The Community Context Analysis was among the preliminary undertakings of the Convenio 07-CO-1-031, a Sustainable and Integrated Area Development (SIAD) intervention funded by Agencia Espanola Cooperación Internacíonal para el Desarollo (AECID), an international aid agency of the Spanish Government, through Fundacion Intered, a Spanish Non-Government Organization.  The undertaking led to the formulation of Barangay Dughan Profile, which involved a rigorous and an effort-sweating endeavor. 

The preparation of the Barangay Profile involved standard research tools and techniques such as the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), the Focus Group Discussions (FGD) on Gender Gap Study (GGS) and Households Survey, the gathering of secondary data from the Barangay and Municipal Records.  My series of social interactions, immersions and consultations for the first six (6) months into the community also afforded me a clearer perspective of the present conditions of the community.

This Profile depicts the socio-economic, political, cultural, bio-physical and environmental aspects of Dughan community. The profile was validated with the 58 key stakeholders namely:  Dughan Multi-Sectoral Association (DMSA) with 43 members, MLGOO Joseph Purgatorio, MARO Rufino Quebradero, MA Lirio Campos, MSWDO Luz Lampara, MHO Dr. Joel Pama, MD, VAWC PO3 Maricor Rivas, GAD Marilou Godito, MENRO Samuel Ortega, Dep Ed DES TIC Albina Cabilin and 8 BLGUs headed by Brgy. Chairman Alex Maceda.  

Furthermore, all Stakeholders were attuned to listening to the presentation facilitated by the CDF of Dughan and assisted by the Project Coordinator (PC) Glenn S. Bais.  When the presentation was through, open forum followed facilitated by the Project Coordinator.  He asked the group particularly the representatives from the Government Line Agencies to comment or make reactions to what has been presented.  Notably, the MARO reacted on the presented data which stated that significant portion of the land in Dughan is owned only by the few landlords and that the number of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) are not clear.  MARO said 140 hectares of land were distributed to 70 ARBs through awarding of the Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs).  The issue ended when it was agreed to validate the data and figures presented by MARO.  During the validation, it was revealed that there are CLOAs that were not yet distributed.  (Few weeks later after the validation, with the intervention of the Convenio 07-CO-1-031, the issuance of the CLOAs to more than 30 ARBs was fast tracked.)

The Day Care issue gained a notable discussion especially when Ms. Marianita Janiola, Day Care Teacher raised the question directed to the Brgy. Chairman since the said center had already been closed for a number of years.  The said Chairman was caught unaware especially when the MSWDO supported Janiola and clearly stated that there is a barangay budget for Day Care center.  The discussion lead to reopening of the Day Care center on August 3, 2009, another significant accomplishment of the Convenio 07-CO-1-031.

Dr.  Joel  Pama, MD committed to support the undertakings of the said Project on the health aspect, while the DILG promised to assist the project in trainings as resource persons.  Other government line agencies committed too as long as programs and projects are related to their fields.

In closing, PC Glenn S. Bais thanked everyone for their presence and participation and elaborated on what the project can do and where the Stakeholders can enter as partners in the avenue of development (Article written by: Noel V. Viernes, CDF-Convenio 07-CO-1-031 and edited by: Glenn S. Bais, Project Coordinator).