As the coming of the elections this May 9, 2022, citizens from our country will cast their vote for the next person who will lead to becoming the next leader of the country. But on the coming of December 5, 2022, the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections will occur. Here, residents will vote for their next leaders of the barangay and will its leadership will remain or change for the good or for the worse.
I went around Barangay Sto. Cristo in Malolos City, Bulacan, to ask its residents what issues that are still visible and unresolved until now, the reason, how they were affected, and their solutions for it.
The Profiles.
Eight respondents were chosen to take part in the survey. The messenger app is used to communicate with the respondents. They consented to my permission to provide their personal data besides their full name for privacy reasons.
The first tally shows the names, age, address, the reached educational attainment, current profession, and years of living in the barangay. 6 out of 8 respondents are females, while the remaining two are men.
This tally shows how many years the respondents live in Brgy. Sto. Cristo. It shows that 63% of them have lived for over 10 years while 37% are living less than 10 years.
Collection Process
The type of survey used here is an open-ended question survey. This gives the respondents a free form about their insight, knowledge, and understanding of their settlement. This gives a significant purpose to the survey as it is seen through their perspective and experience in their barangay.
Here are the questions that were given to the respondents:
Years of living and what issues did they see until now?
Why is the said issue taking so long?
How does this affect them and their community?
What is the best solution to resolve the issue?
The respondent’s responses: A Citizens' Outlook
The respondents gave me their respective answers. Each respondent’s answer will be placed under the questions given to them and it is sorted by their age. All questions and answers are transcribed from Filipino.
1. How many years have you lived in the barangay? In the few years you have been living, what are the problems in the barangay that you have seen that still exist today?
Rica - 21years, Flood, drainage, waste.
Gie - 22 years. Waste, Drainage, Pole Lights.
Joanne - 18 years. The problems I see in the barangay are scattered garbage, drainages caused by flooding, congested roads to our house, and accessibility.
Norman - 4 years, Broken road, Parked vehicles on the main road.
Jocelyn - We have been living in the barangay of Sto. Cristo. for four years. The problem I have noticed is the lack of a program for those who want to recycle plastic waste such as plastic bottles or packaging which is a huge reduction, if not, the waste can be placed in more useful methods.
Sol - 40 yrs of living in Sto. Cristo. The problems I saw in our Barangay are: first, the flooding here in the village's courtyard during high tide, garbage spreading on the road and clogged canals.
Boy - 18 years. The installation of illegal jumpers on power poles.
Tessie - 2 years. Proper implementation by the head of the barangay of programs for the people, especially senior citizens like me, and the youth.
2. Why do you think the said issue took so long or has not been resolved?
Rica - Because they prioritize the unimportant more than the problem that the barangay has been facing for a long time. Lack of funding and no definite project.
Gie - No funds. No cooperative endeavor. Slow action by those in charge.
Joanne - The leadership of the captain and their officers has no unity in management and individually they work without coordination.
Norman - Broken roads are not properly repaired. The establishments and residents on the main road do not have a car park inside their houses.
Jocelyn - So far there is waste sorting going on, but for those who want to cut down on plastic waste, there is not enough knowledge on where it can be conveyed that it cannot be included in the common waste dumped at dumpsites. Dry plastic waste that is cut into small pieces can be used as fuel in cement plants or can be made into eco brick. With such methods, we do not yet know how and where to communicate.
Sol - I think it will take a long time to solve these problems because of the lack of budget to buy things that can be used and people who can work to fix these problems.
Boy - Meralco and the electrical contractor also lack unity and have a shady business.
Tessie - Perhaps this should be given attention by the Brgy. Captain, mother leaders, and others assigned to the problems mentioned. They do not give priority to this issue, so no solution has been found.
3. How did the problem affect you and the entire community/barangay?
Rica - Because we are more likely to experience such issues.
