La Trinidad’s Garbage woes

This is a concerned citizen’s reply on the inquiry raised by Mr. Atsou Nashitama of Kanagawa, Japan regarding the ‘garbage decomposer machine’ or that ‘black-hole’ machine bought by La Trinidad, Benguet through its municipal officials. I personally wrote this because there was no reply from any official or gov't representative regarding the machine ever since the inquiry was brought up by Mr. Nashitama weeks ago.

The operation of the machine is below our expectation. It does NOT decompose 30 cubic meters of garbage in a day (or the claim of even 10 tons of garbage) but only about 1 or 2, perhaps even less. It is NOT effective and efficient, it is NOT revolutionary. Mr. Nashitama must personally come to the site to see it for himself. It requires a horde of workers to manually transfer the garbage from the truck to the machine and guess what; the end-products are not decomposed wastes nor garbage which were turned into ashes, but were only compressed wastes covered with a slimy fluid (which almost look like dark and muddy matters). It was a waste of money. I don’t know what our officials saw in their visit to Japan (if it was the same machine), but it was clearly not what it was expected of the machine.

The garbage woes will only get louder because it seems that there is no political will on the part of officials to effectively implement related laws, coupled with the ignorance and the non-compliance of its citizens to  waste ordinances (awan disiplina tayo!). Waste segregation can be observed, however, the problem on where to dump biodegradable wastes, especially in urbanized areas, is still a dilemma – commercial centers including boarding houses or apartments, have yet to find a site where they can decompose their biodegradable-wastes. This results to those biodegradable garbage left on the streets, or worse; the willful disregard of citizens in managing their wastes because of the local government’s perceived ineffectivity. The barangays, just the same, have to be firm in solving this humongous task.

La Trinidad, even though not a city, faces the same problem which urbanized towns face – garbage, among others. We must admit that Alno dumpsite will not stay there for long, and soon, other barangays will refuse to let their place become a dumping site. Thus, La Trinidad should also plan for this future problem, perhaps invest on the idea of ‘land-banking’ – buy isolated lands of nearby towns for future use, unless we want to pay millions just to dump our garbage in Tarlac like Baguio City. Perhaps, officials can also be more imaginative; what is the use of millions of pesos which are being spent in “Lakbay-aral” activities, when none of them can adopt or replicate an idea from the places where they visit? Palawan’s waste-free culture, or even Bantayan, Cebu’s “garbage to bricks” technology?

To my delight, a councilor has recently proposed an ordinance which seeks to manage and regulate the use of plastic bags. We support this move, but we also expect that it will be implemented – not just another ‘sleeping ordinance’. Anyway, this is also to remind every people in La Trinidad, including myself, to do our part – reduce our consumerist tendencies, manage our wastes, educate others, and support ordinances that will benefit us and our community. This problem can be solved when both government and its people will actually fulfill their own responsibilities to the community.

* All of the readers comments (Almost 200) for this post are now hidden due to emotional and misinformed readers who found their ways in sending me threats in my Facebook account. Although it was only part of my intention to stir the issue so it will merit attention, I never imagined that it will bring out hideous, albeit separate issues of 'politicos' from different sides. Before I be accused of favoring political candidates, or that I am using my blog for any propaganda, I decided to hide the readers' comments. My apologies to the followers of the thread.

The role of Communication and Culture in Development

The role of Communication and Culture in Development

I have always pondered on the complicated debate on whether ‘culture created language’ or the other way around, which is; ‘language created culture’. I believe that both can be the case; the human’s social culture invented a tool to be one with the members of his society, and cultures also evolved by a process that heavily involves communication. They may even be products of each other.

Communication and culture have indeed a very intimate relationship. First, cultures are formed through communication or result of social communication. Then, communication and communication tools are used to preserve and pass along cultural characteristics from one place and time to another. One can conclude, therefore, that culture is shaped, transmitted, and learned through communication while communication practices are largely created, shaped, and transmitted by culture. Although, I am firm to say that communication is in itself, a culture.

