History of Barangay 599

( Sa Pananaliksik ng dating Sekretarya Josefina dela Serna na ngayon ay nanunungkulan sa kanyang ikalawang termino bilang Kagawad )

Kung ating babalikan ang panahon bago dumating ang Kastila (1521), mayroon ng mga barangay (villages) na binubuo ng mga tatlumpu (30) hanggang isang daang (100) pamilya at ito ay pinamumunuan ng "datu". Ang pinunong ito ang siyang humahawak ng lehislatibo, ehekutibo at judicial na kapangyarihan para sa kanyang pinanghahawakang barangay.

 

Dumaan ang ibat-ibang pangulo ng Pilipinas, at nang dumating ang panahon ng dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos, lalong pinalakas ang barangayan. Ang pagtatalga ng mga namumuno ng barangay noon na kinalaunan ay tinawag na Kapitan de Barangay, ay hindi pa idinadaan sa halalan.

 

Sa barangay na ito, ang kauna-unahang Barangay Chairman ay isang babae, sa katauhan nng dating Kgg. Consolacion Lucas. Humigit-kumulang tatlumpu (30) lamang ang bilang ng pamilyang naninirahan sa lugar na ito ng Old Sta. Mesa, na ngayon ay Barangay 599 na.

 

Nang magkaroon na ng regular na halalan para sa pagpapalit ng mamumuno, sinundan si Kgg. C. Lucas ni  Kgg. Ramon Pascual, sumunod si Kgg. Wilfredo Tana, at dalawang beses na pamumuno ni Kgg. Benjamin Macalinao.

 

Sa panahon ng nasirang Brgy. Captain Ramon Pascual, nagkaroon ng proyektong pabahay ang gobyerno. Magmula sa pribadong lupa, isa ang Barangay 599 sa nakuha at pinamahalaan ng National Housing Authority upang mabahaginan ng sariling lupa ang mga naninirahan dito. Hindi nagtagal, nagdatingan ang mga maliliit na pamilya mula sa iba't ibang lugar ng Metro Manila at maging sa mga probinsya.

 

Sa kasalukuyan, sa magandang pamumuno at pamamahala ng ating Brgy. Captain Jose Milo Lacatan, ang Barangay 599 ay binubuo na ng humigit-kumulang apat na libong residente  na binubuo ng _________pamilya  at ________ na mga botante.

 

Sa tulong ng kanyang pitong kagawad, Sk Chairman, kasama ang iba pang opisyal ng barangay na ito, marami na ang maipagmamalaking pagbabago tulad ng pagpapalawak ng mga palaruan ng mga bata, pagpapaganda ng barangay hall at barangay chapel, pagpapatayo ng "Welcome Marker Arch", pagkakaroon ng telepono at radyo na malaking tulong sa komunikasyo, at iba pa.

 

Sa kasalukuyan ay moderno na rin ang paraan ng ating pakikipagkominikasyon  dahil sa pagkakaroon ng computer ng ating barangay. Sa tulong ng internet ay madali nang maipaaabot sa mga kinauukulan ang bawat hinaing ng mamayan. 

 

Ngunit higit sa ano pa mang materyal na bagay na nakamit ng  pamunuan, ang pagsuporta at pagiging aktibo ng  mga organisasyon dito ang siyang naging pinaka matibay at epektibong kasangkapan sa mabilis na pagsulong ng Baranga 599.

 

Mula sa Pananaliksik ng Ateneo School of Government at ng Asian Social Institute:

Sta. Mesa :

 Santa Mesa, Manila is a district in the city of Manila, a component of Metro Manila, the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines. The name is derived from the "Santa Mesa de la Misericordia", the owner of the land during the Spanish colonial period, which was an "obra pía", meaning "pious work", and provided social services. The original town center, known as a "poblacion", is on Old Santa Mesa Road, from Stop and Shop to V. Mapa. However, the town was enlarged and has come to include the streets of Ramon Magsaysay, Anonas, Santol, Maganda, Pureza, Paltoc, Bataan, M.H. Dela Fuente, Bacood, and V. Mapa. The town was merged with Sampaloc and the combination merged with Manila, as districts.

Brgy. 599. Zone 59 :

 In the 1980’s, when the first settlers moved into the place, it was known before as “the Kangkungan”, there are few prominent families who are staying around .The place is a small body of water where people fish and get there kangkong ( a vegetable} which is good to eat. According to the old folks, they used to enjoy fishing, but later on people begun to apply for the “rite” inspite for the water. Only Barangay 599 was existing ,the people in the brgy. formed an association known as “DAMKA”, meaning “damayan ng mga magkakapit-bahay”. In 1986, during the time of former Pres. Corazon C. Aquino, the NHA census the Brgy. and that was the time when the government give the rite to the people.

 

 

Purok 11 Sampaloc St. : 

Purok 11 Sampaloc St. Purok 11 is located at Sampaloc St. There are 59 household interviewed and out of that are 330 individuals tallied. The age bracket of 18 – 40 years old dominated the population of Purok 11 with 42% out of 330. Head of the family are mostly male. Average size of the respondents’ family is 5 The vernacular language used is Tagalog though the residents came from different provinces and speaks Ilonggo, Cebuano, Ilocano and Bicolano and other local dialects. Residents are predominantly Catholics.

