"BuB Tube"

Wearing my other hat as member of the KAAGAPAY NGO-PO Network, me and the rest of the team were assigned by the Empowerment of the Poor Program of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) to work hand in hand with the LGU’s and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the conduct of the forthcoming 2014 Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) and Planning in Occidental Mindoro. We were dispatched in all eleven (11) municipalities of the province from January 11 to 22, 2013. All of our municipalities have been included in the expansion areas for the forthcoming BuB process conducted nationwide. KAAGAPAY, the LGUs and the GAs, if it were a water utility system, aside from being the pump, jokingly, our Network was just the “BuB Tube” here. The CSOs specially those coming from farmers and rural workers, fisher folks, women, youth and students, victims of disasters and natural calamities, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, senior citizens, urban poor and faith-based organizations, to name a few, are the main sources of clean water taken from the earth’s bottom, figuratively speaking.

Briefly, KAAGAPAY is a NAPC-accredited Civil Society Organization (CSO), though based in Sablayan, it operates in the whole of Occidental Mindoro. KAAGAPAY was registered under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with Company Reg. No. CN200301797 issued last January 23, 2003. Formerly known as Sablayan Sagip Kalikasan, KAAGAPAY at present is chaired by Juanito “Boyet” Esteban, Jr., Barangay Captain of Brgy. Pag-Asa of said municipality. We have been involved in the past decade in various governmental basic sector engagements like the Kalahi CIDSS and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), among others. Aside from NAPC and DSWD, LGU-Sablayan by virtue of Resolution No. 2013-GGM002 has already accredited us. The Resolution states that, “[KAAGAPAY] has been actively participating as partners in the local governance of this LGU and have enhanced the socio-economic status of its members.”

Through this humble blog entry, I would like to thank, from the heart, the assistance and accommodation given to us by the nice people from DILG Occidental Mindoro, particularly those I rubbed elbows with, the MLGOOs of Sablayan, Mamburao, San Jose, Magsaysay and Calintaan namely, Jerry Santos, Eduardo Maranan, Ms. Memuiluz Baurile, Ms. Milagros Capistrano and Sonia Castronuevo. If I were Secretary Mar Roxas, I will give them Seal of Good House Hosting, if there’s such an award for DILG municipal officers!

Seriously, in this particular project, KAAGAPAY is tasked to facilitate the conduct of Municipal CSO Assemblies and assure the basic and marginalized sectors participation in the Local Poverty Reduction Teams (LPRATs) in each town. The LPRATs shall organize and facilitate the conduct of Local Poverty Reduction Action Planning workshop for the formulation of the Local Poverty Reduction Action Planning (LPRAP) and the identification of priority poverty reduction projects. Another is to agree on a list of poverty reduction projects for 2014 based on the LPRAP and submit it to the regional PRAT, and conduct quarterly meetings to monitor the status of the approval and integration of the said projects into the budgets of participating agencies and monitor the implementation and status of the projects.

In municipalities of Mamburao, San Jose, Magsaysay and Calintaan, during the CSO Assembly, I, just like my comrades in their respective area of assignments, Bong Marquez, Arcris Canillo and Deo Delfin, took full charge in the identification or leveling of social issues and concerns plus the prioritization of sectoral agenda, including the selection of CSO representatives to LPRAT plus the selection of Vice Chairperson (the LCE is the chair) and 3 LPRAP signatories. We capitalized the venue to emphasize on the essence of involvements of CSOs for LGU initiatives. The BuB process isn't alien to LGU-Sablayan anymore.

KAAGAPAY’s involvement in this endeavor corresponds with President Benigno S. Aquino III’s declaration, through his People’s Agenda or Social Contract with the Filipino People, that a CSO is considered as “Bantay”, “Kaagapay”, “Tulay” and “Gabay”. In short, KAAGAPAY intends to be intermediary between the LGUs and the citizens, in Sablayan and the rest of Occidental Mindoro…

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(Photo: Sablayan Herald) [Mayor Ed Gadiano together with DILG 4B ARD James Fadrilan, PD Ulysses Ferraren and AD Jun Olave, during the Inauguration of the Yapang Water System Project]