A CANDIDATE’S DIARY DAY 2: BROWNOUT, EDUCATION AND HEALTH COME OUT AS PEOPLE’S TOP CONCERNS

The use of the town hall caucus type of campaigning which I am employing for the first time in North Cotabato has allowed me to interact with the voters directly.

On the second day of the campaign in Libungan town, it has become very clear that the concerns of people vary from one place to another.

But there are constants everywhere I go and these are the long brownouts paralyzing the economy of the province and the whole island of Mindanao, college education for children of poor families and health services especially for the elderly.

Every time I mention the long brownouts, people would raise a howl, every time I talk about young people who could not get a college education because of a mismanaged scholarship program in the province people would immediately nod their heads and the mention of free health services for the senior citizens would earn a wild applause.

I have actually prepared for these concerns because prior to the campaign period, I conducted a series of caucuses to draw from people their reaction to a wide range of issues.

For the brownouts, I presented an immediate plan of gathering the Governors of Mindanao to join a move to ask President Noynoy Aquino to direct the agencies concerned to field a power barge in the Polloc Port in Maguindanao to immediately supply power to North Cotabato to earn the brownouts.

As a long term measure, I told the electorates that the provincial government under my leadership will explore the potentials of hydropower generation where the government itself will be the investor.

For the college scholarship, I assured the electorates present of a universal college scholarship program where every child of a poor family will be assured of a governmente-sponsored college education provided he or she passes the qualifying examinations.

For the health services for the elderly, I introduced to them a program which I designed – Pagmamahal sa Magulang Program – where poor senior citizens will be given free medical attention in government hospitals.

I also introduced to them the Pagmamahal sa Magulang Retirement Center where poor senior citizens who have no families to take care of them will be cared for.

The good thing about this small group caucuses is that people are able to react and this has given me a lot of inputs as I move down the campaign road.

I am certain that at the end of the campaign period I will not only be giving the people a new hope for a better future but I will also be learning a lot from them, lessons which I believe will make me an even more responsive and better leader.

(photo caption: Happy faces of young Bangsamoro children who posed for a picture with me after a caucus.)