Two puroks in the Municipality of Cordova shared their experiences in implementing the Purok System, saying that it has brought the long-lost Spirit of Bayanihan or the Spirit of Communal Unity back to their community. Purok 6 of Barangay San Miguel and Purok Maalagaron of Barangay Ibabao swear by the benefits of implementing the Purok System in their locality.
In 2017, Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho implemented the Purok System by virtue of an Municipal Ordinance. Mega Cebu Constituency Building officer Mr. Menandro Daclan assisted the municipality through Cordova’s Mega Cebu Focal Team in organizing the puroks. Over the past year, the initiative has made strides in showing how effective and efficient the Purok System is in bringing the people together to work for the development of their community.
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Both puroks see Purok System as an avenue for cooperation among all purok members in implementing different programs and projects which will contribute to the welfare of the community. In Purok 6 of Brgy. San Miguel, for instance, their Purok President Mr. Larry Tura together with Brgy. Councilor Ronilo Andales, head the house-to-house collection of garbage in order to address their solid waste management problem. They even encouraged the children to participate in the collection in order for them to learn the importance of proper garbage disposal. An important factor that made this initiative possible is the fact that the garbage which they collect are already segregated at the household level.
On the other hand, Purok Maalagaron of Brgy. Ibabao, conduct a general clean-up every Saturday as part of the Limpyo Cebu campaign. They also created a vegetable garden in the purok center as an income-generating mechanism. They sell the harvested vegetables to the purok members at affordable prices.
Both efforts from both puroks were able to promote, not only cleanliness in the community, but also camaraderie among the residents. They got to socialize during those activities and were able to have opportunities to know their neighbors, both old and newcomers. More importantly, obtaining household profiles was made easier which will help the local and barangay LGUs in delivering basic services.
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The Purok System also helped address other issues such as peace and order, delivery of basic health services, and even providing financial support to those who experience death in the family. Residents of both puroks now see the value of working for the common good.
“Ang purok system dako gyud kaayo’g ikatabang sa among barangay. Og pasalamat sad mi og dako sa Mega Cebu kay ang purok system ang nakapabuhi pagbalik sa gitawag nato og Spirit of Bayanihan” (Purok System is a very big help to our barangay. We are also very thankful to Mega Cebu because purok system has restored the Spirit of Bayanihan), said Barangay Captain Chito Bentazal of Barangay Ibabao.