IF YOU'RE a resident of Davao City and you happen to find yourself in the municipality of Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur, you'd be struck by a number of similarities in governance initiatives and accomplishments. And this exactly happened to me.
Like Davao City, Dumingag declared a 30 kph speed limit in its poblacion areas, albeit it started earlier in 2011. Davao and Dumingag gained recognition for their anti-smoking drives. Dumingag was a Department of Health (DOH) Red Orchid Hall of Fame Awardee in 2012, 2013 and 2014 for being a 100% tobacco-free municipality. Both Davao and Dumingag received the Galing Pook Award, with the latter being part of the 2010 awardees. The two LGUs demonstrate a strong concern for indigenous peoples who are part of their constituency, Subanens constitute 40% of the 42,200 Dumingag population.
However, for a landlocked and agriculture-dependent municipality that historically had a high incidence of poverty (most households earn less than P3,000 a month), and grew only in recent years from being fourth to second class, Dumingag has demonstrated a higher capacity for innovating responses to problems that plague other localities such as poverty, dispirited members of the public sector, and low levels of awareness and involvement among the citizenry.
As proof of the success of their efforts, the local chief executive, Mayor Nacianceno "Jun" Pacalioga, won the prestigious international 2012 One-World-Award, which recognizes organic best practices, besting other competitors from around the world. Perhaps a better indicator of achievement is the LGU's report that poverty incidence in the municipality has gone down from 93% to 42.8%.
Mayor Pacalioga, who is on his final term, emphasized that among the factors that underpin their success is a clear understanding of the problems of their municipality as the basis for the "haom nga solusyon" (appropriate solution). While others would have just taken poverty as self-evident, the local government undertook social preparation and strengthened people's participation at the barangay level -- they literally involved residents in on-site problem analysis. This was not the usual participatory project preparation process, it yielded vital insights on practices and realities that affect the lives of citizens.
For example, in their analysis the women noted that male farmers tended to skip farming activities to engage in gambling on fiesta days in adjoining sitios and barangays. This led to a vigorous anti-gambling campaign in Dumingag. Not only have illegal games like swertres been abolished, Dumingag has also disallowed small town lotto and cockfighting, even the ones traditionally held in the municipal cockpit.
The local government also invested in efforts to unify the leaders and members of the public sector in Dumingag. Dumingag is probably the only municipality where all barangay officials undergo a month-long, stay-in training on sustainable organic farming and alternative medicine -- in a farm where there is no reliable mobile signal. LGU staff, even those from more technical-oriented offices like the Municipal Engineer's Office, went through a shorter version of the same course. The effect is that there is deep understanding of and commitment to the Dumingag battle cry of "ilingkawas ang atong katawhan gikan sa kalisod, kagutom ug sakit" (to liberate our people from poverty, hunger and disease).
Mayor Pacalioga highlighted the need to empower the citizenry. When asked what it concretely meant, say by differentiating a farmer who is empowered as against one who isn't, he enumerated what he thought were the essentials: a farmer who understands the nature and manifestations of poverty and therefore has basis for selecting solutions, who has joined an organization, and is actively involved in productive activities, particularly the different sustainable organic agricultural systems being promoted in Dumingag.
I had another glimpse of what the Dumingagnons meant by empowerment, when a Subanen woman from Barangay Guintananan who had been tasked to present their group report prefaced her presentation with an apology that she only finished Grade 2, Punong Barangay Ronie Gimeno gently reminded her "ayaw ipaubos ang imong kaugalingon" (do not demean yourself).
These accomplishments did not happen overnight and were not achieved by the Dumingagnons alone. The Municipal Administrator, Butch Cabilan, recalled that it took a calibrated approach over three terms before they were able to comprehensively address gambling. It also helped that the Dumingag LGU was both open and discerning enough to work with partners like the Assisi Development Foundation Inc., Pamulaan, Kaya Natin, RiceWatch, Zuellig Foundation, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), and programs that the LGU felt shared their vision and convictions.
Dumingag still faces a lot of challenges. The roads in the 33 upland barangays are in terrible condition. They have barely scratched the surface in reaching and providing social, economic and environmental services to all.
Still, when a modestly-resourced local government and stakeholders have taken steps like supporting the establishment of an Organic Trading Center where farmers can sell their produce, an Organic Coffee Shop where their innovations like kamote ice cream and lemongrass coffee are being offered, a Dumingag Heritage Center that celebrates Subanen culture and tradition, a bigasan ran by the Dumingag Organic Farmers Credit and Savings Cooperative selling different varieties of organic rice as well as homeopathic tinctures; where vendors in the public market consistently avoid the use of cellophanes as secondary packaging, and where every household, be it in the rural areas or poblacion, has a vegetable, herbal and flower garden, one can be certain that there is a lot to look forward to.
And by the way, there is no Dumingag Death Squad.
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