COMMENTARY: Things not OK in Mambulao

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

THINGS seemed unwell in Mambulao these days.

Facebook postings on Jose Panganiban Camarines Norte group have zeroed in on the failure of the barangay to make the residents feel secure.

The barangay is the logical whipping boy, being the closest to grassroots and to whatever is happening in the community.

In fact, it should always know.

Incidences of break-in and the unstoppable inflow of drugs into the community have become a commonplace, giving the residents the unquiet feeling that one day, their personal safety would be at great risk.

The whole problem boils down to the inability of local leaders – meaning the barangay chairman and his kagawad – to really do something to stop this.

It is true threats to the lives of those trying to stop these anomalies are always present and that many people understand this.

But if this would be the mantra from everybody, the prospect of having a peaceful and livable community would always be beyond the people’s reach.

The Mambulao government has admitted to the fact that its current police force (at least 20, according to an LGU staff) could hardly cope with the needs of its 55,000 residents across the municipality (Meyor Dong told me that the present population could be at 70,000 now because of migrant workers engaged in gold mining).

In fact, the basic daily street patrolling by ambulant cops aside from the mobile team is hardly done due to logistics problems.

Isolated barangays with known overseas workers have always been the target of the culprits. And among the victims recently were families in San Rafael who lost valuables and properties to armed, hooded men.

The basic SOP of sending a cop to investigate the incident was never done to the chagrin of victimized families. Investigation, if properly done, could lead to the identification of the criminals, and their arrest.

But due to lack of personnel, this was never done. Or the police officer in charge did not think it was that important to bother about.

Then, we got a problem here.

And it was a shame that the criminals could hit with impunity even at North Poblacion just a stone’s throw away from the municipal hall, the seat of the local government.

Residents in the area were clueless why such things could happen.

Sporadic incidences of robbery and drug-related offences have also shown their ugly heads in crowded areas such as Plaridel, Mother Lode and Parang.

Such are making the residents exasperated and becoming infuriated.

With the election of new barangay officials, Mambulao residents are crossing fingers that the new grassroots leaders could do something to stem the tide of lawlessness in their respective communities.

However, these new sets of barangay officials – from the chairman down to the kagawad -- can only do so much, and therefore the cooperation of the members of the community is one factor that could effect the much-needed change.

The barangay is there as the listening post for everything that is happening among the residents and around the community.

And the officials are there to lead the community as to how they could deal with whatever crisis on hand.

Should the chairman fail in this job, the people must not waste time and instead take the initiative to tackle the problem head-on.

Mayor Ricarte “Dong” Padilla should be able to thresh out this issue while the situation is still manageable.

He could do a long-distance “mayoring”, or visit the complaining area himself -- for impact.

For feedback, email the writer: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg  and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com

EDITORIAL: The barangay and the grassroots

THE barangay is the smallest unit of the municipal government but it is the one closest to the people.

Therefore, the success of governance by the town mayor begins at the barangay.

The grassroots may fail to see the mayor for whatever concerns they may have, but they could easily see the head of the baranggay – the chairman --  who is commonly known as the barangay captain, or si Kapitan or si Kapitana.

This is because he lives among them; his house is just nearby and is readily accessible to his neighbors day and night except when he is in a drunken slumber.

The neighbors are also the chairman’s constituents, who sometimes don’t want to go to the baranggay hall for a reason or another.

Garbage not collected? See the baranggay. A dispute with the neighbor? Talk to Kapitan or Kapitana. Drunkards roaming the village street at night, phone the kagawad at the purok. A robber inside the house, run to the baranggay outpost.

It’s that simple. If the baranggay is working properly, there should be no problem dispensing with the solution.

In short, a barangay resident with grievance to air could do so in front of the chairman, and he, being the head of the community can only welcome him to sort things out.

And if there’s a need for the chairman to elevate the constituent’s concern to the office of the mayor because acting on it is just beyond his capacity, he should do it being his job, because that is the only appropriate option for him to choose.

Should he fail to do this – that is to bring the concerns of his constituents to the highest office in the municipal government – then the barangay itself as the first recourse of the people, could be deemed a failure.

