Gov. Cora Malanyaon speaks and leads from her heart
By FERDINAND ZUASOLA
Being a woman in politics can be tough business but the ever amiable Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon has made it look effortless because she speaks and leads from her heart.
Being a leader of ideals and sincerity who commands the people’s trust mainly because she embodies clean and honest government, it was truly a breeze for her to carry out her pro-poor development programs since assuming the governorship in 2007.
A leader with grace and courage who embodies honesty, integrity and trust, Gov. Malanyaon has successfully revolutionized in just a short span of time the political landscape of Davao Oriental which was for quite a long period of time was being firmly controlled by the warring old-rich landed families.
The wonder of it all is that this leader who did not come from the ranks of the politically and economically influential families of the province was able to secure the full support of all major political clans in Davao Oriental who are now rallying behind her development agenda, a stark contrast to the traditionally highly intense political rivalries in the past.
For the first time in the political history of Davao Oriental, the 2010 gubernatorial race will be remembered as the most memorable and most peaceful electoral exercise here owing to the remarkable absence of all traditional major political players in the province who did not put a challenge and are in fact rooting for the reelection bid of Gov. Cora Malanyaon. They are mainly captivated by the governor’s non-traditional brand of leadership which basically shuns publicity for her development programs and projects and numerous achievements and values hard work and efficiency among government workers.
As she has successfully forged a genuine atmosphere of trust and goodwill, Gov. Malanyaon has seized the very rare opportunity to advance the cause especially of the poor people by pushing for meaningful programs that aims to improve the economic condition of her constituents. The strong unity among the province’s top leaders and good governance made possible by the unifying and transformational leadership of Gov. Malanyaon truly brings a windfall to the people of Davao Oriental.
“What I care about is restoring your confidence in the provincial government. What I care about is making the government work for the people and not the people for the government. What I care about is for our people to see their government as a partner in their lives, not a roadblock to their dreams. What I care most is giving my constituents a quality of life that enhances their self-worth, their self-esteem and their value as responsible citizens of this world,” says Gov. Malanyaon who speaks with deep passion and even deeper expertise on the challenges facing her province.
CHANGING LIVES OF THE POOR
Less than three years since she first assumed the governorship in 2007, Gov. Malanyaon’s pro-poor programs has already considerably changed the lives of her constituents. Reaping the fruits of choosing leaders with character and vision and who has the strong political will to fulfill its mandate of serving the people, the grateful people of Davao Oriental now see their government-run hospitals fully equipped with medicines and modern equipment, facilities and adequate health care providers.
The Malanyaon administration, however, is the first to give free health insurance to thousands of poor families in Davao Oriental. A huge relief indeed for the indigent families in light of the prohibitive costs of hospitalization nowadays. The free PhilHealth insurance for the poor families is being sponsored, subsidized and funded by the provincial government of Davao Oriental and it is the first for its kind here as it has benefited a huge number of poor families in all of the eleven municipalities of the province.
“This leadership is one who believes that the right to life is a basic human right which shall be afforded to everyone. Hence, health care shall be given the highest priority,” says Gov. Malanyaon as she points to the P80 million ongoing expansion activities of the Capitol-run Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital which will soon be upgraded from a 100-bed capacity hospital into a much bigger 200-bed capacity Davao Oriental Medical Center.
Gov. Malanyaon’s dogged determination to prioritize health care program despite scarce government resources has paid off. The Department of Health in Manila has adjudged Davao Oriental as winner in the Davao Region for its annual nationwide search for Garantisadong Pambata Champs, an ward given to outstanding provinces by the Department of Health for achieving an exemplary delivery of child survival services.
“I am determined to reduce the rate of malnutrition in the province. We used to be number one in malnutrition, and it is shameful. But now, congratulations to our mayors for their strong commitment to fight against malnutrition. We give special attention to this concern by creating a special unit which is focused on nutrition concern. We have launched the Bright Child Program which institutionalizes the convergence of services by all agencies and LGUs including barangays involved in the delivery of health and nutrition services. Before, we used to have a 16 percent malnutrition rate. After assuming office in 2007, we were able to reduce it to 9 percent,” says Gov. Malanyaon.
PAGKAIN AT KITA
The provincial government’s flagship program Pagkain at Kita and another ambitious program called, Rural Entrepreneurship Advocacy for Change or REACH, has transformed the communities of farmers and fishermen here into an economically vibrant villages. Farmers and fisherfolks have seized the rare opportunity to get a comprehensive economic assistance from the provincial government that greatly help them to cope with the devastating effects of the global recession.
The flagship program’s land diversification strategy which saw vast tracts of coconut plantations in eleven municipalities of the province being inter-cropped with cash crops like white corn, banana and vegetables has greatly spurred the local economy as it boosted the locals’ income. Davao Oriental is the country’s largest producer of coconut, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority.
