Pangkat Network

Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program

Composition

Excerpts from the Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 issued by Municipal Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar entitled Approving and Directing the Implementation of the Municipal Government's Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB describes the composition of the operational network that matters most in the implementation of the program. For the Pangkats:

Each barangay was divided, depending on its population or land area, into 3-7 Puroks or Sitios headed by a Barangay Kagawad/Purok Leader.

Each Purok or Sitio is then organized into Pangkats consisting of an average of 10-15 Families, which are represented by their respective Heads of Families.

Each Pangkat is headed by a Pangkat Leader chosen by the Pangkat Members from among themselves. The clustering of families depends on the number of houses and their proximity to each other.

Function

Under the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program, the Pangkats has the following functions:

• Identify the needs, problems and resources of the pangkats, puroks and barangays.
• Communicate the needs, problems and recommendations to the Barangay Development Council through the Barangay Development Network.
• Assist in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs, projects and activities under the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program in their respective Pangkats or wards.

Innovation

The Pangkats is an innovation with the goal of empowering more people in the community to assume a leadership position whilst not being too much entangled with partisan politics.

The insight here is that the Pangkat Leader is not an elected barangay official and he or she is not subject to the rigors of an election campaign and thus have more flexibility in making decisions affecting his or her ward.

In effect, we are creating an opportunity for training in a career path preparatory to either the position of future Barangay Kagawad, a Punong Barangay, Sangguniang Bayan Member, or even a Vice Mayor or Municipal Mayor, and beyond.

Paradigm Shift

This goal largely depends on the extent to which the program has penetrated the minds and hearts of the people for a new way of doing things: experience a paradigm shift.

Therefore, the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program is also an attempt to provide alternative means of becoming an elected local government personality rooted in the ideals of people empowerment, aware of minimum basic needs framework, conscious of ecological security, and sensitive to gender and development.

It is thus a preliminary step away from costly patronage politics that has been entrench for decades in local politics. I reckon that if ever the seed of an idea planted between 1995-2005 took roots, suggesting that there will be an impact of what we did , it may take about 5-10 years to bear fruit and observe a clear indication of dividend yield.

In some areas, a period of as short as 3-5 years may already produce a Sangguniang Barangay Kagawad or a Punumbarangay from the ranks of the Pangkat Leaders.

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• Executive Committee
• Technical Working Groups
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• Barangay Development Network
• Pangkat Network

Barangay Development Network

Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program

Composition

Excerpts from the Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 issued by Municipal Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar entitled Approving and Directing the Implementation of the Municipal Government's Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB describes the composition of the operational network that matters most in the implementation of the program. For the Barangay Development Network:

The Punumbarangay serves as the Chairperson of the Barangay Development Network that is composed of the following members:

• Representative from the Sangguniang Bayan chosen from among themselves.
• Barangay Delegate of the Community Volunteers Network of Rosario (Batangas) Inc.
• MTWG Barangay Cluster Leader or his/her Barangay Cluster Representative covering the particular barangay.

Function

The Barangay Development Network plays a vital leadership role in the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program. It has the following functions:

• Assist the Purok and Pangkat Leaders within their barangay in the management process of situation analysis, planning, monitoring and evaluation under the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program.
• Recommend projects that will help solve the problems of the barangay, purok, pangkat and families under their area of operation.
• Coordinate with proper authorities to elicit more involvement and participation for the success of the programs and projects.
• Promote cooperation and establish linkage with and among Punumbarangays/Barangay Development Netwok Chairpersons and Barangay Cluster.

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Aksyon Rosario Components

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Community Volunteers Network

Direct Link to Households and Individuals

Program Secretariat

Excerpts from the Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 issued by Municipal Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar entitled Approving and Directing the Implementation of the Municipal Government's Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB describes the composition of the operational network that matters most in the implementation of the program.

For the Program Secretariat of Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB, it was composed of the SDAO, the Assistant SDAO and the Community Volunteer Monitors (CVMs) as members.

Function

The Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program Secretariat under the SDAO acted as Secretariat to the Executive Committee and the MTWG.

The Barangay Secretary acted as the Secretariat to the Barangay Development Network and the BTWG at the Barangay Level.

