Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Valdehuesa: Public Service, Self Service? By Manuel Valdehuesa Street Talk
THE phenomenon of dwarf barangays in the nation's highly urbanized centers ought to be evaluated for the good they do, if any.
In Cagayan de Oro, the smallest of these is populated by just nine or ten households, the largest by less than 300 households. These micro communities constitute 40 of the city's 80 barangays. Collectively, they occupy just 5% or less of the city's land area, mere street blocks each, and less than 8% population-wise.
In some of them are squalid firetraps and subhuman dwellings that make a mockery of the claim that this is a First Class city. Sewage canals are overgrown with weeds and filth, with illegal shanties and structures hanging precariously on the edge; so with the riverbanks. And behind some decent-looking neighborhoods are beehives of poverty-plagued people: beggars, squatters, drug sniffers, and tattooed elements with no visible means of support.
But there are wealthy residents and corporate citizens in them too - business establishments; offices; learning institutes; maybe a church or a mosque; a hospital; even a university. Are they aware of their surroundings? Do they invest in their neighborhoods?
Collectively, the take of these dwarf barangays amounts to more than P23 million in internal revenue allotments (IRA) alone. This is yearly, recurring seed money that could be increased with competent leadership and invested in clean up, sanitation, livelihood, welfare, employment, human dignity, and such. But it is obviously mismanaged. Their earnings in the last 15 years were in excess of a quarter of a billion but the squalor and disorder seems frozen in time, their coffers empty every year-end.
Surely there are able residents in them who can make a difference. They might even be Rotarians, Jaycees, Lions, BCBP, CFC, and such. Like a household, a community needs tending -- managed, maintained, helped to be productive. Barangay no. 39 with its population of 54 persons - persons! - has an assured basic income/capital of P320,686 (IRA). It is a sure, guaranteed and recurring seed capital year-in and year-out, plus their collections from local fees, permits, share of city realty taxes, and God knows what's being ripped off in the neighborhoods. But the capital never appreciates.
Barangay No. 5 with 64 people living in three or so blocks has P323,216 ++. Nearby are Barangays No. 6 and No. 7 with P584,821 and P539,621 respectively. Barangay Nos. 8, 9, 10 and 11 have over P2 million between them. For such small populations, the money could make a difference in quality of life and productivity, especially if pooled and managed as a joint venture. But not if it's dissipated in inane expenditures and unproductive projects.
Obviously a bankruptcy of sorts obtains in these neighborhoods, of leadership, of initiative, of attitude, of know-how. Apparent also is self-interest and selfishness overpowering sense of duty and service. Are the officials in office for the money, for the livelihood it provides, for the access and control over community resources? Public service as self-service?
It's not easy to say this, but people who can't survive or support a family without relying on a government payroll shouldn't be elected to sensitive public positions. They'll only become part of the community's problem instead of its problem-solvers. And the community shouldn't encourage them to run for office. If they insist on running, they should be ignored, not supported, or they'll become magnets for corruption. They're bad for democracy, bad for good governance, and bad for development.
Right, Bong Lao, Monching Tabor?
A former UN executive and book publisher, Manny heads the Gising Barangay Movement, Read him here Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. Email: valdeman_esq@yahoo.com.
