Speech transcript – as Keynote Speaker, 2014 Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony (RNAC) (Acknowledgements)…. A pleasant morning to everyone! It is an honor for me to speak before you on the matter of recognizing the efforts to uphold peoples’ nutrition. At the onset, I would like to thank the Regional Nutrition Council for inviting me to keynote this very important awarding ceremony. Now as a Congressman, haan kami kanayon nga agis-istorya panggep iti nutrition. Nowadays, when I am invited to speak, I talk about agrarian reform – because now I am the Chairperson of the Committee on Agrarian Reform (AR)– indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights, freedom of information (FOI), Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL), land-use, mining…ngem haan unay, nu sagpamingsan lang panggep ti nutrition. And so I relish this opportunity to talk about something which is very close to my heart – health and nutrition. You know as a lawmaker we have little to do with the implementation of nutrition programs. Except of course to support nutrition through laws that promote and facilitate these programs. Iti trabaho mi lang is to appropriate and maybe once in a while to pass policies or laws that improve or promote nutrition. Nutrition programs have always been under the aegis or responsibility of the local LGU executives. Isu ti akin responsibility ken dayta. And one of the casualties of the removal of the PDAF is the inability of legislators to provide funding support to nutrition programs. Idi napalabas a nagchairman tayu, there was the PDAF. So once in a while, the Provincial Nutrition Council of Ifugao will send an SOS asking for assistance for the nutrition programs and they were able to appropriate them. Itatta nga tiempo awanen ti pork barrel. Gone were the glory and the luxury of PDAF. And that’s why there is more reason for us to pay tribute to the local government officials, kasi now the funding basically comes from the chief executive, the Sanggunian; haanen nga kadakami. And despite the severe lack of resources, you are able to ensure the constituents the best nutritional care in your own localities. Congratulations are therefore in order and very much deserved to our awardees. And I know this was not a very easy accomplishment or easy feat. Before I was a Congressman, I was Mayor for two terms and then Governor for two terms, I am proud to say that during my incumbency the maltnutrition levels in Kiangan, when I was Mayor. And also in Ifugao, significantly dropped, when I was a chief executive, because of innovative health and nutrition programs – some in partnership with international organizations. We made sure that local nutrition councils were empowered with sufficient funding. Iyan ang pinaka importante ‘no – funding for the nutrition councils. We were able to galvanize the participation of not only the health offices but all the agencies involved as well as the other sectors such as the youth, farmers, teachers and women. I am happy to note that succeeding local executives continued to prioritize nutrition which led to Kiangan and later on Ifugao being recognized as national awardees. And to become a national honor award, it takes sustainability of the program. I don’t know if I consider it a class or a negative that I normally start programs but the one receiving the national award is not myself. Ta inrugik nga idi Mayorak, three years, and six years ‘no as Green Banner Awardee. 9 years actually because three years in the Province as Green Banner, three years in the Region as Green Banner, and then nasustain natin yung sa National yung sa CROWN (Consistent Regional Winner on Nutrition) award but it was the next Mayor who received the award. Nagganyan when I was Governor. We started the NCPAP (?) and I am happy that the former Governor Ballitang continued this program and now Governor Denis Habawel has received this award. So sustainability ang importante. The areas like Ifugao where residences are usually far from health centers and the terrain is difficult to negotiate, one would think that nutrition would be the least concern of the chief executive. It is unfortunate that sometimes nutrition is not a major electoral issue. During the campaign, awan met ti agsaludsud nu anya iti programa tayu ti health, nutrition wenno social services. Usually, infrastructure, agriculture and nowadays good governance. So those awardees, our awardees in the past, in the present and the future speaks a lot about the qualifications in that barangay, in that municipality and province, kasi they prioritize health and nutrition. And I hope that in the coming elections, let us at least disseminate and convince our constituents to ask our candidates about their health and nutrition programs – haan lang dagiti infrastructure and agriculture programs. But for me nutrition is not just a government program. Kasi pag CROWN awardee or Green Banner Award, excellence in implementing