To Establish The Hardin Ng Pagbabago Or Barangay Communal Farms Program For Food Security And Allocating Funds In Every Barangay
Food security is considered one of the significant priorities of every municipality. More so, if your LGU belongs in the 5th class, hunger really poses a problem. And when hunger strikes, criminality worsens: such is the reality being faced in the islands of Del Carmen in Siargao. To combat this, the Hardin ng Pagbabago Ordinance was crafted by Vice Mayor Alfredo Coro.
Seeing the urgency to address the problem, consultation meetings with various stakeholders were held. Coro further stressed the importance of information and education campaigns of the policy you are lobbying for. As he highlighted, "If you fail this step, there will be a rally against the policy." To back up the validity of the policy, legal research was also conducted. Coro was proud to add that it was a smooth-sailing lobbying process in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan; no questions were asked, and all votes favored the passage of the Ordinance.
As for its feat, Coro advised not to see the validity of the success indicators in a linear path. If for specific indicators, such as the ones used while crafting the ordinance: that all the barangays in Del Carmen now have community gardens and are being maximized, and indeed created a sense of Bayanihan in the community, these indicators will reflect the Ordinance as a success. However, as Coro puts it, this is the case now, still, given the pandemic and the uncertainty of the weather, one shift will create a devastating blow and destroy these gardens.
Seeing the silver linings in these uncertainties, Coro instills a different perspective: that the beauty of a policy rests with the fact that it can be adjusted and improved. That the success indicators you had when you crafted your ordinances can be used as a guide, not one cast in stone.
Furthermore, the intended outcome to provide more food to the community by means of these gardens was met. Besides, another huge feat was that no crimes related to hunger were reported since its implementation Still, there have been several unintended results that Coro was proud of. The ordinance allowed the LGU to convert the Barangay Nutrition Scholars into Barangay Agricultural Workers. Coro explained thoroughly that part of sustaining the nutrition of the constituents is adequate food supply; thus, if we want to address the issue of starvation, consistent food supply must be given most especially to those who can’t afford it.
In addition, Coro also noticed the surge of the constituents creating their own gardens at home. The existence of the community gardens gave the constituents a sense of responsibility that if they have jobs and can buy their own food, might as well ration the vegetables to those in dire need. Besides, the constituents have been inspired by the monetary award if their communal garden was chosen as the “Best Hardin ng Pagbabago sa Barangay.”, Coro ensured this monetary incentive was included in the proposed budget.
Towards the end, Coro emphasized that legislation is translating the voice of the people into policy. Hence, there rests a great responsibility for those who want to pursue public service by means of legislation. Still, he gave hope that crafting policies is a vital tool to sustain effective programs and also a power for you to amend low impact ordinances.
As with all great responsibilities, legislation can be a tool that we can yield towards the betterment of our countrymen.