The Program Secretariat took care of the day-to-day operations and activities necessary for the implementation of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program at the municipal and barangay levels. As such they performed the following functions and tasks as part of their operation:

• Provide the necessary technical and administrative suport to the Executive Committee and the MTWG/BTWG.
  
• Spearhead and monitor the implementation of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program at the municipal and barangay level.
  
• Provide the feedback and recommendations to the MTWG/BTWG regarding the progress of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program.
  
• Submit periodic reports to concerned government agencies with regard to the implementation of programs and projects under the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program at the municipal and barangay levels.
  
• Ensure and assist the integration of Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program into the Municipal and Barangay Development Plans.

Barangay Health Workers

In practice, the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas tapped the existing Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) supervised by the Municipal Health Officer of the Office for Health Services of the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas and the Rural Health Physician, who is the Department of Health Representative in the municipality.

Doing so made the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) synonymous with the Community Volunteer Monitors (CVM) of Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program. The better description is that the CVMs are BHWs and the BHW are the CVM for all practical purposes. In other words, the CVMs and the BHWs are one and the same persons.

The CVM-BHW are the backbone, the network and the direct link of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program to the individuals, families, households, pangkat leaders, purok leaders, barangay officials and other entities in the grassroots communities.

The Barangay Health Workers were totally integrated in the installation of the Minimum Basic Needs - Community Based Information System (MBN-CBIS) beginning in 1996.

Capability Building

To achieve this purpose, the Training on Minimum Basic Needs Situation Analysis, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (SAPIME) and Women Empowerment was conducted on October 28-29, 1996 at the Rosario East Central School (RECS), Poblacion A, Rosario, Batangas. The resoure persons who participated in the training were:

• Dr. Reynaldo S. Taniajura, previously The Plain Truth Magazine Regional Managing Editor of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), currently Area Superintendent for Southern Luzon.
  
• Level I Core Group Members:
  
• Manuel Luis Quizon
  
• Pedro Mendoza
  
• Genciano Barbosa
  
• Emelita Abacan, M.D.
  
• Teodoro Lacerna
  
• Atty. Francia Barbosa, the Assistant Sustainable Development Action Officer, passed the Bar Examinations in 2005

The Secretariat

The CVM-BHW were distributed in all the 48 barangays of the municipality. Originally, they total 186 when the MBN-CBIS started in 1996.

For effetive supervision and control, the SDAO selected 14 CVM-BHW to perform the role of Barangay Cluster Coordinators. The SDAO and the Barangay Cluster Coordinators meet weekly every Monday after the regular Flag Ceremonies for municipal employees of the municipal government. These group became known as The Secretariat, the implementing and monitoring arm of the SDAO.

In these meetings were discussed the strategies and tactics of how to better implement the commitments, projects and activities essential for the implementation of Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program at the Pangkat Level.

CBIS Installation

There were 14,277 households in Rosario according the 1995 Census of Population by the National Statistics Office. Using this number as a proxy for the number of families, the 1996 MBN-CBIS Baseline Survey of Rosario, Batangas covered about 85% of families in 40 out of 48 barangays of the municipality.

PSGC, Barangay Cluster, Number of CVM-BHW and
Number of Monitored MBN-CBIS Families by Barangay
Municipality of Rosario, Batangas, Philippines
as of December 31, 1996

