( when Sta. Barbara Mayor Rey Velasco, one of the really committed mayors hereabouts, announced that the rural poor of Sta. Barbara will be the beneficiaries of the housing project of the local government and the Gawad Kalinga, he said a teacher and a policeman (or two teachers and two policemen) were included in the list. It's really sad that a teacher, a guardian of the hope of the fatherland, and a policeman, a guardian (supposedly) of the peace and order, are included in the list. Well, its nice that they were included… but to know that they are part of the rural poor, it breaks the heart).
STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan — The Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation has trained its eyes on local government units as partners in the implementation of its housing project as the LGUs have high rating and outstanding leaders, GK national president Tony Meloto said.
Meloto, who signed on Tuesday a memorandum of agreement with Mayor Reynaldo Velasco for the establishment of a GK community with 88 houses in barangay Leet here, said with LGUs as partners, many private corporation will surely assist in the project.
But while the GK has built communities in the country, there was "no good model yet in LGUs as there was no LGU which committed as many mayors are afraid of this challenge.".
"If you invest, we will bring counterpart investments. There are many Filipinos abroad, not necessarily Pangasinenses, who love our country and we will show them Pangasinan's potential by providing a model community which can be copied by other LGUs," he said.
Velasco said a one-hectare area has been prepared for the houses and an adjoining two-hectare lot is also ready for the beneficiaries' livelihood projects like communal vegetable garden and hog raising. The barangay road has been concreted and a concrete bridge has been constructed in place of the hanging bridge that connects Leet village to a nearby village.
Each beneficiary will get a 100-meter lot with 40 square-meter, one-bedroom unit.
The mayor has tapped relatives and friends and local businessmen for the initial funding of the project. "We have done the preliminary efforts so the visitors will know that we are determined to make the project something to be proud of."
The first unit will be ready in a month time and will serve as a model for the investors.
Meloto, who said he was coming back after a month, challenged the officials: "Give me bragging rights on the standard community that we will put up. Give me First World standards and even Bill Gates will go down on his knees to help us."
He said while it will house poor people, the GK community here should have first class subdivision standards, with landscaped yards and colorful paints that do not peel off.
Meloto gave these rules: The houses should have no clotheslines in front yard where tropical flowers are planted, there should be at least five kinds of vegetables including malungay, planted at the back, and no tricycles should be parked along the roads and in front of houses. Drinking alcoholic beverages and cockfighting are prohibited inside the community, he said.
These aspects of "social engineering" will raise the standards by which the residents will look at themselves and bring back their respect for themselves, he said.
Meloto also said that the residents will sign a contract they they can't sell or have their houses rented out.
"It's goodbye Bahay Kubo kahit munti. We will put up First World houses and raise the poor residents' standard of living," he said.
He pointed out the Pangasinenses are the biggest Filipino group in Canada and that they are willing to help in putting up GK communities in the province.
"Dati. walang partnership with LGUs. Ang Couples for Christ ang nagpapadugo pero naghemorrage (Before there was no partnership with the LGUs. It was the Couples for Christ which did all the work but was bled dry).Not one organization can rebuild the country and last year, Couples for Christ (which tried to separate from GK) was humbled. Everyone should should together," Meloto said.
He also said that there are many non-government organizations in the country but many Filipinos are still poor because the NGOs do not know how to work together.
"Some are focused on health, some on education. But if we don't work together, wala din (nothing will happen)," he said.