GK village rises in laharlandia

MANILA, Philippines – From a former lahar wasteland in Mabalacat, Pampanga, Barangay Tabun is now a happy, self-reliant Gawad Kalinga (GK) community where people live in hope and dignity.

The Couples for Christ GK, Santos Ventura Hocorma Foundation, Philippine Cabinet Spouses Foundation and the local government have pooled their efforts and resources together to build 100 houses in the 1.2 hectare lot donated by Domingo Mapa of SVH foundation. 

Today, a total of 72 houses have been built and turned over to the families and 24 more homes will be turned over to the beneficiaries on March 24.

Aside from the houses, the GK Tabun Village has a clinic, a Botica ng Barangay  where cheap medicines are sold, a livelihood program in the form of a mini grocery, a Sibol preschool, a two-bedroom guesthouse and soon a multi-purpose hall.

The Botica ng Barangay is a project in coordination with the Department of Health. 

The Cabinet Spouses Foundation helped in cementing the roads as well as the drainage system of the whole village.

GK Mabalacat project director Rod Macasaet said the GK Tabun Village was a dream come true for him and for many of the homeless families of Barangay Tabun.

“I love Barangay Tabun, I raised my kids there but we were forced to leave when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991 and lahar buried our home,” Macasaet said.

He said Tabun was a progressive barangay, being a top sugarcane producer until the disaster.

He dreamt of seeing Barangay Tabun become a developed community again and was very happy with the support of GK, the private sector and the local government.

Macasaet is a full-time volunteer and caretaker in GK Tabun village. Everyday, he goes to the village to assist the residents in their livelihood program and help supervise the Christian Life Program (CLP) conducted  every Sunday at the Sibol school.

Cabinet Spouses Foundation

Macasaet said that the Cabinet Spouses Foundation was instrumental in the building of GK Tabun village.

Soledad Mendoza, wife of Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and current president of the Philippine Cabinet Spouses foundation, recalled meeting with spouses of Cabinet members in 2005 to discuss ways to help the poor.

“I met lawyer Charito Cruz, wife of then Secretary Avelino Cruz and who was the president of the Cabinet Spouses Foundation. I was then the vice president and we came together with the other wives of the Cabinet and planned to make our own little contribution to uplift the lives of the less fortunate members of our society.  We discussed several projects and we realized then that among the big problems of our society are housing and health needs,” said Mendoza.

They discussed about GK and how the foundation has done several projects and they were convinced that it was a good vehicle to help the poor.

Mendoza and Cruz then sought a meeting with GK champion Tony  Meloto and the latter invited them to visit the GK projects in Batangas. 

She and the Cabinet spouses were impressed with the GK villages and vowed to contribute another village for the poor.

“We were quite impressed with those villages and the more we saw how things were, the more we were resolved with the idea of making our own village to be donated afterwards,” Mendoza said.

After further consultations with GK, the Cabinet spouses were given the Gawad Kalinga Tabun project.

The Cabinet spouses lost no time in raising funds for the village and each member donated one unit for the poor.

Mendoza said it was easy soliciting support because “GK and Couples for Christ have a very good record in uplifting the lives and spiritual well being of the marginalized members of the society.”

They also sought the help of the government, particularly the Office of the President and were able to complete the first phase of the project. The first 50 units of the village were almost finished when Cruz left the Cabinet.

It was at this point that Mendoza took over the presidency  and continued to finish the first phase of the project.

Aside from the houses and other amenities of the village, Mendoza said they would also provide a comprehensive health program for the residents, including the distribution of Philhealth cards for each family.

She is proud of their good working relationship with members of the Couples for Christ, the GK in the area and with the local government under the leadership of Mayor Mariano Morales. 

“To them our heartfelt gratitude.  We know within ourselves we will be leaving a legacy to the next group of Cabinet spouses.  This is really a worthwhile project and we are very grateful not only to our donors but to the ladies of the Cabinet as well,” she said.

Mendoza said the CSF  may soon build a village somewhere in Batangas.

Uniting leaders in Pampanga

Pampanga Governor “Among” Ed Panlilio announced during the turnover rites of the houses in GK Tabun that the entire province of Pampanga is forging a strategic partnership with GK.  To signify his support, Panlilio said he will donate all his lifetime savings as a priest to GK. 

“This is what touches my heart most and attracts me to GK, the theology and spirit behind that is, the country’s best for the country’s least,” Panlilio  said.

Vice Governor Yeng Guiao was absent at the turnover but nevertheless expressed his full support for the initiative, even pledging the support of all mayors. Mayor Morales also thanked the people who helped make GK Tabun Village a reality. A kind-hearted Kapampangan, Dr. Crisostomo Arcilla Sr., will donate ancestral land in Sucat to GK.

Meanwhile, as a response to Pampanga’s support for GK,  Executive Director Luis Oquinena pledged to organize a one-million Gkapampangan Bayani summit composed of Kapampangan locals who will help realize Gk’s goal of “ land for the landless, homes for the homeless and food for the hungry.”