Brgy. Lukidnon, Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya using the household assessment form to determine if the family will be included in the list of the poor region wide.
Composing this piece about the conduct of the special household assessment in barangay Lukidon, the remotest in Dupax del sur wasn’t easy, what with the many highlights and the sidelights of the rich experience, all of seemingly equal importance and all crying for the same attention…so to make it easier for me, I’m going to give a day-by-day account of what happened.
Background:
It all began with a request from Mayor Romeo Magaway, Jr. to Secretary Soliman for the conduct of the activity in the area. His request was approved by the secretary who, through the National Household Targeting Office, advised the Regional Household Targeting Unit Field Office 02 staff thru Director Violeta Cruz to conduct the household assessment.
Lukidnon was not included in the regular household assessment in 2009 and again during the conduct of the On-Demand Application and validation in 2010 due to the peace and order (or lack of it) situation prevailing during those times.
1st day, Sunday, February 17
Like obedient foot soldiers who were given their marching orders, off we went to the unknown and mysterious (to us) land on our motorbikes. Mati, our young and…how shall I describe this guy?…hmm…silent regional IT officer; Chris, our equally young and…hmm…not-so-silent ha ha ha statistician and I (arranged in the order of handsomeness…ahem!) left at mid-morning. There was so much delay as Chris had to go back home to get the papers of his newly-bought motorbike as there might be some relatives of lolong along the highway waiting to prey on motorists. We also had to do some last minute shopping for raincoats, anticipating the sudden change of weather. We originally thought of leaving early Monday but I decided against it as I wanted us to be rested as a bride on the night before her wedding, fresh as newly picked flower and early as a bird, for our courtesy call to the mayor.
Our travel to Bayombong took about 6 hours, with 2 stops. We spent the night at the dormitory of the PSWDO in Bayombong, arranged by my loving former girlfriend. I could have done it myself but she volunteered so I gave her the honors. She loves me, you know! Ha ha ha The amenities were not luxurious but comfortable, aircon and cushioned bed…good enough. Anticipating that we will go onsome kind of a diet by force of cirucmstance, we looked for a nice restaurant in town. We were able to find one that specializes in grilled food.. Mati ordered grilled chicken leg…this lad just loves legs, chicken legs, that is he he… I can’t recall what Chris ordered but I’m sure ‘twas something hot…this guy loves it hot and spicy… while I ordered tuna belly and some okra, sili and eggplant. Mine was really thick and juicy…hmmm…yummy!
2nd day, Monday, February 18
We got up early and headed for Dupax del Sur and sought out the MSWDO. We were met by a young guy who asked if we were from DSWD. He happened to be the municipal link, a look-alike of the former bf of angel. We paid our courtesy call to the mayor who told us that we will join him in a meeting to be convened in sitio Balucoc. Having done that, we jumped off once again about mid-morning, led by Johnie Mendoza, the municipal link. ‘Twas still a long way to go…we had to pass the towns of Aritao and Sta. Fe and down the Maharlika highway…Oh my! Negotiating the curves of Sta. Fe gave me the natural high that riding a motorbike brings. It’s been a long time since I had my last long run with my riding buddies. I advised Mati and Chris (oh they were like seasoned motorbikers) to be cautious and to use their handbrakes lightly and sparingly on the curves as they might skid. We turned left on the road leading to Carranglan town, Nueva Ecija. I’ve been hearing about Carranglan, infamous due to long queue of vehicles during close traffick but I thought ‘twas just a barangay of San Jose City. So there, now I know better my Philippine geography. This is the beauty of traveling, You enjoy the sights, tastes, smell…is feel included here?… and also get educated in the process. Having reached Carranglan town proper, we gassed up, had snacks then headed for Lukidnon. The well-paved road ended and we were welcomed by rugged, dusty and oftentimes treacherous roads littered with big stones (or small boulders, if you want). We also had to ford deep and slippery ponds. Along the way, I was attracted by a flock of herons (white bird with long, slender legs) on a flight and their formation was a beautiful sight to behold!
