Everyone has their perceptions and concerns to voice out, in continuation to the previous blog entry entitled Trap in Disrupt: The Existing Reality of the Citizens in Panasahan, which focuses on the community issues, problems, or concerns seen by the residents. This time, let's look at the stances of the local officials of Barangay Panasahan, answering the same question by tackling the issues and problems they observed through their experiences in serving the community.
Similar to the first blog, a survey was used to collect the data and performed through online means. To accumulate the needed information, I conducted it through Messenger and Google Forms, which allows the respondents to respond and provide the given details needed for the survey, such as the respondents' information and the concerns they wanted to address.
To formally start, among all the barangay officials in Panasahan, three Barangay Councilors were kindly given their approval to participate in this survey. Thus, the concern they mentioned are the following, including their demographic profile:
The most common issue that local officials have noted pertains to waste management concerning its effects on the environment. According to the World Bank, "Managing waste properly is essential for building sustainable and livable cities, but it remains a challenge for many developing countries and cities." Thus, comparable to Barangay Panasahan or even other communities, there are still pressing issues regarding managing waste. Hence in accordance to the response of one barangay councilor, "Ilan sa mga problema o concern sa aming komunidad ay problema sa basura dahil ang MRF na makikita naman sa Barangay Mambog ay halos puno na. Dahil dito, napipilitang kumuha ng private company ang sanggunian na maaaring kumuha ng basura ng barangay at ito ay binabayaran ng sanggunian ng per kilo." Following the concerns from the first blog, accordingly as citizens pointed out there is garbage collection or waste management problem prior to their neighborhood as they shared collection day were not observed, it can be linked to how efficiently and easily the barangay could contact private company to collect these garbage’s. In such a way, both issues were overlapped, one from the lens of the citizen and one from the local officials. In connection to this, second on the list was the lack of discipline among constituents or residents. As they said, "Hindi pag sunod ng ibang mamamayan sa aming komunidad sa pag segregate ng basura." Moreover, it could also be connected from the latter survey, with regards to lack of discipline in terms of complying to the guidelines, for instance, usage of karaoke. Finally, as the population of the entire Pasahan and Sitio Tawiran increased, and the population of Panasahan Elementary School grew. If given the opportunity to voice out, one from the three-barangay councilor expressed his desire for the barangay to have another elementary school and high school for its citizens in the future.
Taking everything into account, comparing the results accumulated from the citizens and local officials; has resulted in different sentiments; that was, at times, similar. The bottom line of these your voice matters regardless of which side of the picture you are in. I believe that by working together, changes could be possible. Thus, through collective efforts, both sides can assist in resolving difficulties that have been seen and experienced in the barangay.
Reference:
World Bank. (2022, February 11). Solid Waste Management. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/brief/solid-waste-management?fbclid=IwAR2FBOm25lzUqKkR6eGTt5yoYacbDs3lJBP5n6fH_qfo_Bql4RjwYc2s9WQ
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