LAGAWE, IFUGAO – – From Kiangan mayor to Ifugao board member and then head of an all-important committee at the powerful and influential Sangguniang Panlalawigan and it is definitely an interesting journey.
Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Joselito Guyguyon was officially named chairman of the Committee on Health, Sanitation and Dangerous Drugs and other related substances. He succeeded former Board Member Victor Bunnol Jr., whose third and last term ended last June 30. Bunnol ran and lost for vice governor in the last May polls.
Joining him in this committee is Board Member Noli Maguiwe of Aguinaldo, who is the vice chairman. Members are board members Geronimo Bimohya of Kiangan, Agustin Calya-en of Tinoc and Perfecta Dulnuan of Banaue.
The committee is primarily tasked to promote health concerns of the people as well as maintenance of sanitation and curbing the use of illegal drugs.
Through his vast wealth of experience as a chief executive, Board Member Guyguyon is expected by many to tackle with confidence the challenges ahead in steering a committee long associated with up-trending an underfunded health program of the provincial government.
“It really feels good to know that Board Member Guyguyon is now in charge of this committee,” a longtime supporter of him from Hingyon town said.
“He has the passion to help others in so many ways,” she added.
In enthusiastic response to Guyguyon’s rallying call to barangay council and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) officials, government agencies, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and concerned health institutions and practitioners spoke of increasing and expanding their services.
The idea behind the committee chairmanship- whether at the provincial board, municipal council or even at the Senate, is that its head can discern appropriate actions for problems at hand or besetting a locality. The vice chairman and members are around to assist the chairperson at all times. Committee hearings are conducted to determine what course of action is to be taken on pressing concerns affecting the people. The committee through a recommendation may support or reject a proposed ordinance or resolution brought to its attention.
It will be recalled that in the last three years the issue on the still not functioning Ifugao General Hospital (IGH) was raised endlessly by concerned Lagawe residents. The hospital is situated at Lagawe’s Barangay Poblacion North. Politicians miserably failed to fulfill their promises on resolving the IGH issue and voters have spoken up loud and clear of their sentiments in the just-concluded polls.
Inaction and ineptness on the IGH issue is a social ill that needs to be faced squarely and immediately, true, but never with the cold hands of logic and the intricacies of the law as to attribute the stalemate and political differences among highly-placed officials at the provincial government.
Now imagine a child in need of medical attention and the IGH is not serving its purpose at all. The sick child is from Montabiong, a remote village of Lagawe. His poor parents have to bring him to a cramped up tertiary hospital in Lamut. It is nearly 22 kilometers away from Lagawe. Most residents here are all for addressing the IGH issue once and for all. It is essential to all efforts are to be taken seriously and intelligently and that incumbent officials now pursue the IGH plan with more care than what the people witnessed in the past. This is why the people are dissatisfied with the performance of the previous administration. If not, voters should have supported the electoral bids of key officials of the past administration.
Apart from the IGH issue, a host of other serious health problems persists. Malnutrition rate is still high. In far-flung barangays where health-related facilities do not exist, let along contemplated upon by local officials, access to basic services are often denied to the people, most especially to persons with disabilities, elderly, women and children.
There will be unintended consequences to this inaction by those who those who walk in the corridors of power, if at all they are meant to be “unintended” in the first place.
Elsewhere, poverty is rampant. The feelings, sentiments, memories and experiences of being untreated of a lingering ailment because of the high cost of hospitalization and medicines resonate with primarily, the poor and sick among Ifugao folks who struggled to stay alive in their formative years in abject poverty conditions.
Economic reasons largely dictate the Ifugao folks’ choice of what medical facility to go and how much to spend when they are sick. Privately-owned Salubris Hospital in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya and similar ones in Baguio City, Santiago City in Isabela and Metro Manila are readily available for the rich and famous because rates for services are expensive.
Thus, this committee can’t take a break or pause for a minute or so. For Ifugao folks still have to live or die trying, to be healthy on a daily basis.
Therefore, stakeholders should actively assist the committee in clearing the obstacles for the maintenance of a healthy citizenry by supporting noteworthy initiatives of Board Member Guyguyon.
It is high time for them to engage SP members as a means of tackling their problems on health concerns. In particular, they need to check if health-oriented projects are adequately funded by the provincial government. Why, the people may ask? Even ordinary folks, who are paying their taxes, are not attending committee hearings.
Participation and active involvement in consultations enable the people to contribute to formulation of policies, programs, projects and activities that affect their lives. This is the best way of ensuring Ifugao folks- young and old have a hand in the decision-making process. Undoubtedly, the goal should be is the attainment of a healthy citizenry in the most expedient way possible. When something revealing happens in a people’s consultation, that pushes lawmakers from their set point, to participants are going to feel emotions. That feeling, of course, isn’t good or bad; it just “is.” Reactions take place naturally or automatically and are not a problem in them. The problem is how legislators respond. This is reality!
Public consultations and committee hearings on vital health issues entail long and tedious process, but that’s how it works in a democratic society. Perhaps, if things turn out just fine the committee will see its first big fruit of labor by next year.
Today, Ifugao folks find themselves with the opportunity to see how this committee is working for them. After all, its chairman is committed to promote the healthcare program thus, bolstering the aspirations of the people to enjoy a healthy, comfortable and secure life. Board Member Guyguyon’ record as a public servant easily speaks for itself. He served Kiangan, a fourth-class, farming town with 11,671 voters, as mayor for three terms, Guyguyon, who is also the chairman of the committees on ways and means and disaster preparedness and management, faces heavy odds as he embarks on a mission with a desire to make a difference in the lives of the people, most especially those in underserved communities.
To improve the health of the population in an impoverished province such as Ifugao is imperative in every health agenda. There is no doubt whatsoever that most folks are now expecting to receive improved health services from health facilities. Marked improvements, in turn, shall contribute to the attainment of the United Nations’ Development Goal no. 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of people of all ages. This point to the necessity of good governance at all levels.
The appalling conditions of hospitals, health centers and rural health units in Ifugao offer an irrefutable guideline for this committee that it can no longer adopt a “business-as-usual” attitude. Does anyone in the committee can’t understand the fears of these “health nightmares”?
Instead of having photo op sessions, that should encourage a deeper and more meaningful discussions between board members and concerned sectoral leaders on whether or not the system of governance that has been in place for more than five decades should be altered.
Meantime, Board Member Guyguyon should initiate the passage of important legislations and introduce amendments to health ordinances with provisions deemed outdated and irrelevant to keep up with the advent of time and the demand of globally-competitive order.
Armed with a commitment and genuine dedication to help the poor, more so, blessed with numerous recognitions, citations and awards for his exemplary performance and accomplishments as Kiangan’s highest official for nine years, Guyguyon has to stay focus in order to realize the committee’s goals. Perhaps, this shall serve as his ticket for a higher position in a not-so-distant time.
He’s here! All these nine straight years of hard work and commitment to public service, and Board Member Guyguyon is out to redefine this committee and create a legacy of outstanding service delivery of health programs.** By Anthony A. Araos