An ordinary problem in the baranggay is likened to a tiny batch of pixels in a digital picture that can only give a hazy image, but as the number of pixels increased, the image they create becomes clear – until a bigger picture unfolds, and that is a picture of a failed barangay.

Replicate this failure to the rest of the barangays in the municipality – as in this case the 26 other baranggays in Mambulao – then the entire municipal government would be deemed a failed government.

In short, each of the 27 barangays in Mambulao makes up the blocks that support the municipal government under the leadership of Mayor Ricarte “Dong” Padilla. A weak block could spell troubles for the whole structure.

A barangay that has failed to serve the good of the good of its constituents simply because the chairman is kaput or mediocre becomes a liability to the municipal government.

But more so to the grassroots who are the direct hit casualties of such a failure – and not just a collateral damage.

So, never under estimate the role of your barangay and its chairman.

The chairman could either make your day pleasant or nasty, depending on how he resolves your concern, and the image of the barangay – whether it is good or bad – could send a signal of how effective the mayor is doing his job.

So, after electing the new chairmen in the 27 baranggay, the villagers should take the next step to vigilance, because only through this could the true spirit of barangay democracy work.

- Alfredo P Hernandez

For feedback, email: alfredophernandez@thenational.com.pg  and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com

Mambulaoan secures funds for orphanage in PNG

Photo shows from left: Ivan Lu, executive director of RH Group PNG; Penny Sage-embo, Tembari founder; Malaysian High Commissioner Jilid Kuminding, Chew Pang Heng, MAPNG vice-president; and Hayward Sagembo, Tembari president. The picture was taken at the Temberi center. – Photo courtesy of JENNIFER NKUI/TheNational

A MAMBULAOAN based in Papua New Guinea has secured a new funding for an orphanage/day care centre operating just outside of the capital city Port Moresby.

Alfredo P Hernandez, a journalist working with daily The National, recently obtained a K40,000 (Php620,000) funding for the Tembari Children’s Care (TCC) Inc from the Malaysian community, through the Malaysian Association of PNG (MAPNG).

Hernandez is the vice-president and financial controller of Tembari, a community-based organization (CBO) operating at a settlement outside of the city.

This was the third year that Hernandez obtained funds for the Tembari children from the Malaysian expatriates.

MAPNG in October decided to cancel a cash grant for this year and instead give only foodstuff and other materials the facility would need after it learned that the grant of K15,000 (Php232,000) it gave in 2011 was “misused” by the Papua New Guinean officers.

The anomaly only surfaced in an audit of the 2011 funds made late last year by a volunteer auditor from Deloitte PNG, an international accounting and auditing group.

Hernandez, who was then working as a volunteer, was requested by the MAPNG to look after the funds it donated last year, an amount of K40,000.

With this, Tembari was prompted to appoint him as vice-president and financial controller to continue receiving the grant.

Advised recently by MAPNG of its decision to scrap a cash grant to Tembari this year owing to the misuse of funds donated in 2011, Hernandez wrote to the association a few days ago, explaining that Tembari’s operations would be crippled should it stop funding the facility.

He assured the MAPNG charity committee that since he took over the handling of the K40,000 grant given last year, and which was deposited with Westpac PNG, the cash flow has been closely monitored and all spending properly recorded, backed with supporting documents that included check vouchers, petty cash vouchers and other cash flow monitoring forms that included staff payroll.

He also took over the check-signing authority with another Tembari officer and a British expatriate-volunteer.

Hernandez told the MAPNG that these were the checks he installed to see to it that there was transparency in the use of the money.

The MAPNG, in its recent charity committee meeting, reconsidered and subsequently turned over a check for K40,000.

Tembari looks after 200 abandoned, neglected and orphaned children from the ATS Oro settlement.

The facility provides them with early education (pre-school) as well as elementary and primary education aside from feeding them from Monday to Saturday.

It employs three teachers, an administrator and three cooks.

Tembari, which was founded in 2003, also gets funding assistance from companies and private organizations and foundations.

