(This is the first of a Series of Articles on Innovations in Governance which I introduced from the day I won as Mayor of Mlang, Cotabato to the years I served as Agriculture Secretary and Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority – MP)
“Give man fish today and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Lao Tzu.
In 1995, I was elected Mayor of my hometown, a last-minute substitute for my father, Bernardo, then a Provincial Board Member, who had to give up his candidacy because he was ill.
(It was later discovered that my father had brain tumor and he passed away a month after I took my oath as Mayor.)
Coming in from the world of journalism, I hardly had any idea how to run a municipality but using my journalistic instinct, I visited the villages of my town and asked people what they needed.
From out of those consultations, I crafted the five letters of development – W-L-R-L-P – which stood for Water, Light, Roads, Livelihood and Peace.
Using an old bulldozer of the town which I inherited, I embarked on the opening of farm to market roads in the whole town, connected almost all of the villages to the power lines and established water systems for potable water.
When farmers saw the bulldozer operating in their areas, they asked if they could use it in building levees and dikes in creeks and small rivers which would dry out during the summer months to impound the water.
The Small Water impounding Projects (SWIP) thus became one of the priority projects which I implemented in my short stint as Mayor of my hometown.
Using a P1.5-M grant fund from then President Fidel V. Ramos, I started establishing Level II water systems in the different villages of the town, most of which are still operational until today.
(In 1998, I was elected Governor of North Cotabato, a position which I served for nine years.)
All in all, over 50 SWIPs were built in the different villages of the town to serve as source of water for the farms during the dry season and fish pond, as well.
In all of the years I was Mayor and Governor, I emphasized that the construction of roads, small bridges and water impounding should have priority over basketball courts and gymnasiums.
The distribution of dole-outs was something that I really detested because I believed then, as I still do now, that it breeds mendicancy and reliance on government freebies.
Earlier this year, I visited the village of Pulanglupa to inspect a non-functioning Solar-Powered Irrigation System and passed by the farm of an old supporter, Ramon Sorianosos.
Ramon proudly showed me the SWIP which was built 28 years ago, including one more also built nearby owned by his brother, which serves as the source of water for his ricefield and where he raises freshwater fish.
I felt vindicated that I pursued the path of governance which provided people with projects to improve their lives instead of projects like basketball courts and dole outs which included rice and sardines, umbrellas and caps.
Had I given Ramon one sack of rice in 1995 instead of building a Small Water Impounding in his farm, I really doubt if he would even remember that 28 years later.
Ramon Sorianosos’ story is proof that if government officials could only innovate and tweak governance, we could boost the productivity of our people and provide them with a sustainable source of income.
Indeed, Governance is Common Sense. I rest my case!
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