DAVAO CITY — Residents of Sitio Butay, Barangay Pichon in Caraga town, Davao Oriental were caught in awe after receiving their long-sought basic services from the provincial government of Davao Oriental.
Butay is one of the 13 small villages of the province, characterized by the 90-degrees uphill and downhill walk wading through a narrow and stiff bushes covering the either boulder or soft soil.
It sits as a tri-boundary of the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro and Agusan del Sur, the home for 127 Mandaya families.
One can say, progress is so elusive in Butay in terms of modern infrastructure and development and seeing the place as almost bereft of human life. Their biggest challenge, the area is hardly accessed except through vigorous eight-hour walk front and back and occasional means of land transportation.
The provincial government’s effort to walk an extra mile to reach out to the residents of Butay meant so much as they brought well deserved services for their constituents in a far flung place, where government programs and services hardly reach the peripheries.
The presence of Governor Nelson Dayanghirang along with over 100 personnel from the province who visited the area recently was a remarkable first-time as they have witnessed first-hand, the conditions and challenges that locals have learned to embrace overtime.
Dayanghirang who felt humbled by what he saw, also seemed afire to bring more what government has failed to deliver to those constituents whose basic needs were often not available. Hence, government programs need to bridge the gaps as the Governor vowed deliver more.
What was delivered?
There was Operation Tuli (circumcision) administered to 16 adolescent boys by the Philippine Army’s medical services team, while Cash Assistance was also spearheaded by the Provincial Social Welfare Office which distributed the P1,000 cash assistance to each of the 39 senior citizen beneficiaries.
Domestic livestock distribution and de-worming to animals from the veterinarian’s office also gave the community the opportunity to have their backyard animals checked, and, it also conducted a de-worming activity as owners were provided with medicines for their herd. Dispersal of one male swine and four goats for interbreeding was also facilitated in the hope of increasing the community’s backyard live stocks.
The agriculture and environment office also distributed vegetables seeds and falcata seedlings respectively to the local farmers and households to encourage backyard gardening. Other items distributed were: Sports gears and Equipment for the youth; Assistive device for Persons with Disability (PWD); and, Family food packs.
A disaster and safety orientation training was also conducted by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office as an advocacy campaign for disaster preparedness.
The governor also pinned hopes that his government would help realize that much needed road which will be constructed soon and shall cut across Sitio Maglahos in the adjacent village of PM Sobrecarey and Butay.
The governor has ordered the engineering team to fast track all documentary requirements for the road project to include the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), as the area is within the CADT land of the Mandaya folks.
Dayanghirang said the budget for the road opening will be listed as among his priority projects.
The gratitude
Purita Tanding, a mother of seven, who was among those who benefited the free medical services said in vernacular, “I can sense now that I am part of the government, and I feel the sincerity of the government in helping the poor. The circumcision of my son would have cost me P2,000 in the town proper, but here, it was given for free”.
She revealed that the procedure has been taken for granted, although it was necessary because his son needs to endure the terrain after the procedure when he goes back home which might cause to complicate his condition.
Pablo Banabal, who served at the Butay Integrated School for more than 14 years was grateful to Senior Board Member Nelson Dayanghirang Jr., for providing the school a printer and printing materials which he said could help the teaching-learning process more effective, given the new education system due to the pandemic.
For Manuel Tanding, a Limpong, which also means an elderly, the time which the governor spent for them and the resources poured into his village will be cherished for a lifetime.
The presence of the government proved the sincerity of the government to end the war against communism, said Lt. Col. Roman Maborang, the commander of the 66th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
Maborang is hopeful that the people of Butay will appreciate what people in government need to collaborate in realizing Executive Order 70 or the Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Maborang also lauded Sitio Butay for showing huge improvement in terms of peace and order. He attributed this to the organized local IP leaders. “It is important that we only have one direction. Once the IP leaders are organized, the enemies will find it difficult to recruit and organize. So, let’s continue to be united,” he said, adding that it is also crucial for the government to continue engaging with the locals and involving them in its development programs.-with report from Karen Deloso
