People's voice is loud and clear: we must deliver!

When I and our new council assumed our role last July 2018, the people’s voice was loud and clear. We must deliver. There was no barangay development plan (BDP) to start with, however. As such, formulating the 5-year Katiku BDP was our most urgent priority.

The BDP outlines not only what and how we will deliver but also the picture of barangay development we envisage. BDP is not just a document for compliance. It’s our development Bible, the very heart of everything that we do. Kaya dibdiban talaga! Each committee must do its job to deliver for results.

Our BDP is a serious investment. Beyond the financial and administrative requirements, we seriously analyzed our real socio-economic condition. What’s constraining our sectors from making progress? What governance failures must we avoid? What project and financial management areas must we improve? How can we work better with partners that deliver tangible benefits? What existing opportunities can we seize upon to help achieve our development targets?

The barangay development council (BDC) addressed these tough questions squarely. Huge thanks to the technical expertise, local knowledge and recommendations from our barangay professionals and multisectoral representatives. After six months of grueling data crunching and rigorous planning workshops, we now have a 5-year development strategy that I am so proud of promoting to the people of Katiku and beyond.

Our BDP put together our shared ambition and priorities. For example, infrastructure and agriculture, the backbone of our rural economy, now have a clear articulation of desired results, resource needs, implementation timeframe and partners.

I would like to underscore the importance of peace and solidarity with our neighboring barangays, including our Muslim brothers and sisters. Historically, we have much to be thankful to them for our peace and continued quest for stability and progress. We’ve always been neighbors and we only desire to keep improving our harmonious relationship.

Recognizing our economic interdependence, the success of our BDP implementation also calls for continued trust building, mutual understanding, and cooperation. We will continue our outreach and conversations. Together, I firmly believe we will both share the lasting benefits of our development efforts.

As such, I invite you, I invite our neighbors to join our development pathway.

Eufrosenio Guillermo, Jr.

Katiku Barangay Captain and BDC Chair