We reached the 1st sitio, Guinisingan, by mid-afternoon. We were met by barangay captain James Cuyangan who patiently waited for us. After the introductions and some serious talk (naku ha!), we hadour snacks of biscuits and engaged in some small talk. After that, we started enumeration. We could have started earlier but Capt. James said that the people are not yet home from a birthday celebration. Sosyal ang mga tao dito…buong barangay ata pumunta. He he That afternoon, we were able to assess 6 or 7 households. ‘Twas another learning experience for all of us as we had never been enumerators…me included…I felt…I guess my companions felt it, too, what is termed as 1st day “jitters” but as we went along, we recovered and did it with ease…we are easy learners, you know…naks! we learn only what’s easy! Ha ha ha
Satisfied with what we have done so far and as a way of resting our weary bones, we had a few rounds of extra strong beer and talked about the birds and the bees (and the flowers and trees)…ha ha ha…at the local store owned by Crispulo in whose home we spent the night. His house was by the river over which a hanging bridge was installed. We had sardines with misua and pork and beans for supper, prepared by our host. When the time to sleep came, I went out of the room as I couldn’t stand the heat, put some off lotion and with my bag as my pillow tried to catch some sleep on the concrete bench at the store. I had barely caught a wink when I was jolted from my sleep as I nearly fell off the bench which was only about 1 ½ feet wide. So I had no choice bu t to go back to the humid room.
3rd day, Tuesday, Febraury 19
We set forth for sitio Balucoc after a heavy breakfast of, again, sardines and pork and beans, for the 2nd time. We crossed a river with slippery stones and from there it was all uphill climb in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. The road was rough with many bumps, dips and turns. The lead was ML Johnie…he’s been there before…followed by either Mati or Chris. Most of the time, I was what we motorbikers term as the “sweeper”, the last man in the pack to look after the other riders and several times, I had to warn Chris that his bag was about to fall off. At one point, Chris’ motorbike skidded off the road and because I was focused on what happened, I, followed suit. I had to help him get out of the tricky situation. We sweated profusely, panted and laughed at the situation.
When we arrived in Balucoc, the meeting has not yet started so to maximize our time, we started working. I advised Chris to text me when the meeting is about to start then we went separate ways. By the time I received a text message from Chris, the meeting has started.
In the meeting, I was given the chance to give a message and so in Ilocano, I explained why we were there, that it was upon the request of Mayor Magaway and approved by Secretary Soliman. I, too, explained the process, including how the poor households are identied by the Proxy Means Test. We were mistakenly identified as 4Ps and so I had to correct the misconception, explaining that household targeting does not offer direct intervention or services to the people and that we just provide the basis for the identification of beneficiaries of social protection programs like the 4Ps. When the meeting was over, we had lunch of bloodied pork (zinagan/dinardaraan/dinuguan) and “wat-wat”, big slices of pork, boiled in plain water, without spices. One just dips the meat in salt and sili and that’s it. This is the equivalent of our pork stew (laoya) but ours is with lots of spices. Whew! Another unforgettable experience!
After lunch, we continued our work. My guide, a certain Noel Calasiao, accompanied me to the home of Jose Acosta. When I asked him where the house is located, he replied “Asideg laeng, Sir.” (It’s just near, Sir.). I took his word for it. Wanting to conserve my energy, I rode on my motorbike with him as back rider. When the going turned rough and tough, we got off my bike and started trekking uphill then downhill, uphill, downhill, more uphills and downhills and at several points, I had to stop to catch my breath…I heard my heartbeat drumming in my ears. ‘Twas a good thing that I brisk walked regularly, if not, there was no way I could have made it. Also, my mountaineer-friend taught me that when trekking on a steep downhill, do it sideways so that when you slip, you won’t fall on your butts. Along the way, I guessed we took the wrong turn as the weeds and bushes covered the trail, a sign that it was not an oft-used path. So I told Noel to be sure that we are the right direction so as not to waste our precious energy.