Barangays	PSGC	Barangay Cluster	Number of CVM-BHW	Number of Monitored MBN-CBIS Families
Alupay	041021001	4	3	828
Antipolo	041021002	1	3	120
Bagong Pook	041021003	5	8	736
Balibago	041021004	4	3	264
Bayawang	041021005	3A	4	206
Baybayin	041021006	5	3	352
Bulihan	041021007	3A	4	504
Cahigam	041021008	3A	4	315
Calantas	041021009	1	1	251
Colongan	041021010	8	2	272
Itlugan	041021011	6B	5	-
Lumbangan	041021012	3A	7	-
Maalas-as	041021013	6B	4	246
Mabato	041021014	4	5	-
Mabunga	041021015	3B	4	263
Macalamcam A	041021016	4	2	172
Macalamcam B	041021017	2B	4	242
Malaya	041021018	8	2	200
Maligaya	041021019	4	2	125
Marilag	041021020	8	4	313
Masaya	041021021	8	6	407
Matamis (Malinao)	041021022	1	1	92
Mavalor	041021023	5	3	229
Mayuro	041021024	3B	11	309
Namuco	041021025	6B	5	-
Namunga	041021026	6B	4	497
Natu	041021027	4	4	267
Nasi	041021028	2A	3	266
Palacpac	041021029	1	2	146
Pinagsibaan	041021030	2B	7	-
Poblacion A	041021031	7A	2	167
Poblacion B	041021032	7A	4	-
Poblacion C	041021033	7A	2	228
Poblacion D	041021034	6A	2	86
Poblacion E	041021035	6A	2	-
Putingkahoy	041021036	2B	3	363
Quilib	041021037	7B	3	389
Salao	041021038	2B	4	282
San Carlos	041021039	5	8	479
San Ignacio	041021040	8	4	278
San Isidro	041021041	2A	9	428
San Jose	041021042	5	4	201
San Roque	041021043	7B	5	454
Sta. Cruz	041021044	7B	2	-
Timbugan	041021045	8	3	301
Tiquiwan	041021046	5	3	255
Leviste (Tubahan)	041021047	1	6	239
Tulos	041021048	1	1	324
ROSARIO	041021000	1	187	12,096

Sources

• 1996 Human Resource Development Program Seminars and Training Annual Report by the Office for Sustainable Development, Municipality of Rosario, Batangas, Philippines

• 1996 Minimum Basic Needs Baseline Survey Consolidated Report by the Office for Sustainable Development, Municipality of Rosario, Batangas, Philippines

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Municipal/Barangay Technical Working Group

Character, Competence, Credibility and More for Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program

Composition

Excerpts from the Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 issued by Municipal Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar entitled Approving and Directing the Implementation of the Municipal Government's Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB describes the composition of the operational network that matters most in the implementation of the program.

The Municipal/Barangay Technical Working Groups were composed of Technical Action Officers (TAOs) from the local government units (LGUs), national government agencies (NGAs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and Basic Sectors. In particular, the MTWG was divided inot eight sub-groups headed by a Barangay Cluster Leader representing each of the Barangay Clusters of the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas.

Function

The Municipal/Barangay Technical Working Groups served as the technical coordinating arm in the implementation of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program at the municipal and barangay level. Specifically, the MTWG has the following functions:

• Coordinate all technical concerns and requirements with various concerned government agencies and non-government sectors to facilitate and ensure effective implementation of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program at the municipal and barangay levels.
• Monitor the implementation of the Convergence Policy at the municipal and barangay levels particularly in the identified Convergence Barangays.
• Submit regular status reports and policy recommendations in the implementation of the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program commitments and all related policies to the Executive Committee.

MTWG and HES

For the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas, Philippines, the pre-implemementation phase of Human and Ecological Security-Social Reform Agenda-Minimum Basic Needs (HES-SRA-MBN) Program was executed in three levels.

Level I Core Group formation called for the training of a master mind group of five persons who were to conduct the Level II Trainers' Training for the Municipal Technical Working Group (MTWG).

This Level II MTWG will then in turn train the Level III implementors of the HES-SRA-MBN, including the Punong Barangay, Sangguniang Barangay Members, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairman, Barangay Secretary and Barangay Treasurer, Chief of Barangay Tanod, the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) and other identified indigenous volunteer workers and leaders.

These will form the Level III Barangay Technical Working Groups (BTWGs) in each of the 48 barangays of the municipality.

Leaving a Legacy

The Level I Core Group members looked for people who can be invited to volunteer for the task allotted to the MTWG of the HES-SRA-MBN Program implementation at the barangay level. They need to be people of character, competence and credibility.

These traits, the Core Group believes, were essential so that the MTWG can effectively deliver the important message:

• peoples' participation in local governance;
• need for a paradigm shift to effectively change the way we do things;
• urgency of implementing the HES-SRA-MBN Program at the barangay level pointing to a
  sustainable balance of people, environment and peace for an improved quality of life for us today and the next generation of citizens of Rosario.

