‘GIDA’ villages get govt. attention after 7 decades

AFTER more than 7 decades, residents of two remote villages in South Cotabato, now literally experienced seeing a light bulb brightening their homes and communities thru the assistance directly coming from the national government.

TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) director general, Isidro Lapeña, personally visited Sitio Blit and Sitio Lemdel, both in Bgy. Ned, Lake Sebu, together with officials from other government agencies to personally check on the situation and needs of the villagers whose residence has been classified as among the ‘GIDA’ (geographically isolated and disadvantaged area) in Mindanao.

“I am here along with other workers in government to personally check on your situation here in Sitio Blit and Bgy. Ned,” said Lapeña, who is also the lead coordinator for regional development (CORD) in SOCCSKSARGEN and the first Cabinet-rank member to visit the place.

Bgy. Ned, with a land area of 48,000 hectares, is one of the 62 villages in SOCCSKSARGEN region designated to benefit from the ‘Barangay Development Program’ (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The task force is created in 2018 by Pres. Duterte thru Executive Order (EO) 70, which seeks to finally end the 5-decades old communist insurgency thru a ‘whole-of-nation’ strategy.

For this year, Congress approved the task force’s budget of more than 19 billion, the bulk of which is to be used for the delivery of badly-needed government services to more than 300 isolated villages all over the country that were previously targets of communist agitation and recruitment.

As BDP beneficiary Bgy. Ned will receive P20 million as ‘local government support fund.’

The amount will be used to implement development projects the villagers themselves have identified as a “priority.”

Last July 2020, TESDA-Region 12, and in the other capacity of Lapeña as head of NTF-ELCAC’s ‘Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Employment Cluster’, brought to the residents of Bgy. Ned and Sitio Blit their first experience on electricity thru ‘Project TALA’ (TESDA Alay ay Liwanag at Asenso).

Project TALA has resulted in the training of residents on the installation and maintenance of photovoltaic system (solar electricity) and the consequent lighting of 100 houses in Sitio Blit and Sitio Tasaday using the materials such as solar panels, wirings, battery, and two LED bulbs, provided by TESDA.

Complementing the project is Project IPEACE (Indigenous Peoples Empowered to Agripreneurs Toward a Collective End) in Ned, with Blit as pilot site.

The project aims to “empower” the villagers economically by helping them improve their agricultural productivity thru services such as land preparation, planting, harvesting, and marketing of products. Only recently, the villagers also underwent a training in n organic agriculture.

“This time, ‘yung ating gobyerno ay seryoso na maipaparating ang serbisyo na napakatagal nang hindi naparating sa inyo at hindi ninyo naramdaman.

“Ngayon, sa panahon ng administrasyon ng ating Presidente, si Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte, ito ang gusto niyang mangyari, na maramdaman ng kada Pilipino ang serbisyo ng gobyerno para mapaganda at maging komportable ang pamumuhay ng kada Pilipino,” Sec. Lapeña said.

The official also reminded them that government service can only be effective with the cooperation of the beneficiary communities.

“Let us work together for our progress and the betterment of our lives. This does not rest on the government alone. You, the citizens, must participate to improve your living conditions here in Sitio Blit,” Lapeña stressed.

As CORD Region 12 head, Lapeña also vowed to immediately attend to the request of Sitio Tasaday for the establishment of a public school in their own village.

Presently, Lapeña learned that school children from Sitio Tasaday had to walk 3 kilometers each day and had to cross rivers just to attend to the nearest school in Sitio Blit.

Accompanying Lapeña during the visit are the regional directors or representatives from TESDA,  Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine Information Agency as well as officials and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police.

Also present were Lake Sebu Mayor Floro Gandam, Tboli Mayor Dibu Tuan (as representative of South Cotabato 2nd District Representative Ferdinand Hernandez), and Koronadal City Vice Peter Miguel.

South Cotabato Gov.  Reynaldo Tamayo, who had to attend an emergency meeting, was represented by Joel Dimput, Barangay Affairs Unit chief (additional reports credited to PIA Region 12).