The solitary house of Jose Acosta lay nestled on a steep slope. I had to drink two glasses of water to quench my thirst when we arrived there. While I was doing the inteview, Noel, my guide, peeled a not-so-ripe but sweet papaya which we munched on. When the interview was done, I shook hands with Jose and said “Jose, haan ka malipatan tunggal biag ko (Jose, I won’t forget you as long as I ilive!)! Before we left, I took two more slices of papaya, explaining that I need some energy booster along the way. Now my problem was how to negotiate the uphill-downhill once again! Once more, I looked around and saw why Jose opted to live in such a secluded and far-away place…he was engaged in slush-and-burn farming (kaingin)…’twas his source of income.
When the day was done, we were treated to more pork, this time there was adobo with bottomless rice for supper prepared by the wife of barangay captain James! Ha ha ha We spent the night in his home. Because he had solar energy, we had the luxury of charging our cellphones. That night, I had a deep, dreamless sleep…I don’t know about the other guys…they might have had some wild and naughty dreams. Ha ha ha Joke!
4th day, Wednesday, February 20
We proceeded to sitio Lukidnon Proper. We didn’t have guides along the way this time so we had to rely on our keen sense of sight and also by asking the help of the locals in locating the households. When we reached Proper, we were assisted by a very helpful young midwife by the name of Edna who took pains to accompany me and an equally-helpful kagawad by the name of Lilian Camsol. Again, we had lunch of sardines and pork and beans, our 3rd time.
When we were about to leave, I asked Chris to the get the cell phone number of Edna, anticipating that we might need her help one day, to which he replied “Tapos na, Sir!” (It’s done, Sir!). ha ha ha This guy has initiative and thinks out of the box. Ha ha ha
When we were done, we went to sitio Guinisingan once again to complete our unfinished business. It was here that enumeration had to be done until the evening so as not to disrupt our schedule. When I was done, I proceeded back to base, the home of Crispulo. I passed by the motorbikes of Chris and Johnie parked by the roadside. Not knowing their location, I proceeded “home” and found Mati there. After some thought, I told Mati that we have to go back to the area to help Chris and Johnie. When we reached the place where their motorbikes were parked, we attempted to follow them uphill. ‘Twas dusk by then and not being sure where the trail was leading to, we decided to go back where our motorbikes were and wait for them. ‘Twas already dark and it was here where Mati remarked “Nakakabaliw naman dito.” (roughly means “I’m going insane here!”) Ha ha ha ‘Twas also here that, to relieve my tired muscles, I stretched and bent backwards and in the process started to massage my numb butts…it felt like it was injected with anaesthesia! Ha ha ha Then I felt something hard on the seat of my pants and instinctively scraped it with by middle fingernail thinking ‘twas some dried-up rice. Then again, instinctively I smelled it…oh my! ‘Twas chicken dung! I had no water then…’twas good I remembered I had a bottle of sanitizer in my beltbag…Yes! Mabango na naman!
‘Twas good that Chris and Johnie had cellphones with flashlight which they used to illuminate their way down the mountain. They were hell-bent on finishing the assessment of all households up there before heading home.
As a reward, I asked Crispulo if he can sell us one of his native chickens or if he knows somebody who sells one. Unfortunately, there was no native chicken…and being sick and tired with the smell of sardines and pork and beans, we “raided” the store of Crispulo and bought corned beef, eggs and others I don’t remember anymore. Of course, we again downed a few rounds of strong beer to sooth our tired bodies. Funny thing is, when Crispulo was done with his cooking, we took it upon ourselves to set the table then called on him to join us as if we own the place. Ha ha ha Mga walanghiya talaga!