Character, Competence and Credibility: Influence

In the MTWG, we found people who are self-motivated, committed and responsible enough to command respect and attention wherever they meet the community people in their area of assignment.

Thus, we have correctly selected those citizens who are motivated by that higher need to leave a legacy to the world they can be proud of in the future. This is an incentive more attractive than over all other mundane needs like money and similar devices.

Whatever they with enthusiasm did back in 1996 -- the change they made in the hearts and minds of people to be responsible for their own future and the value these MTWG volunteers gave to the voice of the grassroots people, their needs, their aspirations, their frustration with government promises -- forever changed the way we look at our local and national government officials.

The long-term impact of the MTWG social mobilization activities over a decade ago and its residual influence can still be discerned in the current affairs of local governance at the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas, Philippines.

MTWG Network

To become an effective partner in the HES-SRA-MBN Plan implementation at the barangay level, the MTWG members were divided into eight groups to be responsible for each of the eight barangay clusters of the municipality. By their sectoral organization and affiliations, the following were the volunteer members of the MTWG in 1995:

SECTOR, ORGANIZATION/AFFILIATION, MTWG MEMBER

Municipal Government

Office of the Municipal Mayor

• Triven Castillo
• Lumen Rizo

Sangguniang Bayan

• Teodoro Lacerna
• Leovino Dagli
• Manuel Ebite
• Johnny Minas
• Pablo Coz
• Pepe Mindanao
• Yolly Aclan

Office of the Municipal Administrator

• Atanacio Zara

Municipal Budget Office

• Genciano Barbosa

Municipal Assesor's Office

• Zelden Hernandez

Municipal Engineer's Office

• Criselda Maranan

Municipal Planning & Development Coordinator

• Luz Briguela

Office for Agricultural Services

• Pablita Quizon
• Rosalie Comia
• Ruena Caguimbal
• Manuel Luis Quizon

Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office

• Sonia Trivino
• Ruena Causapin

Office for Health Services - Rural Health Unit I

• Emelita Abacan, MD
• Irene Andan
• Fely Zara

Office for Health Services - Rural Health Unit II

• Cynthia Mendoza
• Delia Luna
• Antonio Agoncillo, Jr.

Provincial Government

Provincial Population Deveopment Office

• Eden Barbosa
• Jaena Alegre

National Government Agencies

Department of Health

• Juanito Pasia, MD

Department of Interior and Local Government-MLGOO

• Pedro Medoza

Department of Interior and Local Government-MLGOO

• Rosita Rabano

DILG-Philippine National Police

• SPO2 Efren Luansing

Department of Education Culture and Sports - Rosario East District

• Edna Macatangay

Department of Education Culture and Sports - Rosario West District

• Sonia Ventura

Religious Sector

Iglesia Filipina Independiente

• Msgr. Daniel Sandique

Seventh Day Adventist Church

• Petronio Bulaklak, Jr.

Senior Citizens

• Aurelio Adelantar
• Daniel Caiga

Women

• Myrna Punay
• Margie Ebite
• Ludy Villar
• Rosa Magtibay
• Nita Guno
• Teresita Abrugena

Private Sector

• Cely Calderon
• Yolly Jareno

Administrative Support Group

• Francia Barbosa
• Antonina Pureza
• Ambelita Alday
• Agnes Clet

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Executive Committee

Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program

Composition

Excerpts from the Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 issued by Municipal Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar entitled Approving and Directing the Implementation of the Municipal Government's Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB describes the composition of the operational network that matters most in the implementation of the plan. For the Executive Committee:

The Municipal Mayor serves as the Chairman, with the Sustainable Development Action Officer (SDAO) as Vice Chairman and Lead Convenor.

The members include:

• Chair of the Committee on Appropriations of the Sangguniang Bayan:
  
• President, Liga ng mga Barangay;
  
• President, Community Volunteers Network of Rosario (Batangas) Inc. or COMVONET;
  
• Municipal Budget Officer;
  
• Municipal Health Officer;
  
• Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator;
  
• Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) District Supervisor;
  
• DILG Municipal Local Government Operations Officer;
  
• Department of Health Rural Health Physician.
  