Literacy rate is high at Purok 11 such that almost everyone from 10 above can read and write. Residents are mostly high school graduates. Only 61 persons have known to have PhilHealth, 9 has Private HMO, and 83 have none. Common diseases are cough, colds and stomach ache though there were 3 persons identified blind and 1 deaf. Permanent jobs is identified by the residents who have been lacking. There is almost breakeven proportion of those currently looking for jobs and not looking for one. Some reasons given for not looking for jobs are housekeeping, schooling, and too old or too young.
 
51 of 56 who responded says they are having 3 meals a day. 47 out of 58 who responded wants to have additional skills and be trained. On the household expenditures, expenses for education came up a number 1, followed by cell phone load and food came only at 3rd place.
 
 

Community Organizing Process : 

Community Organizing Process
 
Entering BSSW students had orientation with the Barangay Councils in the Barangay 599 together with Ms. Cayas and Ms. Fam from CCS – ASoG. At first students were planned to have a survey at Purok 1, but the Barangay council decided to have the survey at Purok 11 headed by Purok Leader Ray Cartagena. We introduce ourselves with the Purok 11 Leader Kuya Ray and Ate Monet (CCS-Asog parent leader /AVWC of leader) in the Purok 11. Ate Monet lead our group of Social Research and BSSW student to interview the households in the Purok 11. It was during our interviewing for the survey that we had the chance to build relationship with the respondents and his/her families members.

With the survey being conducted, it have shown the students a view of how daily life in Purok 11 goes by. Memorizing the alleys and whose house is who’s is also realized at this part. As these have been a crucial part because in relating with the people in the community it starts with these understanding the situation of the community and thereby be effective in organizing the community.

Integration : 

Integration “Planting rice is never fun” that is why one has to be prepared for the hard work. Eventually, one learns the proper way of Planting, weeding, and harvesting. One soon overcome slips at the muddy paddies and skin irritations at the touch of hay and grass. Being integrated in the community is the core being a community organizer. In brgy.599, integration was in the form of being with the barangay helping out in the construction of the hall, visit and talk with the mothers while selling and washing their clothes, listening to their stories and believing their dreams Nevertheless, we realize integration is not just being with them, but journeying with them in their dreams and aspirations, struggles and challenges. Integration is not just an overnight activity.Its a long process. One may not be integrated even if he stays in the community for the longest time. One can be integrated even if he stays there for two weeks but never fails to listen and open his heart to the people.

Social Analysis : 

Social Analysis Relationships/ Interaction Gender-equality Household concerns, do not belong only to the women’s role, men do Stereotyping not pronounced Age majority are youth Dynamism majority are young so it’s marked by forceful, energetic individuals. There’s desire for change. High in literacy (read, write) Computer literate Participation – level of involvement in City of residents low/ No cooperation General Assembly few residents attended

Decision-making Processes – High probability of having jobs that could support their families needs & support indications that they are able to decide themselves & participate in sustaining & developing the community & barangay. Values: Education is a value & the highest among the expenditures A number who do not desire or refuse to work. vs a number who do not desire or refuse to work.  The need to improve household/ food recreation activities & other basic needs.  A number who participates in drinking & other crime related activities. Level of conscience, cooperation and awareness. Participation in community activities seemed wanting.

Unifying Factors: Innovative approaches to broaden access to education have been felt Attainment of higher education that would qualify them to get better jobs. The capability building measures such as livelihood projects, skills training. Phil Health insurances that aims to cover the medical needs of every citizen. Disunifying Factors – the indifference of many who minimally participate in community activities. Cell phone snatching Drainage & disposal system needs improvement Legitimate residents Vs transient (renters)

Spotting/Developing Leaders“Pagtukoy ng mga may Kakayanan Mamuno sa Pamayanan” : 

Spotting/Developing Leaders“Pagtukoy ng mga may Kakayanan Mamuno sa Pamayanan” As we conduct our survey in Purok 11 we have two goal that is to get information about Purok 11 and to come up a simple community profile of it and to identify potential leader who will help us to facilitate the community. Its an individual who has the ability to lead the community. By interviewing with the people and a kin observation we were able to identify potential leaders. This observation of ours was affirmed during our General Assembly.

They were the people who have a firm gasp of the community and who participate well during the presentation and discussion of the survey we conducted in their community. They even choose to where group or program they would like to join based on the needs identified when survey was conducted. After the identification of those potential leaders, we the Intern have agreed to conduct some training and meetings to build their own confidence through certain values formation that we did every week. This activity could help them to enhance their knowledge and skills for leadership and eventually can help the Social Worker in community organizing. These identified leaders need more training that is why it was suggested to continue the on going meetings and value formation to be facilitated by the SW of the agency .

Core group building : 

Core group building In presenting and validating the survey results with the community, the community’s issues and concerns were identified, the core group was created. From the issues and concerns identified, the Purok 11 residents volunteered to become a member of one group who will focus on certain issues. Four issues emerged from the validation and these are health, education, security and livelihood issues. Each group was facilitated by fieldworkers.

