Comval is a-changin’

BANGKOK – A fine example of good governance is being demonstrated by Compostela Valley Gov. Jose Caballeros who attending an international training seminar on building gender-responsive and sustainable towns and cities in this city.

The training, sponsored by the Asian Women’s Network on Gender and Development (AWNGAD) in cooperation with Ugnayan ng Kababaihan sa Pulitika (Philippine Women’s Networks in Politics and Governance), gathers some 60 representatives of government agencies and NGOs from the Philippines to try out a new initiative to developing partnerships with national and international organizations. The training held in Thailand is the first leg of a journey to such partnership in sustainable development. The next training, involving business councils will be held in Malaysia and Singapore.

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Governor Caballero’s administration of Compostela Valley, or Comval, as it is getting to be known in Mindanao is gender-sensitive and hinged on a sustainable agricultural development program.

Quickly noticed in Comval is the involvement of women in economic activities. They raise vegetables, chicken and pigs, an occasional cow, and tilapia and hito in small ponds in their yards. Thus, the women are meeting the nutritional needs of their families as well as selling surpluses for additional income.

The men – most of them farmers – on the other hand, are given support by the local government in terms of loans without interest, free seeds and training on modern agriculture practices. As a result, Gov. Caballero says, there is a noticeable improvement in the lives of his constituents.

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Joe, a lawyer and law professor at the University of Mindanao in Davao City, had noticed for a long time how much help farmers and fishermen needed to lift themselves from poverty. When he got elected as governor of the newly-farmed province of Compostela Valley (which is actually one-half of the province of Davao del Norte in 1998), he knew how he could help them.

The training, inputs and interest-free loans (which he said liberate the poor from usurious money-lenders) did help the menfolk. Giving the women the opportunity to raise hogs and fish gave them more income as well as a healthy sense of being active participants in the development of their new province.

To sustain the livelihood and agricultural activities of the townsfolk, Jose set aside 97 hectares of land in Barangay Pasian in the Municipality of Moncayo where vegetables and fruits are grown.

Early in his first term (he is now into his second term as governor), Joe had solar dryers built in 200 barangays which increased the efficiency of corn and rice-drying by farmers nearly 100 percent. With efficient productivity, Joe sees his province becoming self-sufficient, and "the fruit basket" of Mindanao as a result of more than 2000 fruit-trees being grown.

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"I had seen early that if women are involved in livelihood activities they become self-confident and family squabbles, which are often caused by lack of income, are avoided." So aside from the backyard industries that are thriving, there are training programs in for manicure, pedicure, dressmaking, craft-making, plumbing and welding. After graduation, the women are given sewing and manicure sets, and they can sew dresses using the sewing machines placed at the women’s center. Women in Comval are indeed, empowered.

The success of his development programs Joe credits to the commitment of his wife, and members of the women’s council. Altogether there are 50,000 card-bearing council members who are planting trees on the highways, and cleaning and greening the eight municipalities’ streets.

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Jose says it’s a good thing he was elected governor of a new province (pop. 600,000) – as that means starting out with a clean slates. A comprehensive development plan allocates areas for industrial and agricultural zones and he says, what is most inspiring is that the people are actually enthusiastic about making the province an ideal place, despite a small budget of P400-million.

Joe says investors can be attracted to locate in Comval because of the presence of such multinational agricultural giants in the province such as Dole, Philippines, Marsman-Drysdale, Dizon Farms and Standphil. He envisions a successful eco-tourism industry because of the preponderace of waterfalls and fine beaches.

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When Joe started out in 1998, there was no provincial capital. His residence in Nabunturan, was it: the dining table served as conference table, and every nook and corner was used as office space by the staff and for entertaining visitors. It is said that visitors feel welcome at Joe’s home – they even put their arms around him when whispering something in his ear. Joe is 52, and very friendly.

Now there stands a spanking-new capitolyo at the cost of P40 million. Up for bidding is an athletic-cultural astrodome.

Things are looking up for Joe, and Comval, the land of waterfalls and future "fruit basket" of the land of promise.