One of the greatest blunders in governance stems from the assumption by some planners and policy makers that they know what is best for the people.
Instead of asking people “What is it that you need?,” these development planners would arrogantly declare to people in farflung communities that “This is what you need!”
In a trip to Batanes as Agriculture Secretary in 2018, I was told by fishermen that government built an ice-making facility in one of the island towns but it never produced a single block of ice.
When I asked why, they simply said that the ice plant was built in an area without the electric power needed to run the machinery.
Warehouses built in the middle of nowhere, machinery and equipment not fit to the terrain of the farms, trading centers compete with huge buildings later turned into goat sheds, grains dryers which never worked and rice processing centers which did not have provisions for electrical connections were among the many wasteful spendings made by government because of poor planning.
I have always believed in building from the ground up, in consultations and in empowering the stakeholders and making them feel that they own the government interventions and programs in their community.
It was this belief in proper needs assessment which helped me craft programs which are now institutional projects of the government like the SAAD (Special Areas for Agricultural Development), PLEA (Production Loan Easy Access), SURE (Survival and Recovery Loans Program) and many others.
I still embrace the same philosophy in rural development as we craft programs and projects to address poverty, achieve greater productivity and sustain peace gains in Mindanao.
Last week, I made a perilous journey to a remote island in Zamboanga Sibugay, Olutanga, which has been identified as a rich source of fisheries and marine products but reputed to be a dangerous R & R area of bandits and kidnappers.
Spending the night in the island with the planning staff of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), I was able to listen to the voices of the people long neglected by government.
When the simple and frank dialogue ended, we all agreed on what to do to lift the people out of poverty, increase their productivity and turn the once “Pirates Island” into a major fisheries and aquaculture center in Mindanao.
The planning staff is now crafting the blueprint for Olutanga’s development using the inputs from people who will own the project.
This process is not easy as it involves real work on the ground but this is the only way for us people in government to put into concrete programs the dreams, wishes and aspirations of people whose faint voices were hardly heard in the past.
#TouchGroundFeelThePulse!
#SailTheSeasToDiscover!
#GovefnanceIsCommonSense!
(This video presentation is a production of the Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao Media Team for the Mindanao Development Aiuthority. Translation by Iris Ferraris.)
https://fb.watch/aMsYjlT-dE/
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