Barangays lead good governance
Two barangay-based projects have recently demonstrated that the government can address flood-control issues affecting the community without incurring billions in bloated contracts that are lost to corruption.
The two projects—the rehabilitation of Tripa de Gallina in Barangay San Isidro, Makati City, and the revitalization of the Macabalo River in Barangay Dap-Dap, Legazpi City—were recently awarded in this year’s Galing Pook Awards, which recognize innovative, effective, and people-centered programs by local government units (LGUs).
Their recognition comes at a time when the government is caught in the middle of a multibillion-peso public infrastructure corruption scandal, and shows that it is possible to achieve results through consistent leadership, commitment, and transparency.
The cleanup of Estero de Tripa de Gallina (which literally means “chicken intestines” in Spanish), launched in 2021, was funded by the World Bank and part of the Metro Manila Development Authority’s cleanup drive. The winding “estero” or waterway has been clogged with trash for decades, contributing to the severe flooding in Metro Manila, especially during monsoon season. The project has addressed several issues at once: improper waste disposal, clogged waterways, illegal settlements, severe flooding, and public health threatened by diseases such as dengue, leptospirosis, and other waterborne illnesses.
Basic unit of government
Today, the waterway has a linear park in place featuring paved and landscaped easement, public toilet, playground, greenhouse, and vegetable beds, among others, serving as a model for similar developments in the future. The project, its proponents said, has resulted in zero flooding for two consecutive years.
The revitalization of the Macabalo River, on the other hand, was launched in 2023 and aims to address chronic pollution and flooding. The project is not a one-off but a continuing effort that has tapped the private sector, local “eco-warriors,” and community volunteers to conduct regular cleanup drives to remove solid waste from the river. Their initiatives include garbage net traps and desiltation to improve the water flow, as well as educating the surrounding community on proper waste disposal. The long-term vision is to transform the area into an ecotourism site with a riverside esplanade, similar to the Iloilo Esplanade, another Galing Pook awardee in 2018.
“This kind of recognition also shows that honest and orderly governance is not only in the hands of the national government—it begins with the basic unit of government, the barangay,” President Marcos said in Filipino in his speech this week, recognizing the awardees.
‘Clear evidence’
“Because when government processes are clear, the trust of our people grows. When there is accountability, public respect increases. And whenever we put the welfare of the people first, the progress of our nation follows,” he added.
The President pointed out that the awardees were “clear evidence” that effective governance grows from the ground up, and encouraged other LGUs and even national agencies to replicate the projects and innovations in other areas across the country.
“Service closest to the people begins in the barangay,” he said, noting how communities can drive progress even under constraints.
These stories of successful projects at the barangay level also provide hope in this country, where even the lowly government employee is suspected of participating in systemic corruption.
The barangay, being the smallest political unit of local government, serves as a training ground for future leaders. Many of the town, city, and provincial leaders began their political careers either in the Sangguniang Kabataan or the barangay. That barangay-led initiatives like these two examples can transform communities shows that projects need not be overly ambitious or extravagant to have an impact.
Visionary leaders
They don’t even have to be preceded by huge announcements, usually littered with politicians’ names and faces, to succeed. In fact, most of those grandiose projects do not take off, given their political nature, and are promptly discontinued when a new leadership takes over. And as the ongoing probe into anomalous flood control and infrastructure projects unraveled, they are also riddled with graft and corruption.
The Tripa de Gallina and Macabalo River projects have shown that good governance is not impossible with the involvement of the immediate community. But it takes visionary leaders whose hearts are rooted in public service to pull them off—not ambitious politicians whose major consideration is how such undertakings will further propel them into higher positions or bigger commissions.
Other barangays, which serve as the heart and pulse of public service, should find inspiration or models in San Isidro and Dap-Dap. Imagine how much empowerment and improvement that could bring to the grassroots and the lives of countless Filipinos.