Function

• Oversee and ensure the implementation of commitments of the Municipality in the light of Philippine Agenda 21, Human and Ecological Security, Social Reform Agenda, Integrated Municipal Action Agenda on Anti-Poverty, Minimum Basic Needs, and Sustainable Development.
  
• Determine the necessary policy and other interventions to ensure the successful implementation of the commitments under the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program.
  
• Coordinate all concerns and requirements with various national goverment agencies, local government units, non-government organizations and basic sectors' organization in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program commitmets.
  
• Draw-up supplementary agreements andimplementing guidelines for the effiicient and effective implementation of the commitments.
  
• Review and resolve issues and concerns relative to the implementation of the various Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program commitments.
  Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the various Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program commitments.
  Coordinate the implementation and operationalization of the Convergence Policy.
  
• Recognize and support the formaion of Local Sectoral Council of Leaders and conduct consultations with representatives from the Basic Sectors.
  
• Ensure the participation of national government agencies, especially the DILG, in the planning, implementation and monitoring of all anti-poverty plans and programs and sustainable development initiatives.
  
• Finally, recommend or submit draft ordinances for the consideration of the Sangguiang Bayan relative to the implementation of various Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program commitments.

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Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB Program

Organized Plan for Implementation at the Local Level

Key People

How can we move mountains? How do we begin the journey of a thousand miles? We may do it a shovel at a time; we may begin one step at a time. And so we did. How did we mobilize the whole municipality? We started a person at a time. We started with the highest local chief executive: Mayor Rodolfo "Rudy" Villar.

Three Levels

Afterward, we proceeded to go the DILG game plan. The pre-implemementation phase of HES-SRA-MBN was executed in three levels. The members of the master mind group enumerated mentioned in another post entitled Human and Ecological Security were trained to be Level I Trainers to conduct the Level II Trainers' Training for the Municipal Technical Working Group (MTWG).

This Level II MTWG will then in turn train the Level III implementors of the HES-SRA-MBN, which are the Punong Barangay, Sangguniang Barangay Members, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairman, Barangay Secretary and Barangay Treasurer, Chief of Barangay Tanod, the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) and other identified indigenous volunteers workers and leaders. These will form the Barangay Technical Working Groups (BTWG) in each of the 48 barangays of the municipality.

Organized Plan

Parallel to these efforts, the institutional arrangement for various stakeholders of the program were also being developed. How the different national initiatives and various legislations and mandates can fit together in a smoothly functioning whole that can be operational at the municipal and the barangay level was big challenge but not insurmountable.

The plans, programs and legislations consirered were disccussed in the preceeding section on Human and Ecological Security. What remains is to put these ideas formally into writing: an organized plan.

Thus the Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB was conceptualized. It is the shortened version for Aksyon ng Bayan Refocusing Objectives & Strategies of Attaining Realistic Innovations Onwards 2001 And Beyond: A Program on Sustainable Human Development and Ecological Security for the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas.

This organized plan was formally made operational by the Executive Order No. 98-02 dated October 5, 1998 issued by the Municipal Mayor.

Organizational Mechanisms

Excerpts from the above order entitled Approving and Directing the Implementation of the Muncipal Government's Aksyon ng Bayan Rosario 2001 AB describes the composition of the operational network that matters most in the implementation of the plan.

Executive Committee. The Municipal Mayor serves as the Chairman, with the Sustainable Development Action Officer (SDAO) as Vice Chairman and Lead Convenor. The members include:

- Chair of the Committee on Appropriations of the Sangguniang Bayan:
- President, Liga ng mga Barangay;
- President, Community Volunteers Network of Rosario (Batangas) Inc. or COMVONET;
- Municipal Budget Officer;
- Municipal Health Officer;
- Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator;
- Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) District Supervisor;
- DILG Municipal Local Government Operations Officer;
- Department of Health Rural Health Physician.

