In my long years in public service, I have always been guided by the words of the late Bishop Fulton Sheen who said: “God’s greatest glory is Man fully alive.”
Good governance, for me, is not just about gigantic infrastructures, big government buildings and wide highways but people lifted out of poverty and freed from want.
This has been my philosophy in governance and I will always embrace this because I believe that everything that we political leaders do should revolve around the well-being of people.
When I became Mayor of my hometown, Mlang, Cotabato, in 1995, I summed up my governance in five letters – W-L-R-L-P.
WLRLP stood for the five basic needs of my town – Water, Light, Roads, Livelihood and Peace.
When I was elected Governor three years later, among the landmark programs I designed was the SAAD, or Special Area for Agricultural Development.
SAAD, which literally means promise in Cebuano dialect, identified the poorest areas of the province which were given special programs starting from community organizing to identifying the strengths and potentials of the community.
When I was named by President Rody Duterte as Agriculture Secretary, I replicated SAAD at the national level.
Every year, starting 2016, the Department of Agriculture identified 10 poorest provinces which were given special funding for livelihood projects.
Today, SAAD, a concept in governance which was started in the mountain villages of Cotabato, is a national program.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in 2019 identified SAAD as one of the most effective anti-poverty programs of government.
All of the provinces included in the SAAD program showed hige reduction in poverty levels.
Today, as Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), I still consider poverty as my greatest challenge and task.
Eight Mindanao provinces are still among the country’s poorest.
These are Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Saranggani, Maguindanao, Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte and Agusan del Sur.
While MinDA remains focused on major flagship projects like the Mindanao Railway Program which is under the Dept. of Transportation, I believe that greater emphasis should be given to programs which address poverty.
Uplifting people from poverty through agricultural, aquaculture and small entrepreneurship programs is MinDA’s primary mission now.
After all the foundations of good governance are people alive and well.
Grandiose infrastructure projects maybe pleasing to the eyes but happy and contended people are the true proofs of good governance!
Man fully alive glorifies God!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
#PeopleAboveEverythingElse!
(Images and maps were downloaded from public websites.)
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