DAVAO ORIENTAL—Three years on since the launching of the province’s flagship program on peace and order, the Nagkakaisang Lingkod-Bayan ng Davao Oriental Barangay Outreach Caravan (NLD-BOC), Governor Nelson Dayanghirang cited the impacts of the program during the annual team building activity of the NLD-BOC on December 4.
He cited the program’s significant impacts and major progress, particularly the improvement of roads and connectivity, especially in the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) and Conflict Affected Areas (CAAs).
The roads, he said, have made a huge contribution to the sustainment of the peace and order in these hinterland village that include the used-to-be hotbed for insurgency like Barangay New Taocanga, the farthest village in Manay, where the program took off in November 2016.
“We have sacrificed a lot in serving the communities for three years now. When we first came to the barangays, we have witnessed how hard their situation is. But the good thing is that after three years, through our partnership with First District Representative Congresswoman Corazon Malanyaon, the road going to the village has been concreted. That is only one of the village’s development because of our collaborative efforts,” he said before peace partners who participated the NLD-BOC team building at the Governor’s residence in Manay town.
Governor Dayanghirang said that through the Outreach Program, the Provincial Government was able to identify the most pressing needs in the areas that were hardly reached by government services, such as the case of Barangays Langka, Luban, and Cabuaya in the City of Mati, which can only be reached via Governor Generoso town. With the province being able to secure P1.5 billion funding from the national government to fund the road construction from these areas going to Barangays Macambol and Mamali in the City of Mati, the residents’ plight on accessibility will be addressed.
“How did we get help from the national level? Because the only province in the entire Philippines that implements this kind of program is Davao Oriental. Our unity has earned good results, and now we are being frequented by different province, cities, and regions to see how we are doing it, along with our other programs,” he added.
He said that because of NLD-BOC, the job of the police and the army in fighting insurgency, especially in dismantling left-leaning mass organizations, was made easier.
“The changes are very obvious after three years and all of these are attributed to our hard work. The people have seen the genuine public service. As I have been telling everyone, the peace and order issue can only be ended by winning the hearts and mind of the masses. Because who will still support the NPA when the people has seen our sacrifices in delivering genuine public service? That is why there is a huge turnout of insurgents’ surrender recently,” he furthered.
Along with other impacts in the partner barangays, the program has also been receiving “satisfactory rating” from its beneficiaries, said NLD-BOC Focal Person Rotchie Ravelo.
He said that based on the feedback from beneficiaries, the program was able to achieve its goal in re-introducing Good Governance, maintaining human security, and was able to provide economic and livelihood support as well as social services, among many others.
“Satisfactory rating is at 95-98 different areas based on our latest assessment and evaluation and soon officially we will submit it to the governor for him to decide as to the release of information with regards to the result of evaluation,” Ravelo said.
Addressing the Lack of Accessibility in Isolated Communities
Following the two-day NLD Caravan held at the isolated areas in Cateel town—namely: Barangay Maglahus, Aragon, Abejod, and San Alfonso—in December 3-4, Governor Dayanghirang said he will establish radio communication in these areas for faster emergency response.
“We will give them radio base and antenna so that they can communicate to other areas in the province that also have their radio base. That way, they can easily ask for help in cases of emergency. Actually, we will give this to all far-flung barangays that have no cellular access,” he said.
Thanking the Ever-Growing Peace and Development Partners
Governor Dayanghirang has also recognized the efforts of the NLD-BOC Peace and Development partners, emphasizing that giving up the comforts of their respective offices is a huge sacrifice to achieve the program’s mission which is to deliver services at the people’s doorstep. As of writing, there are a total of 75 peace and development partners, which consist of National Line Agencies, Provincial Government Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, and Private Companies.
“The good thing is all peace and development partners are willing to sacrifice, to share and to render their services outside the comfort of their offices. Thank you for all your sacrifices and dedication. I hope that in the coming years, we will continue to stand united to achieve our goal of a peaceful and progressive province,” the Governor said.
Level-Up Approach
As the NLD-BOC team has already served 130 barangays or a total of 494,886 beneficiaries, Ravelo said that the Provincial Government targets to cater the remaining 53 barangays next year.
“After serving the 183 barangays through our grassroots approach we will revisit all these areas to conduct the level two of the program which is the Executive Order or the Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. We’re happy that this is being institutionalized by the National Government because that has been our original plan when we have our assessment and evaluation,” he said.
Through the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), the EO70 has already been conducted in some of the most remote areas in the province. By Riza M. Golez/Photos by Eden Jhan Licayan