Cultures are complex structures that consist of a wide collection of characteristics. The cultures of relationships or groups are relatively simple compared to those of organizations and, especially, societies. However, cultures are also dynamic - as societies evolve, culture within it also changes. In fact, cultures are ever changing from myriads of factors, like communication technology, and from different cultural encounters (because travelling has become convenient in our modern world). Thus, the ideas and the drive of people from different cultures were influenced in relation to their desires and needs. People, especially from developing countries felt the need to adapt to the changes of the world as a global village.

The need to grow with the modern society demands a change in culture. After all, the causes of rural poverty are complex and multidimensional and may involve, among other things, culture, climate, gender, markets, and public policy. Likewise, the rural poor are quite diverse both in the problems they face and the possible solutions to these problems. Thus, the acceptability of such endeavor requires compromise. Perhaps, to do this involves a tool to discover and study the factors that involves a certain change in their system, or in their lives. The people involved shall be informed, and with that genuine information, decide on what kind of development they would want for their place.

Culture and Communication: The road to Development

Culture and the Ecosystem

A UNESCO report on African poverty (“EDUCATION AND CULTURE IN AFRICA’S QUEST FOR DEVELOPMENT”) suggested that backwardness and poverty are often associated with an nonflexible culture. However, in its journal, “UNESCO Building Human Capacities in Least Developed Countries to Promote Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development” (2007, p.59), a UNESCO project that transforms peoples mindset through culture industry like appreciation of tourism on heritage parks, had produced thousands of jobs in a poor country like in Cambodia, heavily boosting its economy. It means, and adoptive culture which looks forward is bound to see progress. This strategy was also applied to our very own Palawan Island and its majestic beaches and Underground River systems. The Philippine culture depends on a successful ecosystem so that the locals can have a sustainable lifestyle in the future. The residents ultimately developed a culture to sustain and protect their ecosystem as part of their lives, and way of living.

An energy plant to pave way for development

An issue today that is worth the study is the proposal of a run-off Mini-hydro energy plant at Sabangan, Mt. Province. Sabangan, a fifth-class municipality in Mountain Province, which will host a 1 billion-peso investment after Hedcor Inc. Benguet, a subsidiary of AboitizPower, signed the final memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the operation of a mini-hydro run-off river power plant.

Hedcor Inc. Benguet senior vice president Chris Faelnar said the company will be investing a minimum of P1 billion for the construction of a 12.3-megawatt river run-off mini- hydro power plant to be located in barangays Namatec and Napua. This, he said after they were given the consent and the approval by the community, barangay, municipal and the provincial governments, giving the go signal for the start of the project. The amount of investment, he said, will include the construction of a road leading to the plant and the electro mechanical works needed in the operation. (Black and Hot, 2011)

The roads will be the first to be done, which the community can also utilize as part of their access to their homes and their local agricultural produce. When I visited the area last year  for the consultation of the people of the project as part of the Indigenous People’s Rights Act to Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) of any Project that will affect them and their Ancestral Domain, there were almost no roads leading to their homes and even directly to their farms. There was no industry, only the existence of small farms and some sarisari stores, and even in these farms, there was no assurance that they will have a good year for their crops. Below the highway, after some thick forest is a river which flows from Mt. Data, Bauko M.P., the forest reserve, to the Bontoc Chico River. This is the water that will be used to turn the turbines of the run-off mini hydro in a tunnel to produce electricity, this water will be the basis of the company to implement the their corporate social responsibility to build access roads for the residents and create jobs for them, and to pay taxes on the local government that will be used for projects that will benefit the community. It seems that development is on its way for the people of Sabangan.