The Malaysian association is the biggest donor to charity in PNG.

Hernandez, who joined Tembari as expatriate volunteer in early 2010, has been seeking donors of food, funds and materials to meet the daily needs of the children.

To know more about the Tembari children, please visit www.tembari.blogspot.com.

For comment, email ahernandez@thenational.com.pg  and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com

OPINION: Michelle Odi: Freedom to criticize behind mask

By ALREDO P HERNANDEZ

IS FREEDOM to criticize, express opinion as well as raise the fears purportedly of a group of individuals in the community fair when dished out from behind a fictitious identity?

This issue has one again reared its happy big head amidst a harshly concocted Facebook attack on the capability of the Mambulao government to crack the whip on evil-doers in the community.

A notorious Facebooker clinging like a leech on the account of the Jose Panganiban Camarines Norte group recently posted nasty observations on the community goings, putting the Office of the Mayor on the spot.

A certain Michelle Odi, which most of the groups’ habitués believed to be a fictitious name, made worse by the fact that the account owner is wearing the face of an ugly horse, has accused a number of people – municipal government people at that – of hauling off the remnants of the just completed bridge connecting Parang and South Poblacion to the metal scrappers.

She has insinuated that the proceeds allegedly went straight to the pockets of certain individuals – and who could that be? There are only two guys in the government who could make the scrap metals disappear – Dong Padilla and Ariel Non.

But this suggestion is truly outrageous!

In her/his sarcastic posting, which first praised the Mambulao government on its grandiose vision to improve the lives of its more than 55,000 constituents, Michelle Odi narrated a staccato of rubbish intended to shame Ricarte “Dong” Padilla and the members of his government.

A number of Facebookers who felt that Odi’s allegations of many wrong-doings within the local government were not meant to be relayed to the relevant units of the LGU but merely to embarrass the individuals for whom she has an ax to grind – people who are supposed to know what she was talking about.

But Odi’s failure to come forward and unmask her/himself for all the world to see and determine if she/he is credible enough to stand her ground on her cocktail of shit has slammed the door on her face.

Surprisingly, the spurious account has been pulled from the site, obviously by the owner after she/he received a good measure of bashing for her ridiculous “insights”.

In a statement posted on the JPCN Facebook account, the local government through FB user Kassandra Et Robin aka Cynthia P Canoy of the Office of the Mayor, has expressed dismay over Odi’s “well knitted accusations … meant not to expose any anomalies but to tarnish the morale and reputation of those mentioned and the institution (LGU) as a whole”.

The LGU said: “As of the moment, each of the issues raised are being examined as to its veracity and will be dealt with accordingly by the concerned departments.”

The LGU has appealed to the public to channel its grievances, issues and concerns through a “more appropriate manner”.

It has assured that the Office of the Mayor is “always open for your comments, suggestions or queries”.

The LGU is an organization that is equipped to deal with issues and concerns raised by its constituents.

It is just proper that sensitive matters such as those raised by the fake account holder Michelle Odi be coursed through the proper channel – with proofs and all - for proper disposition.

Detonating a claymore mine in the midst of well-meaning Facebookers seeking a homey environment during their relaxation was really disgusting, just for the sake of gaining a mileage – which Michelle Odi achieved while scoring points for a hidden vested, selfish interest.

By the way, an MWBuzz reader has alerted this writer that Michelle Odi is allegedly one gold financier with operations that include those taking place at the bay waters immediately next to the Mambulao town hall.

There’s no way for me right now to personally verify this tip.

However, there could be some truth to this.

Sometime ago, she vehemently opposed my call to the concerned national government agencies to stop these small gold miners from further polluting the bay with silt and gold-snatching mercury.

Her main concern was that stopping the operations would deprive the gold sluicers their source of livelihood.

Somehow, I agreed.

But then, with the info that she allegedly has gold interests, Michelle Odi’s motivation to keep the bay polluters at work has become suspect.

We could only wait for new rubbish from Michelle Odi, of course under another fake Facebook handle and face, which I speculate she would grab from the top-rating TV series The Walking Dead.

For comment, email the writer: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com