| Signal
of hope from former rebel stronghold
 |
Pledge
of allegiance. Six New People’s Army
guerillas prepare to lower their arms after pledging
allegiance to the government Wednesday, December 12,
before Governor Migs Dominguez, Major General Ernesto
Boac, commander of the 10th Infantry Division of the
Philippine Army, and Col. Gaudencio Pangilinan, 1002nd
brigade commander. (Photo by SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE/WYT)
|
After
years of catering to the needs of the New People’s Army,
residents of Sitio Ihan in barangay Datal Anggas shifted allegiance
to the government.
In
addition, the masses found a new friend in telecom giant Globe.
The
former rebel stronghold is a recipient of Globe and ABS-CBN
Bayan Foundation’s BridgeCom sa Bayan.
“This
is an unusual community for us to serve since we don’t
have a cell-site here,” said Jeffrey Tarayao, community
relations head for corporate social responsibility of Globe.
Sitio
Ihan is a two-hour drive from capital town Alabel, traversing
a road over mountain ridges and rolling hills.
The
only cellular signal is atop a mountain overlooking Ihan.
“We don’t limit our programs to places we do business.
We want to unlock the potential of this place and work with
partner agencies so we can do a lot for the people,”
Tarayao said.
Seventy-five
residents of sitio Ihan participated in a livelihood training
of weaving baskets and other ornaments made of rattan and
nito conducted by BridgeCom sa Bayan, Conrado Alcantara Foundation
(CAFI), the Cottage Industries Training Center (CITC), and
the provincial government.
“This
program has given us hope and showed us that there is a working
government in Sarangani and business organizations who care
for us,” said Analyn Yuba, 21, a mother of two.
Agfulo
Moda, 70, said the program not only gives hope but the government
would also earn the trust of Ihan’s residents.
Recently,
scores of Ihan rebels surrendered to the government.
“This
place is now free from rebels. In fact, we have 10 rebel returnees
who participated in the livelihood training,” said barangay
chairman Caris Salimama.
Rattan and nito are endemic plants in Ihan.
“In
fact, we consider them garbage since we did not have the capacity
to do these things (weaving),” Salimama said.
The
participants were trained by members of the CITC to weave
baskets and table ornaments. The designs also came from the
CITC.
“We
chose this remote village after we found out from our partners
that this village has the potential in developing community
enterprises given the rich local resources of rattan and nito
but requires skills development to realize that potential,”
Tarayao said.
“Although
we have given them a design to follow, some participants have
innovated and the results are very good,” said Fernando
Esguerra of Globe’s community relations office.
The
training included a crash course in entrepreneurship.
Esguerra,
with representatives from ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation, CAFI,
Sarangani provincial government and CITC spent two nights
and three days in Ihan.
The
program includes product development and marketing.
“Hopefully
next year, we can start buying their products,” Tarayao
said.
“This
will not end here. We are their guaranteed market after they
can produce their products. In fact if there are festivals
that Globe will attend, we intend to display their products,”
Tarayao added. (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE/RIO)
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