bay area facing Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental province and is 47 kilometers west of the capital town of Tubod. KALAHI CIDSS-KKB started it all for Kolambugan, and a Memorandum of Agreement in 2014 between the Province of Lanao del Norte and the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 10 (DSWD-10) KALAHI CIDSS National CommunityDriven Development Program (NCDDP) sealed the assurance of the delivery of social services in seven towns in the province. Among the towns included in the expanded NCDDP are Kapatagan, Lala, Magsaysay, Kolambugan, Matungao, Kauswagan and Tagoloan. Based on the KALAHI CIDSS 2014 database alone, there are 6,640 households covered by KALAHI CIDSS including projects under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) and Australia Aid-Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (AUSAid/ DFAT) with 704 individuals trained
in the aspect of Community-Driven Development. KALAHI CIDSS brought in 111 community sub-projects from 2012 to 2016 amounting to P67,391,692. The NCDDP brought in 29, 11 of which are on-going (2016), community subprojects from 2012 to 2016 amounting to P35,700,750; the PAMANA modality poured in 78 sub-projects from 2012 to 2015 amounting to P23,400,000; and the AUSAid/DFAT brought in four amounting to P8,290,942 from 2015 to 2016. Meljoy’s journey with volunteerism was not always a bed of roses, she revealed that when she was starting out as a volunteer, her husband had hesitations saying, “Nabag-ohan akong bana, sa wala pa ko na-volunteer naa ra gyud ko sa balay – plain housewife, magbantay bata, maghikay, katong time na namo, magtraining, magmeeting, nabag uhan gyud siya ug mi-abot gyud ang panahon nga nag-aksyon mi ug lalis, gipasabot nako siya unsa ang among mga natun-an, nadawat ra man pud niya, hilabi karon kay na MCT na ko.” My husband felt left out. Before I became a volunteer I was just a housewife, taking care of our child, cooking food but when I became a volunteer, there were trainings, meetings; everything was new to my husband and there was a point that we argued but I explained to him what we learned as volunteers and he finally understood especially now that I’m already an MCT staff.
As a BSPMC chairperson, Meljoy was in-charge of managing and supervising the project implementation and was a recipient of the pre-implementation and other trainings provided for volunteers. “Ako ug akong bana karon, naa gani mi lalisan - dali ra mauli-an. Nakita sad niya akong dedication sa trabaho (As husband and wife, we can now easily resolve our arguments. My husband saw how dedicated I am to my work),” said Meljoy. “Kabalo na ko sa finance nga aspect, kabalo na ko unsaon pagcompute nila, sa engineering pud, kabalo na ko unsa nang POW (Program of Works), sauna man gud, di mi kabalo unsa nang POW, wa pa gyud mi kakita ug POW sa wala pa mi navolunteer (I know now some aspects of finance, computation and also on engineering. I learned what is a POW, because back then, we did not know what a POW was, we never saw what a POW looks like before we became volunteers),” says Meljoy. “Dili nako ingon nga maulaw, kabalo na ko mu-adjust sa mga lainlain nga kinaiya sa mga volunteer nga among ma-encounter, sauna maulaw man gyud ko mu-atubang sa tao (I’m not shy anymore, I know how to adjust to the different behaviors of the volunteers we encounter, before, I really don’t have confidence in facing people),” says Meljoy. Meljoy emphasized that the projects before KALAHI CIDSS were fully implemented and supervised
through the local government unit and that they didn’t have any participation on such projects. According to her, “Dako kaayo ug tabang ang KALAHI CIDSS, kay nahatagan ug gahum ang katawhan nga mao’y magdumala sa mga proyekto, kabalo na sila magpakabana sa komunidad, karon nagkahiusa gyud ang tanan para sa KALAHI CIDSS nga programa, makahisgut-hisgot na sila karon unsa’y angay buhaton (KALAHI CIDSS really helps a lot, people now are given the power to manage and supervise projects and they know now how to participate and care for the community, they now unite for the KALAHI CIDSS program, they talk about things that really need attention).” Meljoy further explained that it is participation, empowerment and transparency that underscores the power of Community-Driven Development (CDD) and recommends that this concept should continue “mapadayon gyud dapat, lahi ra gyud kay sa mga LGU project, kay sa KALAHI CIDSS ang komunidad gyud ang mudumala, so kailangan sa umaabot nga mga projects ang konsepto sa CDD gyud ang sundon ug ang polisiya sa KALAHI CIDSS bisan sa LGU projects (this should continue, it’s very different from that of the LGU projects, with KALAHI CIDSS it’s the community that manages, in the upcoming projects – we should follow the CDD concept and KALAHI CIDSS policies even if these are LGU
projects).” Meljoy concludes by encouraging those who have not participated in any KALAHI CIDSS activity, “Kung muabot sa inyong munisipyo o barangay ang KALAHI CIDSS, mutambung gyud ug maminaw gyud mo aron makabalo mo unsa gyud and tumong ug tinguha sa maong programa (If KALAHI CIDSS reaches your municipality or barangay, join and listen in during the activities so that you may know the purpose and objectives of the said program).” KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP is one of the three poverty alleviation program, along with Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program and Sustainable Livelihood Program, of the Philippine Government being implemented by DSWD that aims to empower communities of targeted municipalities to achieve improved access to services and participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting, and implementation. Community-Driven Development refers to an emerging approach in community development practice where processes, principles, strategies and resources are applied to ensure community empowerment by giving the people authority and control over decisions and resources.