Municipal/Barangay Technical Working Groups (MTWG/BTWGs). The Technical Working Groups are composed of the following persons:

Technical Action Officers (TAOs) from the:
- local government units (LGUs),
- national government agencies (NGAs),
- non-government organizations,
Representaves from the Basic Sectors defined under the Social Reform Agenda (SRA).
Program Secretariat. This is headed by the
- SDAO, and includes the
- Assistant SDAO and the
- Community Volunteer Monitors (CVMs)

Barangay Development Networks (BDNs). This is chaired by the

- Punong Barangay, with the following members
- Representative from the Sangguniang Bayan,
- Barangay Delegate of the COMVONET,
- MTWG Barangay Cluster Leader or his/her
- Barangay Cluster Representative covering the particular barangay.

Purok/Sitos and Pangkats. Each barangay was divided, depending on its population or land area, into 3-7 Puroks/Sitios headed by a Barangay Kagawad/Purok Leader. Each Purok/sition is then organized into Pangkats consisting of an average of 10-15 Families, which are represented by their respective Heads of Families.

Each Pangkat is headed by a Pangkat Leader chosen by the Pangkat Members from among themselves. The clustering of families depended on the number of houses and thier proximity to each other.

Institutional Arrangement

The organizational network described above for the local HES Plan was designed to be in harmony with at least two development policy and planning bodies - the Municipal Development Council (MDC) and the Barangay Development Councils of the respective barangays.
All identified programs and projects selected at the grassroots level, the neighbhorhood, or the Pangkats shall be endorsed to the conceerned Barangay Development Council for approval, which in turn will be transmitted to the Exeutive Committe for comment and then forwarded to the Municipal Development Council for approval, as the case may be.

Funding

To effectively implement the AKSYON NG BAYAN ROSARIO 2001 AB, funding was sourced primarily from the 20% Development Fund and any other fund that the Municipal Mayor may authorize.

This was done in close coordination with the Municipal Budget Officer and the SDAO, subject to availability of funds and the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
Therefore, the practical insight here is that down at the local government level, it is the open-mindedness of the Local Chief Executive to change and his or her political will to pursue that change which significantly determines the outcome of any national initiative, with very rare exceptions.

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Human and Ecological Security

An Opportunity for Community Organizing

Global Thinking

The opportunity to accomplish my mission why I chose to work in the local government came wrapped up in the response of the Philippine Government to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. To fulfill in part the commitments made by the country to this historic meeting, the Philippine Agenda 21 was formulated, where government and key sectors of society agreed to implement an action agenda for sustainable development, known as the Agenda 21. Among the existing and ongoing initiatives related to sustainable development that served as the basis for PA 21 is the Human and Ecological Security (HES).

National Agenda

The Gathering on Human and Ecological Security (GHES) held on June 15-17, 1995 at the Philippine International Convention Center resulted in the issuance by then President Fidel V. Ramos of various directives mandating the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and local authorities to implement the agreements reached during the said conference. In the case of the Municipality of Rosario, the national implementation of Agenda 21 down to the barangay level was made part of its Human and Ecological Security Program.

Local Action

At this point, it is but proper that I give credit to DILG Municipal Local Government Operations Officer (MLGOO) Pedro "Ed" Mendoza for highly recommending me to Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar that I be made a member of the core group who attended the Trainors' Training on Human and Ecological Security, Social Reform Agenda/Minimum Basic Needs (MBN) Approach on November 14-17, 1995 conducted jointly by the DILG and the Provincial Government of Batangas.

Core Group

The members of the master mind group who served to implement the HES Plan in the municipality of Rosario are:

• Manuel Luis Quizon - designated Sustainable Development Action Officer (SDAO) by the Municipal Mayor
  
• Pedro Mendoza - DILG Municipal Local Govenment Operations O fficer
  
• Genciano Barbosa - Municipal Buget Officer
  
• Dr. Emelita Abacan - Municipal Health Officer
  
• Teodoro Lacerna - Sangguniang Bayan Member
  

The 7 Habits for Highly Effective People

The national leadership of the DILG must have realized the HES Program required great paradigm shift so that an introductory module on the The 7 Habits for Highly Effective People of Steven R. Covey was included in the training.