government nutrition programs ‘no. Pero para kenyak, nutrition is a way of life. It should be considered a way of life for families, for communities, for tribes and localities. Because it has long been recognized that good nutrition increases peoples’ productivity, promotes learning abilities, and enables participation and involvement in community activities. Just like with health, I remember before when I was Governor and Mayor ‘no, health was always about statistics. Are we able to decrease maternal deaths? Are we able to increase yung mga immunization ng mga bata? But when they launched the Formula 1 Program, one of the ten pillars of the Formula 1 program in the previous administration was healthy lifestyle because of the findings that now we have lifestyle related diseases. So ganun din sa nutrition: it’s not just about putting funds to a nutrition program but also inculcating to our communities the importance of good nutrition. And I agree with what Director Lopez said during his welcome address that malnutrition is one of the major threats to public health problems. I think if the population, if the people, consider that nutrition is important, naturally our leaders, our politicians, our local chief executives will also prioritize nutrition in their programs, kasi isu ti dawdawaten ti tattao. In short, good nutrition is a catalyst for national development. When government officials exert efforts to improve the nutrition of their constituents they actually create an environment where progress is more easily achieved. That’s accomplishments or achievements of our students and pupils in education has a direct correlation to the nutrition status in the locality. Sa DEPED, ammu yu met daytuy ‘no – if there are more malnourished children in the school, it also affects their performance sa school nila. I would also like to think that the nutrition status also affects agricultural productivity. So kanayun nga ibagbaga tayu nga nu our people have proper nutrition, dagiti farmers and the gardeners in the Cordilleras will produce more, because they have good nutrition and good health. And this also is true to us government employees. Now what does it take to win an award? The key of course, one is proper documentation. It has always been the weakness of us Cordillerans, kasi sagpamingsan tayu lang nga agdocument. Our culture is very much oral in nature so tatta laeng nga we are starting to write and document our meetings, take pictures. But idi, when I was Mayor, ang hirap, because puro oral, pinaguusapan, puro verbal ang mga agreements. But it also takes innovative programs. When I was the Mayor, we had home and community food production, with food assistance programs. We had poverty alleviation measures, which I think is the lynchpin in all nutrition programs. We started the health and nutrition status improvement program for the barangays with the most number of malnourished children. We had contest among barangays for the best nutrition program. We were able to design a cookbook for indigenous healthy nutritious foods. So may konting innovation at the same time of course, money speaks for itself, may sapat na budget for our nutrition programs, for the nutrition council. But to me, the key is the support of the local government units especially at the barangay level – the support of the barangay council and the barangay kapitan. Why? Kasi, the workforce or the workhorse for any successful nutrition program depends largely on the barangay nutrition scholars. They get their support directly from the barangay council. Kaya ako’y nagbibigay pugay sa mga barangay nutrition scholars na kasama nila ang barangay captain nila ngayong umaga (clap clap clap…). When I was the Governor, we see a lot of resolutions for funding coming from the barangay. And one of my criteria para pagbigyan ko yung kapitan nga dumawdawat iti pondo is nu mayat iti suporta ti barangay council iti barangay nutrition scholars. So, lagi kong tinitingnan kung kumusta yung support ng barangay duon sa kanilang nutrition scholar. Ket nu mayat, nu umanay met ti maitulong da then ited ku met diay dawdawaten ti barangay council. But the challenge now, now that you have received your award is, “how do you sustain this?” One of the primordial concerns when Kiangan won the national honor award, because now they are exempted from the evaluation ‘di ba? Ganun din yung sa Ifugao, now that have the National Honor Award, pero lagi kong binabalikan pa rin yung figures sa Kiangan because I noticed that after we received the honor award and then I looked at the rate of malnutrition the following years, tumaas. So, parang are we just doing it for the award’s sake, for the sake of getting an award? It should not be. Does it mean that Ifugao is now exempted from evaluation, do we prioritize less on nutrition programs? Now that we can rest on our laurels? It should not be. Dapat tuloy tuloy. There has to be a mechanism somehow for nutrition council to continue to assess