At 3:30 a.m. today, I jumped off from Kidapawan City leading a 6-vehicle convoy enroute to the poor town of Taraka, Lanao del Sur located in the periphery of the 34,000-hectare Lanao del Sur.
Taraka is unique in so many ways as it is overlooking Lake Lanao but its rice farms do not have sufficient water.
There is a river that meanders through the town proper but people do not have safe drinking water.
Most of all, it is situated between the town of Butig, known as the base of the Maute Terror Group and the City of Marawi which in May 2017 was reduced to rubbles as soldiers fought the Mautes.
At 10 a.m. today, Taraka will make history as the first local government unit in the country to invest in six Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems and a Solar Powered Water System with a filtration facility for its 25,000 population.
How this came about is an inspiring story of innovation in local governance which would make Taraka a rural development model for the country.
Along with the leaders and people of Taraka, the hard-working staff of the Mindanao Development Authority and I are part of the dream which is being slowly realized today.
It all started on Dec. 6, 2019 when the Mindanao Water Supply Program which aims to provide water for people in every village in Mindanao was launched in Davao City.
I personally designed the program and sought the support of the DILG and DBP since MinDA does not have the funds to implement it.
It was during the launching when the mayor of Taraka, Nashiba Gandarma Sumagayan, a former professor of the Mindanao State University in Marawi, approached MinDA and asked that Taraka be the first enrolee in the program.
That started a long, difficult and challenging journey marred by the COVID 19 Pandemic which marks a major milestone today.
With the planning staff of MinDA supporting Taraka, a master plan for development was crafted and a digital database for its residents was established.
With a P215-M loan acquired from DBP, Taraka implemented a program which included the procurement of road building equipment and the establishment of six SPIS to irrigate 700-hectares and a modern water system.
All of these projects were placed under a newly-organized Economic Enterprise Office which would collect fees for services rendered and pay back the loan.
Today, Taraka stands out as a model for other towns in the country which had long been dependent on the national government for even the minor projects.
Taraka is now a corporate local government unit.
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