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In my experience dealing with the age-old problem of poverty
at the government agency called National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), I
learned a lot of things. One of which is that poverty is a complex thing to
deal with primarily because the causes are multifactorial.
Little did I know that my stint at NAPC would one day be
useful in my work since 2017 as the Chairperson of the Bayambang Poverty
Reduction Action Team (BPRAT), created in a stroke of genius, as we all know,
by then Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao after declaring his Rebolusyon Laban sa
Kahirapan. It was to be an all-out war against poverty in our municipality,
which I think was bold, brash, daring, and totally unprecedented in the annals
of Bayambang or maybe anywhere else.
It was, of course, overwhelming to receive the marching
orders to head the BPRAT, but I took it as a challenge, convinced that it was a
fight that was worth taking. Since I was pregnant with my daughter at the time I
accepted the invitation, I considered the bible of the Revolution, the “Bayambang
Poverty Reduction Action Plan 2018-2028,” as my ‘baby’ as well.
It has been seven years since, and many things have happened
in between. In implementing the BPRP, my team and the rest of the participants
from the local government and the basic social sectors have encountered a lot
of challenges through the many innovative projects we have collaboratively carried
out. There were those that succeeded, and there were those that did not fare
well as we had hoped. After all, nothing worth having comes easy.
But the most important thing is we forged ahead, and we
tried and tested our ideas despite the roadblocks ahead, instead of wondering
at the what-could-have-beens.
Seven years hence, we are not about to give up the fight,
since the successes we’ve had are enough to invigorate us to persevere in
running up to the finish line. In our seventh year, we are also highly
encouraged by the kind of feedback we have received from our participants in
the myriad activities we’ve had. We could say that, just as I have eventually
given birth to my baby and nurturing her to grow into a wonderful daughter, the
other ‘child’ I dared giving birth to has now grown, showing significant improvements
in all facets of growth in ways we have never imagined.
It is no secret how, due to circumstances beyond my control,
I had to depart for Australia in the year 2019(?) together with my husband and
daughter and decide to settle there, thinking I had left everything behind. But
as unpredictable fate would have it, I found myself being called back home once
again in 2022 to serve once again as administrator and, to my surprise, to resume my role
as BPRAT Chairperson. I guess I had to embrace the challenge all over again,
taking it in faith that this is indeed my mission.
As long as there is a family wishing to rise up from below
the poverty line, a student dreaming of finishing his or her dream course, a
child in need of proper sustenance and nutrition, a senior citizen longing for
love and care, a PWD yearning for compassionate treatment, and so on, I believe
that my mission, our mission, to end poverty in our town continues. But I join
everyone in hoping for the best outcome: that is to defeat the ‘enemy’ once and
for all within the last three remaining years.
A tall order, I know, but what is the Revolution Against
Poverty if not a most audacious idea to begin with? With the Revolution viewed
this way, any positive outcome at all may thus be considered a miracle, and the
boldness with which we have implemented the BPRP is a miracle story in itself.
I therefore believe that I and the rest of you, my fellow
Bayambangueños, have found ourselves in a noble enterprise. I am certain that
in the end, we would be one in saying, “The Revolution was all worth it.” Let’s
claim it this early, as an act of faith.
May God rain down his blessings upon our grand project owing
to the sheer depth of our conviction, despite our puny abilities and limited resources,
and the purity of our intentions.
ATTY. RODELYNN RAJINI SAGARINO VIDAD
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