‘Pintakasi’

La Paz, Leyte — Traversing a hilly terrain of towering coconut trees, nipa huts and a few cemented houses built meters apart in Barangay Calabni-an is a 1.2-kilometer road surfaced with pebbles and gravel. Although unpaved and rough, the 15-centimeter-thick path forms the most durable farm-to-market road ever made in this fifth-class community. It is a triumphant endeavor to the barangay folks, and the pride comes from knowing that they have brought into being a special innovation that was conceived by their own minds, created by their own hands.

“Tulong-tulong, pintakasi, bayanihan,”  beams Noel Luayon, the barangay captain, when asked about what his people have learned from the sub-project under Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Linking Arms Against Poverty)-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDDS). Pintakasi is the Waray equivalent of bayanihan in Tagalog, which refers to a group’s communal unity without expecting anything in return.

“Natuto ang mga taong tumulong kahit walang bayad. Hindi katulad noon na kami-kami lang sa barangay [council]. Dahil sa KALAHI, nabuksan ang isip nila,” (People learned to help without asking for anything in return. Before, only barangay council members would do the work. KALAHI opened the people’s minds.) adds Luayon.

For six months, volunteers from the barangay underwent social preparation, where they were taught how to organize themselves, how to identify and prioritize their needs, and the criteria in choosing a project. Deciding for their top priority project came smoothly as they have long been envisioning a simple yet efficient farm-to-market road, a primary necessity that is still lacking in most rural areas in the Philippines.

The social preparation activities and the actual project construction were funded out of the $120-million grant given by Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for the KALAHI-CIDSS project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Implementation of these projects is supervised by Millennium Challenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P).

Project beneficiaries have three cycles (one year per cycle) to complete capacity building activities, actual project construction, and project management. Communities with good track record after three cycles graduate to another level called Makamasang Tugon, where there is gradual transfer of responsibilities to participating municipal governments.

Brgy. Calabni-an has a population of more than 200 and consists of 77 households. Of this number, 20 to 30 families helped in the actual road construction and now take turns in maintaining it.

In line with MCC’s and MCA-P’s policy on social and gender equality, some women and elderly in the barangay were hired to help in spreading base course for road graveling.

Soon after completion of the road project, community people have started feeling the benefits.

“Dati, 50 centavos per kilo ang upa sa habal-habal o kalabaw sa pag-deliver ng kopra. Ngayon, wala nang bayad kasi nakakadaan na ang mga truck, kinukuha na lang nila ang kopra,” (Before, we would rent a motorcycle or carabao cart to haul copra at 50 centavos per kilo. Now, we can easily pick up the products by trucks, which carry them for free.) Luayon explains the significance of having the road.

The road, being the shortest way to the town proper, is also a huge help to six adjacent barangays such as Bagacay, Qui-ong and Pansud as it has become their access road to the market and other basic facilities.

People in Barangay Calabni-an know they should take care of the road. But they are not afraid of the responsibilities. They are no longer afraid of what the future holds for them.

Luayon says: “Marunong na kaming maghanap ng financial assistance. Halimbawa, kung may kaunti kaming pondo at kinulang ito, alam na namin kung ano ang gagawin at saan kami pupunta.” (We can do it on our own now. We also know where to ask for financial assistance. Say, if we fall short of funds, we know what to do and where to go.)

Indeed, in community-driven development, it is not the physical infrastructure projects that really matter. It is how the communities are empowered so they can become independent and self-reliant in steering their own course towards development.

As Matthew Bohn, MCC’s Resident Country Director in Manila, puts it, “This is not just building a road. It’s really about enabling and facilitating development.”

For MCC and MCA-P, the measure of success is not how many roads, bridges, and schoolbuildings were built, but how much impact — quantitative and qualitative — these projects will have on the long-term growth and development of the country and its people.