MANILA, Philippines - Crime hit too close to home for barangay councilman Melvin Bacalso of Barangay Toong, Cebu. His mother and sister were shot in broad daylight by two unknown men in their home in August 2011. Bacalso chairs the peace and order committee in Barangay Toong, which covers 18 sitios with over 4,000 residents.
“We didn’t know who the gunmen were or why they shot my mother and sister,” Bacalso said.
Barangay Toong is one of the communities Globe Telecom has equipped with mobile technologies to strengthen local security infrastructure through the “Sagot Ka ni Kap!” program.
An ongoing program under the i-Lead pillar of Globe Bridging Communities, it aims to arm local leaders with the right tools to prevent crime in rural communities.
Through the “Sagot Ka ni Kap!” program, community watch volunteers are equipped with handheld radios, mobile phones, and a hotline to help them with peacekeeping and enable them to quickly respond to emergencies.
The “Sagot Ka ni Kap!” program was launched in Barangay Toong in October 2011.
The program also provides capacity-building workshops designed to inspire barangay leaders to be more proactive in community development.
The workshops include modules on community leadership, conflict resolution, and crisis management.
To date, 385 barangays nationwide have been included in the “Sagot Ka ni Kap!” program since it was launched in 2008.
Rob Nazal, Globe corporate social responsibility head, said, “The program is really meant to strengthen good governance at the community level and we are glad that mobile communication tools have led to actual crime resolution and are relevant to informed governance strategies in the communities we work with.”
Globe Bridging Communities also held its first Barangay Rule of Law Seminar in Cebu with 34 community leaders hailing from active “Sagot Ka ni Kap!” communities in Cebu and Bohol.
Held and facilitated in partnership with the Philippine Center for Civic Education and Democracy, the seminar was designed to develop local leaders to act as conflict mediators and uphold the barangay justice system in their respective communities.