LRay of hope

“Without a small plot of land, the Filipino is a hungry squatter in his own country; he cannot build a decent home or plant vegetables for food or dream of a better life.” –– Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga founder

Why is LRay Villafuerte, governor of Camarines Sur, a big deal to his province and to Gawad Kalinga?

It is perhaps because in a country where 70 percent of Filipinos are still landless (40 percent of them squatting in urban areas), LRay has championed the building of over 3,000 GK homes for homeless families in his province. Three thousand families with new homes may be just a fraction out of the total figure of homeless Filipinos –– but L-Ray has been in office for only five years. “What I have learned in the private sector,” LRay told me during the recently concluded Gawad Kalinga Summit in Boston, “is that success comes when one exceeds expectations.”

At the summit, which was attended by some 700 GK volunteers, donors and foreign observers, LRay was asked by GK Founder Tony Meloto to share his story in a well-attended plenary session at the Marriott Cambridge.

Five years ago, he dreamed of tugging Camarines Sur out of the tunnel of poverty and the stigma of being an insignificant province.

“We changed the brand and resurrected the image. We built the Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC). We developed the Caramoan Peninsula. From being 39th poorest province, we are now the 10th richest in terms of income. We are now the country’s number three tourist destination, next to Boracay and Cebu. From being number 12, we are now the country’s fifth biggest rice producer. We have cut down malnutrition by more than 45 percent. We are the number one tourist destination in the Bicol Region, accounting for more than 55 percent of tourist arrivals,” LRay said in his much-applauded speech at the Marriott Cambridge.

But what made LRay a star of the summit was one bold fact: Of all the Philippines’ provinces, CamSur has the most number of GK villages, the only province to have a GK Village in each municipality and city.

After the summit, LRay visited Harvard (He quoted Harvard grad US President Barack Obama in his speech) and the JFK Memorial Library, which are both in the Greater Boston Area. He took a long look at the dedication emblazoned on one wall of the lobby of the JFK Library (to all those who seek a better world through politics) and said he was inspired.

Excerpts from my interview with the 41-year-old “builder of dreams.”

What are you proudest of as a Gawad Kalinga supporter?

LRay: We are the only province in the country labeled by Gawad Kalinga as a designer province. Our GK villages are not comparable to other villages outside of CamSur. Our GK villages are landscaped properly, with farms and livelihood sources. But more importantly, we are the only province in the country that has the most number of GK homes (3,463 with 1,000 more to rise this year) because of the partnership with GK. Our problem then was we had land and but we needed funding for building the homes. GK came to us; they had funds for homes but they didn’t have the land. One plus one –– we had a good marriage and good partnership. The result was that we built the most number of GK homes in the country, and built them the fastest. We have GK homes in every town, which I don’t think any province has done –– 35 towns and two cities. We have the most number of villages, the most number of homes, the most number of communities.    

How did this help your province become 10th richest?

LRay: Our province is typhoon-prone. People always lose their homes. With over 3,000 GK homes, that’s over 3,000 families having the dignity of saying they have a home. Every time there is a typhoon, they don’t have to rebuild. Having a GK home gave them hope. The problem really in the Philippines is the feeling of hopelessness. Once people find hope, like in GK, everything follows. They have the will, the drive to work harder, that if they’re poor they can become rich. Suddenly everything becomes possible. It starts from a home, a family. It starts from the bottom.

From the 39th poorest, we are now the 10th richest. There is no province or country that will prosper without the majority of people changing their mindset, from that of hopelessness to one of “can do.” We have so much manpower. We have so much land. We should start thinking positive. Look at China, it used to be one of the poorest and is now soon a superpower.

The good thing about GK is that they had the initiative to partner with us. They came to us. In appreciation, whatever they asked from us, we gave them. “Gov, you need to develop this land.” We did. We fought the bureaucracy. When a person tells me, “Gov, hindi kaya, I don’t accept that. I ask why. I don’t accept “hindi kaya.”

What we’ve done in CamSur is that people are starting to copy us. If LRay did this, we could, too. Mabilis kami, we do everything fast because I believe that coming from a poor province and a poor country, in order for us to catch up, we have to work double time. If you need 30,000 homes in 10 years, then you should strive to build 3,000 homes every year. You should have a vision.

GK hopes to eradicate poverty in the Philippines by 2024.

LRay: At least there is a target. If they are delayed by five or 20 years, at least there is still a goal. A direction. I do what I say in the fastest way I can. If I promise 100 homes in three months, I’ll try to build that in two months. I try to exceed expectations.

What makes your homes different?

Sabi nga ng GK, yung landscaping namin mas maganda pa sa ibang houses in Forbes. In the province you’d be surprised how abundant the land is.

The province built the first GK Bed and Breakfast but whatever income is made from it, it goes back to the community. A GK community is a tourist attraction in itself. So tourists can assimilate themselves in the community and at the same time stay in presentable homes.

Your plans?

LRay: For GK, what we will do is expand, but make it sustainable by not just providing homes but also jobs and livelihood. Aside from Bed and Breakfast, we are trying to teach them organic farming, agri-tourism. In Camsur, a lot of people live in landslide-prone areas. We’re trying to build homes for indigenous people. It will be a first. We are currently building 100 homes for Aetas in San Rafael, Iriga.

After your term, will your projects, the CWS, the Caramoan Peninsula, the GK villages — be sustainable?

LRay: I think so. It is bad politics for a leader not to continue the good done by his predecessor because the people will look for it. People are now asking me to have a GK community in their area, unlike before when you had to convince them. The province has made available 12,000 homelots, and that’s just from government. And there is one family alone that donated five hectares. When people hear the word GK, it is easy for them to donate land or money.

Tony Meloto translates vision into action that’s why we clicked. My plans for CamSur? Continue what we’ve started and what we’re good at. Tourism is our number one source of income. As long as my direction is right, I don’t accept failure as an option.

Your political plans?

As of now, I’ll run for re-election.

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(You may e-mail me at [email protected])