Office for Sustainable Development

At the municipal level, from 1992-2001, Mayor Rodolfo Guerra Villar served three consecutive terms and was succeeded by his wife, Mayor Clotilde Gozos Villar. Elected for the 2001-2004 term, she retained the designated SDAO to the new Office for Sustainable Development (OSD). The OSD was created through a municipal ordinance of the Sangguniang Bayan enacted under the leadership of previously Vice Mayor Felipe A. Marquez, now the incumbent Municipal Mayor serving his second term following the tenure of the Villars.

Honorable Mayor Rodolfo G. Villar

Honorable Mayor Clotilde G. Villar

Honorable Mayor Felipe A. Marquez(sitting second from right) with the Sangguniang Bayan Members while he was still a Vice Mayor back in 1998

Key Result Areas

The DILG Memorandum Circular No. 97-234 dated September 19, 1997 which made further amendments to DILG Memorandum Circular No. 95-94, enumerated the specific accomplishments to be reported by the municipality and the barangays among others applicable to the Municipal and Barangay Governments of Rosario, Batangas:

• INTEGRATION OF HES INITIATIVES IN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS
  
• Revise the Local Development Plan (LDP) to respond to the identified HES issues and concerns.
  
• Advocate and enforce the use of evironment-friendly technologies, such as bio-farming, composting, waste recycling, and the like.
  
• Prevent practices that are harmful to the environment, such as smoke-belching, industrial pollution, toxic-waste dumping and other similar practices.
  
• Incorporate the objectives of Women in Development (Republic Act No. 7192), Moral Recovery Program, the Philippine Plan of Action for Children and the Katarungang Pambarangay.
  
• STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS OF HES
  
• Review existing organizational structures and capabilities, and modify, as warranted, to effectively deal with human and ecological security concerns.
  - Create the Office for Sustainable Development, or
  - Designate a Sustainable Development Action Officer
  
• Strengthen the Population Management Office to monitor the balance of population, resource and enviroment.
  
• FINANCING HES
  
• Prepare a HES Plan, as a major component of the Local Development Plan and the Annual Investment Plans, indicating the programs, projects or activities funded from out of the 20% Development Fund.
  
• Allocate in the annual budget, 20% of the 20% Development Fund to finance HES undertakings as well as, the administrative costs of the Office for Sustainable Development.
  
• LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT - NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS (LGU-NGO) PARTNERSHIP FOR HES
  
• Ensure continuing consultations and dialogue with national government agencies (NGAs), NGOs and peoples' organization (POs) to provide avenues for discussion and formulation of a common development framework and agenda which locally-based network of NGOs/POs, LGUs and NGAs may pursue.
  
• MEASURES TO ENHANCE ECOLOGICAL SECURITY
  
• Institutionalize the Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Program.
  Develop a community-based Information-Education-Communication (IEC) program on the need to protect and sustain the environment, as well as, the importance of multi-sectoral participation on various HES concerns.
  
• LGU SUPPORT TO REFORESTATION PROGRAMS
  
• Update land use plans and zoning ordinances to allocate sites for communal forestry program.
  
• Provide infrastructure support systems such as seedling nurseries, and other tools and implements.
  

Human and Ecological Security Plan

The HES Plan formulated by the Municipality of Rosario was a sincere attempt to implement at the municipal and barangay levels various national programs and initiatives related to sustainable human development and ecological security within the framework of the Local Government Code of 1991 using the community organizing process for implentation strategy. The plan combined the various elements of the following national programs and initiatives among others:

• Philippine Agenda 21
  
• Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (RA 8425)
  
• Minimum Basic Needs Approach to Improved Quality of Life - Community-Based Information System (MBN-CBIS)
  
• Gender and Development (GAD)
  
• Millennium Development Goals
  
• Philippine Plan of Action for Children
  
• Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (RA 9003)
  
• Moral Recovery Program
  
• Barangay Health Workers' Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995 (RA 7883)
  
• Special Program for Employment of Students (RA 7323)
  

Trivia

Interestingly, former Senator Ralph Gonzalez Recto principally authored and sponsored during the 10th Congress while he was still a Congressman of the 4th Congressional District of Batangas the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (RA 8425). It provided for the institutionalized implementation of Social Reform Agenda and created the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) for this purpose among other purposes. This law is a pillar of the HES Plan implemented by the Municipality of Rosario, Batangas - a constituent municipality of then Congressman Ralph Recto.