Numerous farmers have also benefited from the barangay goat enterprise development project, rice seeds subsidy and fertilizer discount programs of the provincial government. Moreover, Pagkain at Kita’s freshwater fish program has significantly boosted the production of Tilapia and Bangus in the province and at the same time boosted production of ducks being integrated in the program. This dual production type of farming system guarantees increased income among the local farmers. Lowly fishermen especially the fisherfolks cooperatives have also secured both interest-free loans and grants from the provincial government. Seaweeds farms being operated by lowly fishermen have now also sprouted among coastal communities here. These are just some of the results of the provincial government’s intensified campaign to transform the mindset of farmers and fishermen into a business-minded people.
“For agri-based livelihood and enterprise projects to attain higher degree of sustainability and success, the beneficiaries should possess the abilities and they should have a correct entrepreneurial mindsets and attitudes,” says Gov. Malanyaon.
“Through the REACH program, with a theme: ‘Go Reach, Grow Rich!’, we will be able to ultimately replace the culture of dependency with entrepreneurship culture wherein people will see and tap the extensive opportunities offered by the province’s abundant natural resources and in the process, propel the growth of the provincial economy,” says Gov. Malanyaon.
“The total potential land area for new investments in agricultural production like rice and corn, mango, banana, coconut, cassava, rubber, oil palm, coffee, abaca and livestock, among others, exceeds 100,000 hectares. This translates to at least 100,000 new jobs. And to put this in perspective, compare this number with the population of the province which is around 500,000 people, this means that one person in five will get a new job. And we are just talking about agriculture. We have not yet taken into consideration the number of jobs from fisheries, given that we have 448-kilometer coastline which is the longest in the region, or from tourism, given that we have more than seventy potential tourist attractions, or from forestry, given that we have the largest production forest in the region. The potentials are, to say the least, mind-blowing. But to turn these potentials into a reality is to the same extent thought-provoking,” says Gov. Malanyaon.
TRANSFORMING LANDSCAPE, MINDSCAPE THROUGH MILLION TREES
June 22, 2009 will always be remembered by the people of Davao Oriental as the first “Feast of Trees” day when all residents from all walks of life woke up so early in the morning to line up in the streets to stage the Philippines’ largest tree planting event so far. The synchronized multi-sectoral tree-planting activity was an awesome feat inspired by the province’s staunch environment advocate chief executive, Gov. Corazon Malanyaon.
The governor’s The Million Trees Movement has captured the hearts and minds of her constituents as they enthusiastically lined up along the 266-kilometer long national highway connecting all of the province’s eleven municipalities to simultaneously plant forest and fruit trees in a bid to “regreen the entire province.”
“The participation of a big number of our people clearly indicates the unifying attribute of the Million Trees Movement, transcending religions, political leanings, race, age, gender, social and economic status in life. It is my desire that the people of Davao Oriental do not only pay a keen interest in the cause of environment protection but also in the translation of this cause into action by planting more and more trees. In this way, we will be making a gesture to the world in demonstrating our global concern and commitment and at the same time making our little but significant contribution to the cause,” says Gov. Malanyaon.
“This will send a very strong message to everyone that caring and protecting the nature is and should be everybody’s concern and responsibility because what is at stake is our life and the survival of humanity. This will send a very strong message to everyone that under the present leadership in the province, protecting the environment from senseless destruction is our topmost concern. This shows our unshakeable resolve and unswerving commitment to protecting at all cost our environment,” says Gov. Malanyaon who declared June 22 of every year as the tree-planting day for the province.
MOUNT HAMIGUITAN: MINDANAO’S FIRST WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Virtually nobody knows here where Davao Oriental’s crown jewel is until Gov. Malanyaon was installed into office. But even she herself has admitted to have no knowledge about what Mount Hamiguitan is all about until her attention was called by foreign experts into it during one of her visits abroad.
Upon discovering the province’s crown jewel, Gov. Malanyaon has rallied her people to protect and preserve Mount Hamiguitan, whose vast presence of a very rare pygmy forest drew the attention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO. The UNESCO world heritage list reflects the wealth and diversity of the earth’s cultural and natural heritage. At least five wonderful sites in the Philippines have already been put in the world heritage list since 1993.
The visionay Gov. Malanyaon wants Mount Hamiguitan to be declared a world heritage site and the UNESCO, through its ambassador Preciosa Soliven, says it will soon become one. Soliven says the “full commitment” of Gov. Malanyaon and the local officials to protect Mount Hamiguitan has inspired them to “speed up” the declaration of Mount Hamiguitan as a world heritage site. She says that Mount Hamiguitan will be Mindanao’s first world heritage site. Gov. Malanyaon has declared the mountain as a “flagship tourist destination” of Davao Oriental, replacing Pusan Point where the Philippines’ earliest sunrise is. Davao Oriental has long been known as the “sunrise capital” of the Philippines.