Culture and the IPs of Sabangan

Water has always been respected and regarded as mythical in the province. The Inudey Falls near the area even relates a myth or a story of a man who paid the price for defecating in the water - his anal orifice became the passageway of water. The story is a bit weird but it made a point of culture that respects the water, or nature as a whole. That is why, in the series of consultation where I attended, many elders expressed their concerns on the process of the development. They fear that the waters will stop itself from going to their farms if it is disturbed by wrong development, they fear the effect of the cutting of some trees that will be necessary for the access road that is required by the project.

It was a natural tendency for the people of Sabangan to be concerned with the effect of the project to their ecosystem, and their way of life. Some opposed the proposal, but many insisted on the need for it, considering that in the present, their children are migrating to urbanized cities and towns for work. In 2010, the LGU of La Trinidad demolished illegal shanties at Dreamland, Pico that was squatted by hundreds of families who are mostly from Sabangan, Mt. Province. The expressions of these concerns were dramatic. I personally debated with myself if the mammoth company will change their lives for the better, or not.

Tongtongan: The culture of consultation and communication

In a series of consultation initiated by the NCIP-SABATA, the people of Sabangan especially from Napua and Namatec were brought to face the Project Proponent, Hedcor Inc., and discuss issues related to the project. All institutions within society facilitate communication, and in that way, they all contribute to the creation, spread, of idea and even culture. Communication media such as television, film, radio, newspapers, magazines, computers, and the Internet play a particularly important role, however, before these tools was a mode of communication that involves the participation of the parties in a developmental endeavor. Tongtongan was an old age tradition of consultation and communication and at the same time, a culture. It should be remembered that I suggested the intimate relationship of the two, and went as far to imply that both are products of each other.

The tongtongan helped the Indigenous Peoples of Sabangan decide whether they want the project or not. As a guaranty of the IPRA law, a free and prior informed consent was needed from the people before a certification to start the project from the NCIP will be released for the proponent. The IPRA law also guaranties that the consent will be given after consulting the people preferably through the existing and respected tradition of knowing the pulse of the people. Thus, the tongtongan was the perfect avenue for the people of Sabangan to inquire, even to negotiate with the project proponent. The event was naturally attended by elders or the ‘nanakays’, a crucial element to the traditional dialogue, the barangay and local officials, and every stakeholder in the area. A presentation was prepared by the project proponent and their personnel to show the advantages and disadvantages of said project, and asked the people for suggestion on how to alleviate poverty, especially in some far areas of the municipality.

Meeting of the Minds

In 2011, Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the three levels of government namely, the barangay, the municipal, and the provincial, with the project proponent, Hedcor Inc., after series of consultations that drew and outlined an understanding of what the proponent should do and not to do if they allow the project, taking in consideration the environmental, social, economic, and other aspects that will be affected by the project. Aside from taxes and royalties, stakeholders will be rewarded with infrastructure projects and even jobs, the project is expected to pave the way for development, as they choose to and as outlined in their agreement. (BusinessMirror, 2011)

To further stress the idea that the hydropower will be for the people, the Sabangan project will be carried out with the name Hedcor Sabangan Inc. after the signed  memorandum of agreement with the indigenous peoples of barangay Namatec and Napua and the municipality of Sabangan for said project. Baguionews, 2011)

The role of communication and culture to the developmental project

The basis of this project for the proponent is not just for profit but perhaps to realize their goal of cheap electricity that will be available for all. Unlike mining which is much unpopular, the mini-hydro project is a result of a demand which people also created. People use electricity, people invented gadgets that must use electricity, and people depend on this type of energy. The challenge, however, is how to communicate this proposal to the affected community, or to the affected Indigenous Peoples. The culture of tongtongan encouraged, not just the absorption of information, but also negotiation and the process of give and take, or compromise that will satisfy the concerns of each party. Without this culture, which is also a way of communicating, the developmental project will not be realized. 

Without communication, there will be no such thing as a sound and perfect developmental project for the people because the people will oppose such project resulting to unrealized investments. Without communication and without the proponents’ decision to consider the existing culture of the people of Sabangan, the MOA could have just been a mere scrap of paper. There could have been no musings of development, at least for the Indigenous Peoples of Sabangan, Mountain Province.