His wife, former Lipa City Mayor and now Batangas Governor Vilma Santos Recto, vigorously implemented the MBN-CBIS Program during her incumbency as City Mayor of Lipa. Her decision proved to be both wise and practical.

The practical insight that MBN-CBIS complemented by community organizing, as an invaluable approach for the successful implementation of any anti-poverty intervention at the grassroots level - the barangay, the purok or sitio, the neighborhood - is also very much evident based on experience of its implementation in Rosario, Batangas.

The Change Agent

When this Change Agent graduated from the University of the Phlippines Los Baños (UPLB) in 1991, he is ready to devote the first quarter of his mission in life to public service and return to the people what they have generously given him in the form of scholarship grant through the UP Iskolar ng Bayan Socialized Tuition Fee and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP).

Eligibility

To fulfill this mission he took the Career Service Professional examination conducted by the Civil Service Commision (CSC) and passed. Hence, his name was entered in a register of eligibles from which appointment to a position requiring this eligibility will be made provided he possess the qualifications and other requirements thereto.

NCEE

Indeed, upon being certain he passed the CSC examination, his thoughts rushed back to the year 1985 when he got the 99 percentile ranking in the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) conducted by the then Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. This was the highest percentile rank among all the examinees that year from the Padre Vicente Garcia Memorial Academy (PVGMA). The NCEE, however, was abolished in 1994.

Career Path

In 1993, he decided to transfer from the UPLB Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) to become an Agricultural Technologist at the Office for Agricultural Services (OAS) of the Municipal Government of Rosario, Batangas under the administration of Mayor Rodolfo "Rudy" Guerra Villar.

It was a dream come true for this idealist. Even while he was still in high school back in 1983, he decided that one day he shall be working in this government office. Ten years passed and his vision became a reality. Thus, it is with much enthusiasm that he read all the available printed materials in the office to educate himself about his new role.

Community Organizing

Several lecture hand-outs attracted his attention. He was immediately an avid believer of these ideas. And this was how he was introduced to the concept of community organizing as an approach to increasing income and improving the quality of lives of farm families and the barangay or barrio (village) as a whole.

Neophyte Organizer

But he realized, this is something familiar. It is as if he had already done this before.

He recalled the time when he was in college and became in 1986 the youngest University Student Council (USC) Councilor where he got the third highest number of votes out of 20 candidates for the position.

He ran under the Pagtataguyod ng Dangal ng Sambayan (PANDAYAN) Party, which adheres "to peaceful means of struggle in advancing the students and people's rights and welfare" according to the UPLB Perspective, Opisyal na pahayagan ng mga mag-aaral sa Pamantasan ng Pilipinas sa Los Baños (August 25, 1986).

It was a landslide victory for PANDAYAN which won the very first student council election conducted just six months after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Those elected to the 1986-1987 USC were the following:

Jose Manuel "Bimsy" Mapa - Chairman
Senen Salacup - Vice Chairman
Ma. Theresa Lagtapon - Councilor
Jude Rommel Rasco - Councilor
Manuel Luis Quizon - Councilor
Gabriel Barreto - Councilor
Joel Garcia - Councilor
Zaldy Geonzon - Councilor
Ronaldo Sison - Councilor
Artemio Dumaoang - Councilor
Hafid Cangara - Councilor
Jesus Antonio Diamoy - Councilor
Omar Mercurio - College of Human and Ecology (CHE) Representative
Cyril Coliflores - College of Forestry (CF) Representative
Edward Barroga - College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Representative
Jaime Montesur - Graduate School (GS) Representative

It was also during his tenure as USC Councilor that he first met Sen. Kiko Pangilinan who was then the U.P. Diliman University Student Council Chairman and Presiding Officer during the 1986 KASAMA SA UP Convention at Diliman, Quezon City.

Passion for Work

This Change Agent's tenure as a USC Councilor required him to practice the principles of community organizing although he was not aware of them at the time. He handled the rights and welfare concerns of the STFAP Grantees. Therefore, using community organizing in his new position as a public servant is one that he would love to do. Indeed, he is tempted to say - he is in his element when doing community organizing work.