LAGAWE, Ifugao– About 175 Punong Barangays from the 11 towns of Ifugao will gather for a vital occasion in broadening their understanding of key programs under the Duterte administration.
The all-important gathering, on November 24 is organized by the Liga ng mga Barangay-Ifugao chapter, in partnership with the provincial government. It was initiated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Ifugao field office.
The activity is a major project of Punong Barangay Victor Bunnol Sr., president of the ABC (Association of Barangay Councils) Federation. He is also a board member.
Board Member Bunol Sr., who hails from Barangay Nayon, is currently busy overseeing the preparations for the congress to ensure its success.
These village chieftains will tackle challenges and opportunities in the area of peace and order maintenance, including on how the barangay council can play a vital role in sustaining the anti-drug abuse campaign of President Duterte.
The participants are to be given an overview of the government’s MASA MASID, which stands for Mamamayan Ayaw Sa Anomalya, Mamamayan Ayaw sa Illegal na Droga, program. It is a flagship program of the DILG.
The MASA MASID program is tied up with the drive to curb the illegal drugs problem. A report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency showed that 94 percent of the country’s 42,000 barangays are drug-affected.
Apart from the concern on the drug problem, Ifugao’s barangay council heads should also focus their attention on the mounting poverty incidence problem and low agriculture productivity. The chief industry in Ifugao’s villages, a significant number of them considered depressed or poor, is agriculture.
The two-day activity will also serve as a major platform to showcase the accomplishments of Board Member Bunnol Sr. as well as best practices of several barangay governments in this upland province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Punong Barangay Bunnol Sr., a hardworking lawmaker of Lamut town, is the father of Board Member Victor Bunnol Jr. The elder Bunnol enjoys a sterling reputation among his colleagues.
The barangay is the smallest unit of government in the country.
The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled on Oct. 30 of this year were postponed to another date, possibly to the fourth Monday of 2017.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno expressed his support for the postponement of the barangay and SK polls.**By Anthony A. Araos