________________________________________________

* Note (2014): The author condemns the Contractor 'Sta. Clara' , and other enterprising officials for starting/implementing the project with less regard to the environment and respected tourism spots in the area. We hope that this issue will be addressed and Hedcor be alarmed. Inayan pay sa!

Development Communication: The KALAHI Program

 Development Communication: The KALAHI Program

"All in one boat: Our programs are united under the KALAHI", said Raul Banias, the jolly Mayor  of the Municipality of Concepcion, Iloilo.  He smiled with the same enthusiasm and continued;  "My vision is zero poverty in Concepcion by the year 2020. I persisted, deploying vans with loudspeakers, and finally won the people over. Now they are on fire. The people felt that the projects were truly theirs."

Take one of their projects as an example: Barangay Dungon’s new public utility boat. The people of Dungon needed water transportation to ferry students, workers, entrepreneurs, and their sick. They formerly used a small pump boat that could take 10 passengers at most. It was available on market days only: twice a week. On the other days the owner used it for fishing. Passengers could try hitching a ride on other fishing boats, but they did not have regular access to them and riding them was not always safe. In fact, to protect their safety, a national Executive Order banned fishing boats from accepting passengers.

The new KALAHI boat was 18 meters long and 2 meters wide. It could carry 40 people, including the crew. Its design followed the specifications of the Maritime Authority, but the project team made a few changes that were approved by the municipal engineer: a larger hull, motor, and propeller. The vessel was made of hardwood, and its sidings were bolted and nailed together to ensure durability.

In February 2004 the subproject committee turned over the vessel to the village council for operation and maintenance. The council in turn created the Dungon Pump Boat Association with its own technical management team. The pump boat association set the schedules, fares, discounts, rental fees. Because of the KALAHI vessel, residents’ incomes have risen as they have greater market access for their products. More employment was created. Their transport expenses went down, and they could attend social events in town more often. School enrollment rose and fewer students dropped out.

"In the municipal hall, I did much to oversee projects like those of Dungon. I linked up the municipal agencies into a coordinating committee, which met regularly. The agencies helped ensure the added funds, materials, and people needed to make the projects work (e.g. teachers for a new school). We also assigned staff to the KALAHI villages to give technical support. Then I commissioned a municipal-wide survey on minimum basic needs. We wanted to create a pool of data that would help measure the impact of the KALAHI. My local government also installed a data board in every village of Concepcion. The bottom-up KALAHI system is now integrated into our planning cycle. I used our success with the KALAHI to get resources from other donors for our social programs." The mayor readily described.

"We thought of them as “convergence partners.”The poor discovered that they could make a change in their lives. In Concepcion, 375 people had gone through the training sessions. They could now analyze their community needs, prepare formal proposals, and demand infrastructure from their politicians. They have learned how to access funds. That capability will remain long after the KALAHI is gone."

 The Municipality of Concepcion, Iloilo has 34,000 residents and it is relatively isolated because it includes 16 islands. The efforts on reforms, education and development, livelihood programs and health services remain are fragmented, focused on their own targets, and limited in resources. In Concepcion, getting the people on board KALAHI was difficult. The villages were cynical about the whole program. The officials and volunteers complained about the heavy work load—their schedules had become hectic. And the executive had to contend with misinformation, he had to use innovative communication tools to educate and inform people of how the project will go. Everyone called it kalaha, a “frying pan”, because so few people wanted to get into it. The people hesitate every time it involves a newer idea. The mayor, at a period of time, used loud speakers to bombard everyone with information regarding DSWD’s KALAHI project. (For ease of reference, from here on the text will refer simply to the KALAHI project—a Filipino acronym that stands for “linking arms against poverty”.)