However, only the Livelihood and Health groups remained since the members of the other two joined the remaining two groups. Nevertheless, the groups continued to meet and were continuously strengthened. Every week, members of each group went through self-awareness activities, problem and objective analysis and values clarification sessions. From these groups, leaders also emerged and formed. For the health group, they were able to link with kagawad choy the health concerns of the purok which led them to impement a once-a-month canal cleaning which they actually did. They were also able to cement portions of the canal and made post signs concerning cleanliness.

The livelihood group was able to facilitate a FAITH training which allowed mothers to plant vegetables even at their own houses. The group also started a small enterprise through manufacturing and selling powder soap after they were given a skills training on soap making facilitated by the barangay and the fieldworkers. The group went through entrepreneurship sessions also.

Recommendation : 

Recommendation To the Community: Be more open and critical to the issues concerning not just themselves but the community as a whole. Increase level of participation Do not hesitate to initiate communication with the Barangay Council. To the Barangay: Linkage between the people and the Barangay should be strengthened and facilitated more.

 

Poll

demolition ng footbridge

wag ituloy (179)
67%

ituloy (88)
33%

Total votes: 267

 

  History of Barangay 

The Barangay as a political unit is the most enduring legacy of our pre-Hispanic past. As pupils we learned that the word barangay traces its roots to balangay – the small but sturdy boats that our Malay ancestors used to navigate the rough seas of the Pacific to settle in these lands.

As barangay officials, it would be best to understand the history of this unique political unit so as to better recognize its indispensability to effective local and national governanance.

In the ancient barangay, the datu was the head and under the datu was the vital Council of Elders which acted as an advisory body. It is important to underscore that the datu may either be male or female. This is a reflection of how democratic our pre-Hispanic ancestors were because gender did not matter so long as the datu had the trust and confidence of the people.

The only requirement was that the datu must have distinguished himself or herself in some way – be it in battle or as a crisis manager. The position can be inherited but only if successors possess the same traits as the predecessor. Otherwise, a new and more deserving datu was selected by all free men and women of the barangay, regardless of social class. Datus were indeed genuine public servants who gave premium to the interest and welfare of the barangay.

It is interesting to note that then, as now, the head of the barangay exercised executive, judicial and legislative powers. But back then, the barangay was completely autonomous and datus were answerable only to their people. Barangays were also very fluid and territorial borders were unimportant. This meant that a whole barangay may resettle into another unoccupied territory so long as a consensus has been reached among the people.

When the Spanish conquistadores arrived, they immediately saw the significance of these political units. But to use the barangay for their own ends they had to make drastic changes. Territories became fixed in order to be able to better control the subjugated population. They ordered forced relocations so as to combine several barangays to form a pueblo. The autonomy of the barangay was effectively curtailed and it became a mere sub-component of the pueblo which was administered by the gobernadorcillo who was in turn accountable to the alcade mayor.    

The datu class became the principalia or the local elite co-opted by the Spanish to help govern their subjects. To completely erase the vestiges of the past, even the nomenclature was changed – datus became cabezas de barangay whose main duty was to supply the local Spanish authorities with forced labor and taxes in exchange for a fraction of the powers and privileges they previously enjoyed. The Council of Elders was also abolished because it became irrelevant as the cabeza de barangay was relegated to the role of tax collector and forced labor recruiter.

Moreover, a cabeza de barangay had to be a man and was elected only by male members of the principalia in elections that were, more often than not, influenced by the parish priest of the pueblo.

After the downfall of the Spanish regime, the Americans made very little changes to the structure of the barangay. They encouraged the use of the word barrio to replace barangay and the local village chief regained his functions as a village headman, minus the responsibility of collecting taxes and providing forced labor.

Cabeza de barangay came to be called barrio captain but this was a superficial change because like the Spaniards, the Americans ensured that the village chief belonged to the ruling elite and can only be elected by those belonging to a few privileged families. Thus, the Spanish tradition of limiting the pool of would be chiefs to the local elite continued. 

The name game continued during the Commonwealth period and the term barrio captain evolved into the name tiniente del barrio.

During the incumbency of President Marcos, the word barrio was eschewed and the term barangay was again embraced. The name tiniente del barrio went into disuse and the term barangay captain was adopted.

With the enactment of the Local Government Code in 1991, the current term punong barangay was instituted. Although the position of punong barangay may have evolved through the centuries and have undergone several changes in nomenclature, it is still anchored on the concept that public trust should be repaid by genuine public service.

The staying power of this political institution is proof of its indispensability. 

The barangay is key to the effective and speedy delivery of frontline services. 

The barangay is also the principal link of the people to the municipal, provincial and national government and vice versa. Because officials operate at the grassroots level, their inputs regarding the needs of their constituentsare invaluable as they are the most accurate barometer of the real pulse of the people. 

Moreover, there can be no more fertile training ground for future leaders than the barangay. Because the barangay is a microcosm of national governance it is therefore the best leadership training school.