THE PEOPLE WHO RESISTED TEMPTATIONS OF RICE AND MONEY TO CHASE A DREAM

(Photo caption: Ebcede Salas, whose daughter finished a college degree through a scholarship program, warns other campaign volunteers of the dangers of the politics of money and rice.)

The greatest joy that I feel now as I move around to prepare for the campaign for the Governorship is brought forth by the testimonies of the people who volunteer to share their stories on how the programs I initiated changed their lives.

I was touched by the story of the Salas Family of Dalapitan, Matalam whose son Eric, one of my scholars, was killed in a grenade explosion inside the University of Southern Mindanao compound but who continued to chase the dream of education for their children.

While I was talking about the Cotabato Health Insurance Program (CHIP), several people in the crowd raised their hands and said that the unique secondary health insurance program helped them in covering their hospital bills.

In Hongkong, when I talked about the Jobs for Economic Enhance Program (JEEP) where I allocated a P20-M Fund from which applicants for jobs abroad could borrow money for the payment of their placement fees without interest, so many raised their hands and said they were able to work abroad because of the program.

These are the stories that are coming out in the many caucuses that I hold with our political leaders and supporters and they are shared by people who are not being prodded to relate their experiences.

For me, these stories are a way of validating that the programs and projects which I initiated during my term as Governor of North Cotabato from 1998 to 2007 really contributed in uplifting people’s lives.

These were the programs which reduced the Poverty Incidence Per Family in North Cotabato to only 22% from a very high 52% in 1998.

I am ready to take this road of development again if given the chance to serve the people of my province once again.