Calawit folks now believe government really delivers

CALAWIT ISLAND, Busuanga, Palawan, - Tagbanua tribal chief Apo Fidel Mondragon was teary-eyed when he met me and my team at the elementary school grounds of his village where a small helicopter dropped me off for the visit to the island yesterday. Akala ko nagbibiro ka lang at hindi ka seryoso, he said as he embraced me.(I thought you were just joking and you were not serious.)I met Apo Fidel Mondragon three months ago in Coron, Palawan during a consultation with the people and leaders of Coron and Busuanga over the encroachment of squatters from Mindoro Island into the cattle ranch of the Bureau of Animal Industry near the airport.Not only were they entering the ranch area, they were also allegedly killing the cows and shooting horses with arrows.Governor Jose Alvarez and the mayors of Busuanga and Coron where the DENR has a 27,000-hectare forest reserve is located of which 2,000 hectares is granted to the DA-BAI for the cattle ranch were present during the consultations.In a very brief meeting I had with Apo Fidel, he shared with me the dreams of his people, like having more fishing equipment because their area is a rich fishing ground.I made him a promise that I will send DA-BFAR officials to see him to check on what they actually needed.I understood where the skepticism of the people of Calawit was rooted when a woman, during a consultation yesterday asked me point blank why government was suddenly present in their village. Ano po ang kapalit ng mga tulong ninyo? Paalisin na naman po ninyo kami? she pointedly asked me.(What do you expect in return for the things that you are giving us? Are you going to ask us to leave again?) Noong araw, pinaalis kami doon sa aming tirahan sa kabila at naglagay sila ng mga hayop sa Safari kasi sabi nila gaganda daw ang buhay namin, an old woman named Pacita said during the forum.(Years ago, they asked us to leave the other side of the island because they set up a Safari which they said would make our lives better.) Ngayon, matanda na kami nandyan yong mga hayop pero wala namang nagbago sa buhay namin, she said.(Now, we are old and the animals are there but nothing has changed with our lives.)If I did not browse up on the history of the people of Calawit, I would have been offended by the questions but I calmly assured her that the Duterte Government is a different government.Apo Fidel attested to it in his welcome remarks when he said that I was the first Cabinet Secretary to ever set foot in their village to deliver a commitment.Yesterday, along with BFAR Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona, BFAR MIMAROPA Director Elizer Salilig and DA MIMAROPA Director Antonio Gerundio, I flew to Calawit Island to deliver what the Tagbanua and Cuyonen tribal groups asked from government.For the whole town of Busuanga, which covers the Island of Calawit, a total of 24 fiberglass fishing boats powered by 18-HP diesel marine engines, 61 Payaos, fishing nets, fishing gears and seaweed planting materials worth P6.7-M was delivered.The tribal people of Calawit Island received 5 FB Pagbabago fiberglass fishing boats and one more unit for the Calawit High School for their fisheries research. Noong araw, pinapangakuan lang kami kung malapit na ang eleksyon, Apo Fidel told me.I told him that President Rody Duterte belongs to a different breed of political leaders as he always makes sure that services are delivered to the people, regardless of whether they voted for him in the last election or not.Before I left, I made another promise - to establish a cold storage facility in Busuanga town proper because they catch a lot of Galunggong which is sold in the market for only P80 to P100-kilo.I also promised to turn over to the fishermen of Busuanga a Vietnamese junk, FB Tambakol, which was seized by government for fishing in Philippines waters a few years ago.The boat will be used to bring their catch to Metro Manila where they could get a better price and where consumers will enjoy sufficient supply of locally caught Galunggong at a lower price.That promise, just like the one I made three months ago, will be fulfilled. Image may contain mountain sky outdoor nature and water sand//scontent.fcgy1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/38797028_1862558017159992_2435454337544093696_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0andampoh=dac75ec683090c3f7cae295bea8e5279andampoe=5C0FCB30