and evaluate national honor awardees, para hindi naman lumala yung sitwasyon dahil meron na silang award. With the healthy and strong population, we can be sure that even the most challenging goals can be achieved. And this, at this juncture, before I close, I would like to make a pitch for regional autonomy, which is one of my advocacies in Congress. The challenge for nutrition in the Cordillera is very big because ang situation natin, geographically, the communities live very far from the town center. Perhaps in the analysis of the overall regional situation, normally Cordillerans are protein deficient, iodine deficient because we don’t have coastal resources, but there are also advantages living in the Cordilleras. We have an abundance of vegetables, for instance. We have a lot of indigenous foods that need to be promoted. Ako, I was born and grew up in Manila and you know, growing up as a child, our breakfast was always hotdog and corned beef, lunch was pork chop, dinner was fried chicken. But when I went to stay in Kiangan and study and graduate in highschool, that was the only time when I got to eat vegetables, kasi no choice, iyun lang ang pinapakain ng lolo ko sa akin. So I think, if we have an autonomous government, autonomous region, one there will be more funding for nutrition programs. Then kami sa Congress – Congressman Aliping, Congressman Cosalan, all the Congressmen of the Cordilleras – during the budget deliberations, ang aming palaging priority is infrastructure. Mano iti bingay iti probinsya iti national roads? Mano ti maalak nga scholarship para kadagiti uubing? Mano ti maalak nga health centers ken pondo para iti hospitals? We rarely talk about funding for nutrition. Something that I have to admit. But with a regional government, on top of what the municipalities and the province appropriate for nutrition, adda iti maala tayu nga additional funding for the nutrition programs of the Cordillera. Likewise, we can also initiate and institutionalize programs that promote indigenous, healthy and nutritious foods – with a regional autonomous government. Kasi iyun ang kulang e. When we have nutrition programs na supplemental feeding, normally we get the supplier from Manila. I remember when I was Mayor and Governor, nu kasapulan tayu ti supplemental feeding, ti supply gatangen pay idiay Manila. Can we not develop our own nutritious foods? Nalaklaka siguro pay. And since nasanay na tayo sa lasa, in the taste of these foods, then it’s easy for the children to eat, na sometimes yun naman ang problema sa supplemental feeding. Haan nga naruam diay ubing, madi na kayat nga kanen. But we have our own indigenous foods which we can promote through regional autonomy, through the policies and the funding that we enact under the regional autonomous government, then I am sure that the nutrition status in the Cordillera will improve vastly. In closing, as a Congressman, I pledge to support the nutrition programs of the Regional Nutrition Council (clap clap clap). Indeed, it is an appleal to the agencies that compose the Regional Nutrition Council that perhaps during budget deliberations you can inform us ano ba ang kailangan ng Cordillera in terms of nutrition. As I have said, kami namang mga kongresista, we have good working relationships with the regional offices. We just finished the budget last week so now we are on recess but before that kanayun ti meetings mi with the regional directors. ‘Yun nga, social services, DOLE adda ti pondo na. TESDA adda ti pondo na nga ilaban tayu para kenyada. DSWD, dakkel iti pondo nga naala ti DSWD. But yun nga, wala masyadong nutrition or focus on nutrition. So maybe in the succeeding years, in the succeeding budget deliberations, mabalin met nga iarasaas kenyami nu anya ti mabalin nga ilaban mi iti kongreso for allocations on nutrition. On a personal note, I am happy that Rita is here, my townmate. Ang mga Kiangan kasi mga nutrition-oriented e. Dra. Dulawan is from Kiangan. Dra. Dawong is from Kiangan. Our regional nutrition coordinator Rita is from Kiangan. So we are nutritious people. But of course, my support is for everyone. Now that I am Congressman, I no longer just represent, and this has always been my orientation ever since I became Congressman, hindi lang para sa Ifugao, para sa buong Cordillera ang aking ipinaglolobby sa Kongreso (clap clap clap). The nourishment of our people is too important to be neglected. And in ensuing the peoples’ nutrition, we are only limited on our creativity and resourcefulness. Inspired then by the creativity and resourcefulness of our awardees, I will also exert effort to support nutrition programs through our legislative interventions. Once again, I congratulate the awardees and I look forward to the strengthening of the nutrition programs across the Cordillera and across our country. Maraming maraming salamat!
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 02:12:41 +0000
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