Pinay teen advocates speak out for girls’ rights in Denmark by Mai Zamora
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Two Filipina youth advocates from Zamboanga City in Mindanao, southern Philippines are joining Plan International at the 4th Women Deliver Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, to help drive discussions and solutions needed to deliver the promises the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have made to girls, particularly those in conflict areas who are most vulnerable. Rosie, 19, and Fahada, 16, will speak about their advocacies on girls’ rights to world leaders and leading organizations with girls’ and women’s rights programmes. Both have first
hand experiences on armed conflict, including suspension of classes for several months during the Zamboanga siege in 2013. Following a 12-month Plan
International-led empowerment programme, equipping girls as advocates to embed girls’ rights within the SDGs, Rosie and Fahada were chosen to represent their peers at Women Deliver, which takes places from May 16-19. Rosie campaigns on issues such as girls’ rights, education in emergencies, teenage pregnancy, and violence. “In areas where there is armed conflict, it is hard for young girls to go to school. How can they go to school when they don’t feel safe? When their school has been bombed or get attacked either on their way to school or going home? The peace-building process has to be in place for these areas, such as ours, for us not to be afraid to go to school,” Rosie says. During the Zamboanga siege, Rosie’s house became an evacuation center. “We heard the explosions and we all just dropped on the ground,” she says. Rosie’s campaign work took her to the World Education Forum (WEF) in Korea last year, where she spoke to key global influencers such as UN special adviser Amina Mohammed and Alice Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education, about the importance of education for all children. In particular, she highlighted the barriers girls face when trying to access education. “Education is important for us living in conflict areas. It helps us rise above the situation and secure
a better future for ourselves and our future children. That is the only way development can be achieved in our communities,” Rosie says. Aside from issues on education in emergencies, both also share that injustice is happening in their community. “Girls are abused in many ways – I have friends who are victims of sexual violence. Now, they are teenage mothers,” Fahada says. As a Plan International youth advocate, Fahada is keen to raise awareness about violence, inequality, and barriers to education. Fahada isn’t afraid to speak up for girls’ rights, having travelled to last year’s UN General Assembly, a historic moment that saw the launch of the SDGs. During the assembly, Fahada met UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, singer Shakira, Pakistani activist for female education Malala, and fellow girl advocates. She even shared a panel with Michelle Obama to launch the First Lady’s 62 Million Girls education campaign. Since returning to the Philippines, Fahada is still sharing her experiences at school and through local organizations - and she’s determined to speak up for girls’ rights once again. “Because of teenage pregnancy, girls are losing their passion in education. And as an advocate, I want to serve as an inspiration and be the voice of the girls to lessen violence and stop teenage pregnancy,” Fahada says.
Fahada takes her role as a girls’ rights advocate seriously and sees herself as a “voice for their rights.” She’s also keen to speak out on issues such as education, health, teenage pregnancy, and the related issue of early marriage, which she says is a huge problem in her community. To prepare for her role at Women Deliver, Fahada researched on what issues are important to girls as well as interviewed teenage mothers in her community to find out the impact motherhood is having on their education. At the Women Deliver conference, Plan International’s CEO Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen will be setting out how the Because I am a Girl movement will work towards creating a world that values girls, promotes their rights, and
ends injustice as Plan International and its partners will be launching a new global initiative to drive and track SDGs implementation for women and girls. The Women Deliver Conference is the largest gathering of policy makers, experts, dignitaries, activists, members of civil society and business leaders in a decade for girls’ and women’s rights, health, and well being, following the launch of SDGs. Plan International has been working in the Philippines since 1961 with a focus on helping marginalised Filipino children in more than 400 communities across the country access their rights to education, health, protection, and participation.