Chosen Community: Barangay, Mabolo, City of Malolos Bulacan It's a vibrant community, with its public spaces bustling with excitement as residents go about their daily lives and the numerous tricycles zipping in and out of the main road.
Mabolo is a barangay in the city of Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines. The population was 6,281 according to the 2020 Census. This amounted to 2.40 percent of Malolos' overall population.
For the past 20 years, my family and I have been living in this small community. Since some of the official members at the barangay are close friends of my family, I've seen our community expand as I've grown up. That is why I have also seen and encountered that our barangay has a lot of community concerns and issues.
So, I conducted a survey to discover more about the community concerns that residents of Barangay Mabolo confront on a daily basis and requested ten participants to respond to some of my questions. The majority of the respondents were students and teachers. Let us take part in Brgy. MABOLO, Malolos, Bulacan Table 1. Demographic Profile of the respondents
Table 1 depicts the demographic profile of the respondents, who are predominantly female, students and teachers, and ages range from 18 to 59 years old.
Table 2. Community issues the respondents want to address
Table 2.
The table above shows the issues that the residents want to address.
From the collected data of the survey, the most common issues addressed were the poor waste management, lack of SK projects implemented, and the road cracks and constructions. Poor waste management
The most common concern that the respondents believe should be addressed in the community is poor garbage management, which includes discrepancies in pick-up dates. Waste collection is scheduled every Wednesday in Mabolo, but there have been some delays.The collection of waste is sometimes just every other week, which is difficult for the residents resulting in a pile of trash on the sidewalk and resorting to open waste burning.
“Hindi kinokolekta sa itinakdang araw ang mga basura sa bawat bahay kaya tumatagal ito at lalong natatambakan” “Minsan lamang dumadating ang nangongolekta ng basura sa aming lugar kung kaya't hindi namin alam kung saan namin itatapon ang naipon naming mga basura. Isang paraan na ginawa namin upang mabawasan ang basura ay pagsisiga na may masamang dulot naman sa kalusugan” Lack of SK Projects implemented
The Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) is intended to be a place where young Filipinos can be trained as leaders, however there seem to be a bunch of new concerns surrounding the organization.
“Kung meron akong gustong mabigyan ng pansin ay ang kakulangan sa mga aktibidades para sa mga kabataan. Sa aking palagay hindi lamang aktibidades gaya ng basketball ang kailangan ng mga kabataan sa barangay, magkaroon lamang sana ng mga gawain na kung saan maaring magkaroon ng common ground sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaroon ng pisikal o educational na aktibidades na makakatulong upang magkaroon ng koneksyon ang bawat isa na nasa baranggay”
SK seems to have a number of problems in recent years. "The Impact of Youth Participation in the Local Government Process: The Sangguniang Kabataan Experience," a 2007 study by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and UNICEF, stated: "The SK's performance during the past 10 years has been usually weak." This is true when it comes to making laws, promoting young people's development, presenting reports, and having constituent consultations.
In addition, the lack of pay provided to SK officials is a concern that obstructs the SK's program that turns to lack of actual legislative and youth development plans. I've also heard of corruption and repeating programs centered solely on sports festivals and pageantry.
“Huwag sabihin na walang pondo para hindi maisagawa ang mga proyekto. Matutong dumiskarte kagaya ng pakikipag-alyansa sa mga mas matataas na opisyal, pribadong sektor at mga pamantasan na nagkakaloob ng mga extension services.”
Road cracks in some areas
The next concern on the list refers to road cracks and constructions. Road cracks in certain areas of the community still remained unrepaired causing inconvenience to residents like building up of traffic in the area.
“Ito palagi ang problema dito saatin. Walang katapusang pag-aayos nila sa mga daan kahit hindi naman kailangan. Madalas tuloy ay traffic ang daloy sa daan”
Among the (10) ten respondents in the conducted survey, it can be concluded that Barangay Mabolo are well aware of the difficulties that local community officials must address.
During the whole process, I realized how the power of journalism can really really help to make a difference in a community. Having a local news organization draws people from all walks of life together to create a more personal experience for readers. The journalist can target a specific group of individuals in a given location. Language and knowledge are two things that people have in common, and the local media helps to bring those things together. Advocates for social concerns use journalism as a main tool to influence public perceptions of potential social problems.
Lastly, if the local government takes the time to listen to and hear about the community issues and concerns in our Baranggay, it will be a big benefit. The community will obtain a strong environment and society if there is a deeper bond between the people and their government.
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