I closely watched from the sideline the saga of two Promoting Democratic Values in the Barangays of Sorsogon teams and was amazed by their zeal, vigor and idealism as they tried within their limitations to push through with their quest for change.  Members of the team carried their cause with passion and eloquence enough to stir action among responsible officers of their community and school.

One is the PDVBS Team of Matnog National High School which took up the cudgel to cry like a voice in the wilderness against exorbitant tricycle fare charged in their locality.  The other team is the PDVBS Team from Bulan National High School who did not look far and focused their study within the walls of their school zeroing on the school lack of comfort rooms.

The PDVBS Team of Matnog’s UNFAIR FARE

Matnog town lies at the southern most tip of Luzon approximately 580 km south of Manila and is gateway to Luzon from the Samar Islands.  It is a coastal town where residents are mostly dependent on the seas and the farm for livelihood and tricycle is the mode of transportation going around different barangays.  The authorized tricycle fare in Matnog is P7.00 per passenger.  By nightfall, tricycle drivers jacked up their fare to as high as P30.00 per passenger.  Students are not spared by the “unfair fare” so much so that many students walk through the night to their barangays.  This exposes the students to dangers most specially the girls.  PDVBS Team of Matnog National High School brought the case to the attention of the Sanggunian Bayan of Matnog.  During the day of their presentation, members of the team were intimidated and to some extent harassed by officers of the tricycle operators and drivers association right outside the session hall.  But the group persisted and brought to the attention of the Sanggunian Bayan their problem and proposed policies.  Thereafter the Sanggunian Bayan summoned officials of the tricycle operations and drivers association.

The tricycle operators and drivers association in Matnog initially responded by refusing to ferry their identified members of the team but ultimately reduced their fare from P30.00 to P15.00.

The PDVBS Team of Bulan National High School

Ever felt the discomfort of holding off the call of nature?  This is the daily predicament of students from Bulan National High School (BNHS) in Bulan town Sorsogon – southernmost tip town of Luzon approximately 585 km south of Metro Manila.  BNHS is a public high school lying on an approximate 6,000 square meter of land and home to more than 3,700 first year to fourth year high school students.  Like all other public school in the country, lack of facilities and insufficiency of funds is a perennial year round problem.   The school only has three comfort rooms, one of which has been converted for the exclusive use of its faculty and staff.  What remains are one for the boys and the other for the girls to the effect that only one comfort room is available for each group.

Student members of Pomoting Democratic Values in the Barangays of Sorsogon of BNHS choose the lack of comfort rooms in their school as their topic of research.  In their presentation during a dry run prior to the Preliminary Showcase (organized by PCCED and the Provincial government of Sorsogon) they presented the risk of illnesses each of them daily faces specifically renal ailment.  They also highlighted the discomfort, and its negative effect to their studies, of holding off the call of nature and the long queue outside the available comfort rooms.  School Principal Dr Nancy Bajamundi expressed her sympathy and concern, and promised to have one constructed within their limited local funds.  Dr Bajamundi said that ideally considering the school growing population they need ten additional comfort rooms.

At the end of the school year, School Principal Dr Bajamundi had one three cubicle comfort room for ladies constructed at a cost of P53,775.60 from savings of their MOOE.  Dr Bajamundi said she was moved by the presentation of the PDVBS team and their concern for the rest of the students and the school that she made sure that whatever savings they could muster from their local funds will be allocated for the construction of at least one comfort room in their school.  She said that although due to insufficiency of funds they were only able to have one constructed and still far from the ideal ten comfort rooms at the very least it is a first step worth a thousand miles.

For their part, the PDVBS team of Bulan National High School fully aware of the remaining work refused to call it quits.  With the assistance of PCCED, they have embarked on scouting for funding to finance the construction of additional comfort rooms for their school.

– Edgar A. Basares Jr.