Story and photos by Leonardo Perante II
IT all started eight years ago during the term of then-San Mateo (Isabela) Mayor Roberto Agcaoili (now vice mayor) with his Adopt a Home Program designed to rehabilitate existing, but dilapidated, houses of indigent residents.
“The flooring of their bamboo huts were not paved nor concreted that, when it rains, the dusty soil interior becomes muddy,” recalled Vice Mayor Agcaoili.
It is for these appalling reasons the local government of San Mateo tapped the support of the Rotary Club of San Mateo Balatong and six government agencies in providing socialized housing to the impoverished families.
At the incumbency of Mayor Crispina Agcaoili, homeowners who are beneficiaries of the “Bahay mo, Ayusin ko” program were identified by the local government.
“Likewise, the local government has tied up with other charitable organizations, like the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Inner Wheel Club, in rendering socioeconomic services to the marginalized sector in our community,” the lady mayor said.
At present, the local government has verified and listed more than 1,000 program beneficiaries being among the “poorest of the poor” covering but a single purok in all of the 33 villages.
Manpower for the project is carried out in bayanihan way, where masonry and carpentry labor cost is generally paid for by the LGU, while beneficiaries of the program help in the construction to augment the core group of paid workers.
“We estimated around P20,000 to P25,000 would cost us to rehabilitate a housing unit’s flooring, walls and roofing. This includes the cost for galvanized sheets, bags of cement, lumber, iron bars and plywood,” Mayor Agcaoili said.
With the support of the Department of Health, the program includes the water system, toilet bowls and comfort rooms.
“To stay healthy, they need a private and sanitary place to wash,” said the lady mayor who is a medical doctor by profession.
This mode of socialized housing does not need to relocate and resettle the dwellers. They are kept in their very own houses where they are near the school, church, health centers and their respective place of work, as well.
“The house should be climate change-resilient that when typhoons come, they are resistant enough to protect the residents and in this manner, we, too, can preempt natural disasters that may hit our town,” the vice mayor said.
Another package that goes with the program is food sufficiency. The locals are trained to plant “Bahay Kubo” vegetables right at their backyard with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture.
“Our poor constituents can have fresh vegetables any time. They do not need to go to the market to have food on their tables. In this way, they do not starve or get hungry,” the mayor said.
The locals are trained to plant in-bred vegetables and produce seeds to be propagated since they are already acclimatized under San Mateo condition.
To keep environment-friendly farming, farmers are trained by both by the DA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on vermi-culture processing to produce organic fertilizer.
The San Mateo Techno Farm at Marasat Pequeño serves as a demonstration farm and training ground for farmers and students where high-value crops are grown. Munggo (mung beans) remains a versatile crop of the town said to be the Munggo Capital of the Philippines.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority trains residents, whether male or female, on varieties of skills training that suit them.
“Like the Motorcycle Training, tricycle drivers undergo mechanical troubleshooting and their harnessed talents could possibly land them a job here or abroad,” the vice mayor said.
For homeless local or national employees, the local government targets the abandoned cadastral roads to set up socialized housing for them.
As a symbolic gesture on Valentine’s Day, recipients of the “Bahay Mo, Ayusin Ko” were given a bucket of goodies each. A mass wedding was administered by the town’s chief executive for free.
“With all of these social responsibilities extended to our constituents, may we say ‘Buhay Mo, Ayusin Ko!” the mayor and vice mayor said in chorus.
Image credits: Leonardo Perante II