In a fusion of development and cultural celebration, the municipality of Villaviciosa, Abra looked back on their achievements and plotted their next development priorities during a recent Municipal Talakayan organized by said municipality with Kalahi-CIDSS.
Dubbed as “Apatan” local term of the Maeng Tribe of Villaviciosa which means “discussions,” the Municipal Talakayan was a venue for a multi-stakeholder dialogue of the development status of the town. Barangay captains, Civic Society Organizations(CSOs), community volunteers, non-volunteers and senior citizens participated in the event
Vice Mayor Marjorie Lagen discussed the town’s development priorities wherein she highlighted the P50 million rehabilitation for Barangay Tamac which was devastated by typhoon Ineng in 2015. “Let’s hope that the proposal will be approved under the office of Abra Representative Joseph Sto. Nino Bernos.”
Galleries of local poverty indicators, development priorities and status of empowerment were also posted for everyone to review before focused group discussions were conducted with the different sectors.
To ensure quality and balance interpretation of data, professors from the Divine World College of Bangued (DWCB) were hired to facilitate the focused group discussions.
“They are clamoring that the Municipal Talakayan will be set as a yearly activity,” says DWCB Professor Elizabeth Valera. As for the group of senior citizens, it “answered hanging questions on their mind as they have seen how much Internal Revenue Allotment they get and how was it utilized,” the report further said.
Moreover, a perception survey was conducted by the said college institution with 30 respondents from the eight barangays of the town. The survey results revealed that the communities trust the local government, they have knowledge and skills on disaster-preparedness, access to social services and are empowered.
However, majority answered that there are inadequate health care facilities in their barangays.
Lagen addressed this issue and said that “health and sanitation is one of their priorities and is included under their development agenda.”
Meanwhile the municipal gym was filled with colors and other creative materials as each unit of the Municipal Local Government Unit set up an exhibit of their programs and services. As an opening salvo to the activity, students of Saint Paul High School also danced to the beat of grand palook (read as pal-lo-ok). Cultural dances such as tadek were also danced throughout the activity.
The Municipal Talakayan was a joint effort of the municipality of Villaviciosa and the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), one of the programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.**DSWD-CAR, SOCIAL MARKETING UNIT, Jasmin P. Kiaso
