Four towns to follow "purok system" of San Francisco

CEBU, Philippines - Four Cebu towns will replicate the purok system scheme of San Francisco, Camotes Island, in dealing with disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. 

Puroks are small units within the barangay established to help in the implementation of development programs. San Francisco’s purok system was cited as a model for sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

The municipalities of Alcoy, Alegria, Tuburan and Catmon, with their respective local chief executives, underwent a two-day learning visit to San Francisco sponsored by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) and the local government unit of San Francisco.

The towns were represented by mayors Nicomedes delos Santos of Alcoy, Emelita Guisadio of Alegria, Democrito Diamante of Tuburan, and Dan Jusay of Catmon.

“It goes to prove that money is not everything in effective governance,” Delos Santos said, adding that the implementation of the purok system effectively empowers the community without resorting to the giving of dole-outs.

Guisadio said that they will replicate San Francisco’s purok system in her town and challenged her staff who accompanied her to be up to the job.

Last year, San Francisco won the United Nations’ 2011 Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The town also ranked first for three consecutive years in the “Our Cebu Program”, a joint development project of RAFI and the Cebu Provincial government to make Cebu a liveable place.

San Francisco Vice Mayor Al Arquillano said the puroks grew from just initially just a handful of willing volunteers to 120 dynamic puroks, all active in implementing development programs in their respective communities.

From cleanliness and greening projects to heritage mapping and disaster risk reduction measures, the purok members have been empowered to help improve the community and lessen the dependence on the local government unit whose resources, according to Arquillano, will never be enough. (FREEMAN)