Gie - When it rains, it always floods. Piles of garbage. People’s health is most likely to be first affected. The surroundings are dark and the lights are just coming from outside the house.
Joanne - Because of the drainages, there is flooding even when it is not raining and it returns the garbage thrown away by our residents. Because of the floating garbage, it carries dengue and it will affect us, especially the children, since they come out all the time.
Norman - When the road is broken, it causes traffic. If the vehicle is parked on the main road, it will cause traffic and possibly an accident.
Jocelyn - We continue to accumulate plastics that other individuals can use. We may be able to ask questions or do more research on those who may have knowledge of this matter.
Sol - We are affected because when we go to the high tide, every day I need to clean and pour water and soap the remaining dirt when we left the dirty water when I enter, I still need to put on other clothes, shorts, and slippers, and bring my uniform and shoes to get dressed at my place of work so that it won’t get wet by the flood, maybe that’s what my other villagers do when the high tide hits when they enter
Boy - Cause of fire and rising energy charts. The jumpers are said to be stolen and coming from theft.
Tessie - Active Barangay members could have prioritized the benefits to senior citizens and to the youth, especially in health, to be healthier and stronger.
4. In your opinion, what is the best solution to resolve the issues you mentioned?
Rica - Inform your superiors for funding and wonderful projects. Cooperation of the people in the barangay. Let the residents help in cleaning their neighborhood.
Gie - The officials must pay attention to simple problems and work together.
Joanne - Replace the barangay leaders. We already approached several times to bring our complaints, but still no action.
Norman - Proper road repair. Search and fine the drivers who do not park properly.
Jocelyn - Strong dissemination of information about the said problem is the right solution. There may be the right organization or agency that does this, but not just informing the people. We will also try to ask questions to find out if there is an implementation of such an ordinance in our area.
Sol - I think you should probably dig deep so that the rivers will no longer flood the villages at high tide and the garbage will probably be a bit more frequent. Collecting the garbage so that it doesn’t accumulate and spread on the road.
Boy - Replace or let them resign from those who are in charge. We approached this issue, but they are mostly ignored.
Tessie - Some of my suggestions should have been a better discussion on some of the issues in order to have a proper and consistent solution for the senior citizens and youth of the barangay.
Analysis.
From the first question, the respondents’ most concerning issue they brought up is the constant flooding and the dumping of garbage in the wrong places. This caused floods and clogged drainages that affect their road and potentially risked their health.
The second question focuses on the barangay officials not prioritizing the issues and it remains unresolved. Lack of funding and no coordination are the primary reasons why there is no action and proper implementation on the previous problems mentioned by our respondents.
In the third question, they were severely affected by the flood. They are mainly concerned about the health of the people living there, especially as it can carry diseases like dengue and leptospirosis.
For the last question, their ideal solution for them should be for the barangay leaders to replace or prioritize their programs to resolve the various issues faced by their residents.
Conclusion.
Respondents wanted a change in leadership. During the time they have been living in their barangay, they already know the activities and movements of the barangay officials. Others who have lived less than five or ten years already know that the flaws can be compared to those who have lived a long time. Perhaps they have already experienced this in their former home. In this survey, I also realized that apart from the common issues, deeper problems were also found. As Boy gave about illegal jumpers attached to the pole. He expressed frustration and anger as I interviewed him, meaning I knew there was shady business going on, but the officers ignored it and just let it go. They also suggested that they want programs that will attract and educate their residents. As Jocelyn’s answer, she makes fuel for cement plants so that it can be made into eco-bricks, which are types of plastic like biscuits or candy wrappers. They cut it small until the utensils are full inside the bottle. Here they can use it as building materials in furniture, garden structures, and buildings.
To conclude the survey, we as countrymen can also benefit from our own activities. Here in our community, we must be aware of our surroundings and what we can do in our own way. We must learn and spread our knowledge to others so that we can focus and learn from our mistakes and we can correct the use of our wisdom and morality.
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