The communication among the Concepcion local government took a while however; KALAHI, after a while, has provided them with a road map, a coherent framework for integrating all these projects into one grand community plan. Formerly, local councils in the Philippines did little to involve the people in the planning process. The KALAHI is a great opportunity to encourage local governments to get the people involved in community planning.

The KALAHI-CIDSS is a community-driven development (CDD) project that aims to empower communities through their enhanced participation in community projects that reduce poverty. Within 6 years, the project aims to cover 25 percent of the poorest municipalities in the poorest 42 (out of 79) provinces of the Philippines, equivalent to more than 4,000 villages in 182 municipalities. It strengthens community participation in local governance and develops local capacity to design, implement, and manage development activities. Community grants are used to support the building of low-cost, productive infrastructure such as roads, water systems, clinics, and schools.

The project is implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development with the World Bank providing financial support to the project. The total project cost is US$182.4 million: US$100 million from the World Bank; US$31.4 million from the national Government; with villagers and their local governments contributing US$51 million as cash or in-kind contributions.

The project is part of the overall KALAHI framework, which is the Government of the Philippines’ overarching program for a focused, accelerated, convergent, and expanded strategy to reduce poverty. The KALAHI program aims to provide interventions on asset reform; human development services; capacity building; and participation in governance.

CIDSS is a CDD program in the Philippines that focuses on 3 villages per target municipality, in particular, on the most disadvantaged families within the said villages. It stresses the convergence of various agencies and their social services. The projects currently being implemented have estimated economic rates of return of 17% to 53% for the villages, very high for social development projects, and indicating the responsiveness of the projects. The KALAHI is providing services that villagers have often been waiting for decades. Village projects are approved, designed, and constructed within only 3 to 6 months.

References:    www.dswd.gov.ph

                        Kalahi toolkit

                        Ateneo School of Gov’t – Kapihan 2010

Development communication is the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfillment of the human potential.  - Nora Quebral

Two years ago, I was a participant of the World Bank Kapihan Sessions for 100 young leaders of the country. The forum was organized with a lot of ambitious intentions; from sharing ideas and programs on how to develop the lives of community, to the roles of politics and governments in these plans and programs. We met with leaders from different regions and from different institutions; NGOs, media, the Academe and some young politicians. In our dialogues, the poor’s knowledge to most development programs has become a dominant concern. The DSWD, for instance, as an administrative arm of the government lacks manpower or the number of driving personnel to address or implement the programs that will supposedly benefit the poor. The poor on the other hand remain in the void of lack of information on these programs that seek to benefit them. Evidently, communication applies not just to the target audience who are the poor, but it also needs the participation of Local Governments; in the province, municipality, and even in the barangays.

Nora Quebral mentioned that development communication is supposed to be an “art” and a “science” of human communication. Mayor Raul Banias, finding the KALAHI project to be beneficial to his town drove him to use “loud speakers” and attended numerous speeches to let his constituents know about the intention of the program and how his people could be part of it. A review shows that most of his constituents were hesitant at first because they think that it will fail, and because most local officials are afraid of the paper works. In this modern world, every project will need “paper works” – draft plans, project proposals, project studies, and resolutions from the local officials. The continuous encouragement of the executive head taught them to try and become part of the drive towards the intention of the program. One project for instance, the ferry boat, which was realized, gave them not just commercial edge on trades but also, it also transported their children to school. Hadn’t the mayor convinced his people to try and cooperate with the DSWD’s KALAHI program then they will still be maintaining a low potential in developing their town and their lives.

Of course even this is only a story of one town. Implementation of the KALAHI began early in 2003 in only six villages. After the pilot phase of 6 months, the project expanded to 201 villages in 11 municipalities in 11 provinces. One year later, it was being implemented in 1,505 villages in 67 municipalities in 22 provinces. Clearly, this reflects Quebral’s musings of using “human communication to the speedy transformation of a country and its mass of its people from poverty to dynamic state of economic growth..” As long as human communication is both applied to the government and its people, programs will materialize. Programs that “makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfillment of the human potential.”