Only a few more days left and as
they say it, “uwian na!”. Yup! It is time to go home but before we journey
back to our respective hometowns, we got to face first insurmountable mountains
of challenges starting off with just the recently concluded round table
discussion which was actually a success by the way, then we have to focus for
this week’s three-day defense for our policy papers and then the submission for
our individual book reviews of Jeffrey Sachs “The End of Poverty”.
But all throughout the running of
errands, the hectic schedules and other mundane tasks assigned to us as interns
of the House of Representatives, we still had time to do an LGU visit
especially in Bulacan where it prides itself for its rich historical heritage.
It was such a great adventure having been able to step and feel the breeze of the
place where the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, the birthplace of the
First Constitutional Democracy is situated.
At exactly 5:00 in
the morning, all interns were already prepped up and giddy to travel en route
to Bulacan and so when we arrived by around 8:20 in the morning, we then first
hopped to the Plaza and witnessed a program to commemorate the “Linggo ng
Bulacan” which is mainly done to celebrate also some of the activities designed
for the Youth which they call “Hakbang Para Sa Kabataan”.
The environment was
feisty and everyone was happy. At first we thought there was a fiesta but then
when we finally went out from our vans, we realized there was actually a
celebration going on for the youth. It was a good timing given that we, as the
Youth from Mindanao, are also looking forward to see for ourselves the plans
and activities Bulacan has to offer to develop the skills of their young
generation.
We were warmly
welcomed by the Provincial Hall Staff and a courtesy call from the office of the
Provincial Administrator Hon. Jim C. Valerio was done to acknowledge the
presence of the Mindanao Congressional Interns. We took lots of pictures and
had fun meeting different people from different places. The encounter we had
with them and the knowledge they have imparted to the rest of the interns was
for us, a gem to be treasured with for the rest of our lives.
After that, despite the scorching
heat of the sun, we head on to Bulacan’s Provincial Cooperative and Economic
Development Office (PCEDO) where Ms. Irene Lopez, Mr. Randy Po and Mr. Ronald
Santos show-cased to us a short powerpoint presentation regarding the
background of Bulacan, how it became a province, the awards it accomplished
despite being prone to various national disasters like flooding and earthquakes
and they also presented to us their GIS (Geographic Information System) and elucidated
further how they are able to monitor their constituencies making use of state
of the art technologies in order to locate, know the conditions of their
communities, the trends, patterns and modelling per se. The SBGIS (Satellite
Based Geographic Information System) of Bulacan has helped the province address
its societal issues which garnered them awards like having the highest literacy
rate in the Country and being a consecutive champion as the Regional
Outstanding Winner in Nutrition.
Right after the power point
presentations provided to us by the Staff of the Province of Bulacan, we were
given a souvenir which to us, the interns, was quite new because this was the
only LGU visit where we have been handed with such a memento. The interns were
glad to have received this as an advance gift before we head back home. The
gift was a courtesy from Bulacan’s Governor, Hon. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado.
Other than roaming
around the Provincial Hall and at PCEDO, we also ventured at the infamous
Barasoian Church and their
Pasalubong Center where we have seen
most of their amazing handicrafts and how effective their livelihood projects
are to help facilitate and extend a helping hand to some of their
not-so-fortunate individuals who hailed from a few of their ill-stricken
community. The interns spend time to appreciate the
Bulakenyo’s maniobras
(masterpieces) such as their hand-woven bags, clutches, garments, as well as
the intricate furniture, sweets and other wide selection of elegant native
crafts and sumptuous delicacies. Some of the interns bought quite a lot of
pasalubongs (gifts) to bring home to
their loved ones and brag about how awesome their travel was when they had the
opportunity to discover the beauty of Bulacan.
Truly, it was a once in a
lifetime experience to actually be there and to learn so much from this tour.
Visiting one of the Philippines ideal tourist destination and one of the most
progressive provinces was refreshing to all interns given the pressure and
stress that we acquired from all the paperworks we need to deal with before we
pack our things and go back to Mindanao. For that, in behalf of the Congressional
Interns, group four of the RTD, is very elated and grateful for the learning
opportunity we have acquired because of the efforts extended to us by the USAID
– GEM program, the House of Representatives, the MSU system and UP-NCPAG. God
bless you more and a million thanks!
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