“Ang MUNGKAHI na pagsiglahin muli ang pagdiriwang ng Community Development Day ay nanggaling na rin sa mga pinuno ng ating mga barangay,” President Marcos said in a video message.
“And I heed them to honor the kind of governance I not only preach but practice. That programs are developed from THE GROUND UP AND SUPPORTED BY GOVERNMENT AT EVERY LEVEL.”
According to the President, government funds should not slowly drip to the communities which [deserve] them best and neither must economic progress trickle down to the people who need them most and that those who have been left out and left behind, should get the most first.
Underscoring the function of the barangays in pushing for change, Marcos said, “Let our barangays be the laboratory of workable ideas, a showcase of what we can achieve together, and proof that the basic government unit, the barangay, [teems] with best practices.”
“Simulan po natin sa kaayusan at kalinisan. Filipinos do not deserve dirty, dingy, or dark communities. Kaya kumilos tayo upang gawing maaliwalas at malinis ang ating kapaligiran. Dapat walang lugar, ni puwang, ang dumi, dugyot, at dilim sa ating pamayanan.”
President Marcos reminded Filipinos that the country’s bodies of water are not sites for waste disposal, which sadly become dumping grounds for plastics that choke corals and kill marine life.
To tackle wastes, the President directed concerned government agencies to incorporate cleanliness in the performance guarantees of local government units (LGUs) in awarding prizes and incentives to exemplary LGUs, Gulayan sa Barangay national competition, use of Motor Vehicle User’s Charge for illuminating national roads, campaign against single-use plastic, and regulating tarpaulin use.
President Marcos also argued that aside from maintaining cleanliness, community development also encompasses efforts to make a village viable, livable, the best place to raise a family, and to retire happily.
“It includes children’s welfare, crime prevention, climate change adaptation, capacitating institutions to resolve local disputes, community health and nutrition, commerce and trade,” Marcos said, noting the barangays are government frontliners.
“They are the forward detachments of government service. They are the first responders to people in distress. Kaya kung walang patid at pahinga ang kanilang trabaho, ang community development ay hindi rin dapat ipagdiriwang isang araw lamang sa buong taon.”
On Thursday, President Marcos issued a Memorandum Circular No. 41, which directs government agencies and encourages local government units (LGUs) to observe “Community Development Week” and “Community Development Day” in a bid to uphold and instill the “Bayanihan Spirit” and the value of community cooperation. PND
