Besao, Mt. Province- The people of Barangay Laylaya start their day early and ends it late in the afternoon. Regardless of gender, culture, type of task, weather conditions, geographic location, everyone is driven to successfully build a community project for the improvement of their lives.
“Nan inub ubla me et nan bunbunag si darat nan awit kami as tubo. Nan panag trabaho me et baken alas otso nan panagrugi me no de kit masapsapa pay anggana masdem, (Our task was to haul the sand and carry galvanized iron pipes. In our work, we did not start at 8 in the morning; rather, we start working earlier late in the afternoon),” Community Volunteer Perly Shell Bayao Cayangen proudly and vigorously told DSWD Field Office CAR Staff during a visit in their community.
“Man titinulong kami, maid di mang mang wane en babbae kau et siya di san trabahoen yo, baken, no sino san trabaho rugian me isnan agsapa enggana masdem. Man titinulong kami am amin maiwed di mang mang wani en at atik di inubla na weno nakapkapoy no di ket amin man titinulong kami sin ubla (We help each other, no one says that we are women and we should do a specific work, no, whatever the work is, we all started in the morning and finish it in the afternoon. We all helped each other, no one says that they have lesser work, instead, we all helped each other to complete the work),” she added.
Even under the scorching heat of the sun Barangay Development Council-Technical Working Chairperson Jupiter Abel added they persisted to finish the project despite them taking one hour carrying the construction materials to reach the destination project site.
“Sunga di eman inyali nan KALAHI-CIDSS nan project isna Maliten kadan mi, enes-esa mi nan ububla et dey ay linpas me uray eman pilmi nan pudot et inpapati mi et gawis ay nabiit ay nalpas. bunagen mi nan darat uray adayo nan madaan et uray ngan ngane isay oras ya et indukpos mi ed puun na ay naka usaran nan darat ya cemento , landok (When KALAHI-CIDSS was introduced here at Maliten, we worked hard, even in extreme weather conditions and we completed the tasks ahead of time. We hauled the sand, cement and metals even if it took almost one hour to reach the destination where they would be used),” he said.
Cayangen added that the community project significantly improved their life in Maliten. First, their water system was fixed as it was previously broken and at present this was replaced with GI Pipes and water directly flow and reach their houses. “Makalaba kami ay gawis, maka diram os kami, maka ugas kami. (We can easily do our laundry, wash our faces and wash our utensils),” she stated.
Barangay Kagawad William Abel said that with the arrival of the program, served as an opportunity to solve the scarcity of water which is one of the challenges in their community.
IP participation expanded through KALAHI CIDSS
Barangay Laylaya borders the municipality of Besao with the municipalities of Tadian also located in Mountain Province and Quirino in Ilocos Sur.
During the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (BDRRMC) meeting in Sitio Bana-ao, Kagawad Abel raised the priority needs of the people of Maliten-both that concern the Applais and the Bago-Igorots. Their representation in the BDRRM Council has given them the voice and opportunity to be involved in the community development thrusts of the barangay.
The BDC-TWG Group and the barangay officials ensured that Applais and the Bago-Igorot Tribes are well represented in the planning up to the implementation of their Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay Cash for Work (KKB-CFW) sub-project titled improvement of maliten water system.
In the conduct of meetings, the Barangay Development Council also encouraged household members of Laylaya Proper and Maliten to join the meeting in Sitio Bana-ao and even offered to handle the transportation expenses considering that the Sitios are located far from each other. This is to ensure that all of the community members are involved in the implementation processes of the project.
Respecting their culture and priority needs, it was decided that Sitio Maliten will benefit from the KKB-CFW grant and Sitio Laylaya Proper will benefit from the Additional Financing (AF) Phase 2 grant since Sitio Panabungen/ Bana-ao already benefited from the previous grant AF Phase 1 from the program.
The BDC-TWG of Laylaya was awarded Champion during the 2023 Regional BAYANi Ka! Awards held last 29 August 2023 in Baguio City for the Category. BAYANi Ka! Awards is the highest recognition given by the DSWD Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) to its exemplary communities and partners in implementing and promoting the community-driven development (CDD) approach. #DSWD Field Office CAR KALAHI-CIDSS Social Marketing Officer Lauren A. Alimondo and Social Pension Information Officer Hazel Ann D. Buy-o with reports from DRMD Information Officer Mylyn C. Bongsian – Maitang
