TO ALL KAGAWADS OF PARANAQUE An Open Letter Kgd. Butch Serrano of Bgy. Don Bosco In the past, perhaps during the time when we were still young, most people had an image of a barangay kagawad as a baton-yielding, slipper-wearing tanod called upon to do menial tasks for the community. Most of what I remember was that they acted like enforcers and was called upon by top city officials to be handed dole-outs in exchange for political support during election time. Today much has changed. Nowadays, a kagawad is not only expected to know the rudiments of legislative work, but he or she must also perform certain tasks that are expected of that as, say, a Punong Barangay. Still, much remains to be corrected and it is in this light that I have written this, not for vanity or political favors, but for us to unite and take this opportunity to do real public service, and more importantly, to change the image of the ordinary kagawad. First, I think we are missing the bus whenever we have our seminars/meetings/get-to-know-each-other type of gatherings. I say this with all respect to the present leadership of KKBP and ACAP. I have become friends with them and will continue to be so. What I was expecting was for us to get our heads together and have a real talk pertaining to the problems of each of our respective barangays and how to have, at least a blueprint, of a holistic approach to solving issues and problems. I do not want us to deal with each other at arm’s length, because what we do in Don Bosco invariably affects Sun Valley and Merville, and vice-versa. A concrete example of this is the problem Bgy. Don Bosco is faced with everyday, traffic. A fact that I think renders us helpless even though San Antonio, Sun Valley, Moonwalk, Sucat and a host of others have made us the traversing route to Makati. It behooves us, Kagawads, that if everyone is using it then we might as well gather together to fix it, regardless if one is a Kagawad of Sun Valley or Moonwalk. I believe we should have these kinds of meetings, because maybe I could also help, through advices, some of the problems your barangay maybe mired in. This should be foremost on our agenda, and let us not blame anyone because it let’s face it, we were probably too parochial in our thinking, simple as that. Could you imagine all District II kagawads passing an ordinance that may enhance the lives of not only Bgy. Don Bosco but San Martin De Porres as well! Now that’s real public service. Second, I think we should do away with acts and silly statements to top city officials regarding “how much bonus” or “how much allowances” a kagawad should receive. Although we clearly need it, I think begging for financial assistance or allowance every time a top official is in our midst demeans our office. Not only that, it demeans our person. This is probably why most of us, especially our position in our community, are being taken lightly. We have become solicitors instead of negotiators, nothing more than hagglers of cents and favors. Would you believe that if taken together as a united group we kagawads would be the most powerful political entity in Paranaque? Let’s do the math. If each of us had at least 2,000 followers, multiplied by 16 barangays, we cannot be considered as a kagawad of 16 barangays but a kagawad with 64,000,000 strong followers! If united, we could lobby for meaningful projects for each barangay, lobby for our own candidates to city elective offices, and get what we truly deserve…a true partnership with city and national officials to do good for our beloved Paranaque. Now, that’s real power. These, among many, are some of the things we should all strive to work for. Not additional bonus or allowances, but real collaborative action among ourselves and the Mayors and Congressmen of Paranaque. I say these with the best of intentions and not as an affront to the present leadership of KKBP and ACAP. We are all at fault here. But it is not too late. Let’s us start over again and make this mission statement a blueprint to do great things together. If not, hey, I will always remain as your friend. Cheers Kagawads of District 1 and 2! with Edwin Budayao, Tina Beltran, Kagawad Bigboy Billones, Marinelle Formentera, others
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 10:59:51 +0000
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