DILG-7: Dagwayan sa Barangay pilot ‘successful’

Serbisyo Caravan by the Department of Interior and Local Government in Central Visayas (DILG-7) in Barangay Dobdob, Valencia town. | Photo Courtesy of DILG-7

CEBU CITY, Philippines — In an attempt to fight insurgency from the grassroots, the Department of Interior and Local Government in Central Visayas (DILG-7) has brought services closer to the barangays in Negros Oriental threatened by insurgents.

Leocadio Trovela, the director of DILG-7, said that sixteen barangays in four municipalities and two cities, Negros Oriental were the primary focus area for the pilot implementation of the Dagyawan sa Barangay, which began on September 10, 2019 and ended on November 22, 2019.

Dagyawan is a Hiligaynon term to mean “bayanihan” or “togetherness.”

Barangays Hinakpan, Planas, Trinidad, Binobohan, Tacpao, Imelda, Humay-Humay, and Sandayaom in Guihulngan City benefited from the Talakayan ng Mamamayan at Serbisyo Caravan from September 10 to 11, 2019.

The Dagyawan then moved to Canlaon City on October 9, 2019 focusing in Barangays Lumapao and Bayog.

This was followed by Barangay Tayak in Siaton town; Barangays San Pedro and Talalak in Santa Catalina town; Barangays Mayabon and Calango in Zamboanguita town; and Barangay Dobdon in Valencia.

He said the project aims to bring “good governance” closer to the people through conducting one-stop shops for frontline services to remote villages and providing a venue for residents and members of the expanded Barangay Development Councils (BDCs) to thoroughly lay down through a solution-seeking workshop their concerns and recommendations on how to improve the delivery of basic services at the grassroots level.

Each BDC will have to submit a list of proposed Programs and Projects identifying which among the plans will be prioritized.

“It will not end there, the intention is that we will complete the refocused barangay development plan for these barangays by January (2020) to put into action the suggested solutions to the issues of these barangays. There is a mechanism to legitimize the process by the BDC,” said Trovela.

The challenge now, said Trovela, is the funding of these projects in the short, medium, or long term, which will now be processed through the local government units (LGUs).

Trovela said that with the “successful” Dagyawan sa Barangay in Negros Oriental, they will be targeting another set of barangays in Bohol for the same project.

Negros Oriental and Bohol are the two provinces in Central Visayas where threats of insurgency remain.

The DILG-7 director hopes the project will bring the government closer to the areas where rebels continue to plague locals, and show the residents the changes that good governance can do the communities. /elb