5th day, Thursday, February 21
From sitio Guinisingan to proceeded to the last sitio, Binbin. In so doing, we again had to pass through some parts of Carranglan town before again climbing uphill. The roads, though some parts were not yet concrete, were smooth compared to the other sitios. ‘Twas like going up to Baguio as they were pine trees that lined the road and one could feel the crisp morning air. The houses there were mostly made of light and predominantly light materials just like in the other sitios but they were relatively well-off in that they had electricity and well-paved roads. We were assisted by two kagawads, minda and…hmm…his name escapes me now…We again had sardines and pork and beans for lunch…’Twas still delicious…hunger made sure it was! At about 2:00 in the afternoon, we went down Carranglan town and on to the Maharlika Highway. While filling up our gas tanks, I told the guys that we have to splurge a bit and have early dinner at a popular restaurant in Aritao which offers exotic food. We ordered a bowl each of native chicken (at last, I’m going to eat you! Ha ha ha), fried fish (biru’), salad na katuday and mixed grilled vegetables with bagoong, kalamansi and sili…Whew! La fang!
From then on, we took it easy and had a leisure drive to Centro, Dupax del Sur where we spent the night. When we had some rest, I told the guys, let’s some fun in Bambang (It rhymes, doesn’t it?)! We went to a fine reataurant, obviously a favorite of the locals, and ordered a bucket of chilled beer which led to another bucket ha ha ha…Whew! This is life! We also had sizzling tahong, french fries plus 2 more I can’t recall and to top it, we had custard (leche plan)! Nakabawi na tayo guys sa saldinas at pork and beans! Ha ha ha After we were done, we went back to base in Dupax full and fulfilled…We slept soundly.
6th day, Friday, February 22
Our ordeal was not yet done. We still had a long way to go…about 250 kilometers more…and to make matters worse, ‘twas drizzling! After breakfast in Bambang, I told the guys that we had to wear our raincoats as it looked like it’ll rain along the way…and true enough, we haven’t gone far when the downpour began. To cut the story short, it rained from Bambang to Tuguegarao. Driving 250 kilometers under a downpour was another unforgettable experience!
We had stops in Cordon where we sipped hot coffee and ate hot turon and chatted with the salesgirl (she was cool. He he) And from there, we had another stop at a popular fastfood chain in Roxas. Our raincoats were dripping but it was inconvenient to remove them, what with our knee and elbow protectors in place. So we just entered the place dripping and wet the floor all over. I could see other customers looking at us. Ha ha ha WTF (where’s the food?)!
We gassed up once more and from there, there were no more stops. We were all in a hurry to be home specially Chris whose child was celebrating his birthday that day.
Saturday, February 23
I decided to pamper myself…went to have my finger and toe nails cleaned up…went to a foot spa…visited some friends and had a few rounds of chilled beer amid stories and soothing music.
Summary:
The experience of doing the household assessment in barangay Lukidnon – the long travel, about 800 kilometers, on our motorbikes under the sun and rain, the coordination and dialogue with the municipal and barangay officials and the barangayfolks themselves was one-of-a-kind. It was what is called as community immersion even if it was only for a short period of time. We talked, worked, ate and slept with the people and in the process learned about their lives, just a part of it anyway, and their needs…I really don’t know about their aspirations. From our collective point of view, we feel that they are in dire need of the basic necessities of life in a place without public transport due to the rugged terrain, no electricity except for a very few with solar energy, no employment opportunities, poor health and educational faciilities…but we may be wrong as they might feel contented about their situation. These are the people who live life day by day, probably without projections for the future which make them contended. They were born that way, grew up that way and, maybe, grow old and die that way…and the cycle of intergenerational poverty goes on.
It was indeed very enriching and fulfilling even for one like me who have been working in government for decades. I believe that it’s the 1st exposure of its kind for Mati and Chris, like a baptism of fire. I know that it was hard for their young bodies but like me, they feel a sense of satisfaction of having done a difficult job. I won’t forget what Chris told me: “The hardship we encountered in doing the job is nothing compared to the difficulties of the people there”.
I have to end this piece. Otherwise, it will occupy several pages of the Dos in Focus and Angely will get mad at me. Let me just say that Lukidnon is one place that needs sustained help from the government and other partners in development and I hope that the conduct of the household assessment will usher in hopes for a better future. So help us God! By Felipe Adarme, NHTS-PR Regional Field Supervisor