PARTNERSHIP. Guiuan Mayor Sheen Gonzales (left) and PMPI National Coordinator Yoly Esguerra (center) listen to Project Pagbangon consultant Francis dela Cruz of Green Action Collective during the consultation and updating held at the MDRRM Office in Guiuan, Eastern Samar on October 27. (Photo: Charlie Saceda, Pecojon)
Guiuan mayor reaffirms support to PMPI rehab project
To keep all the partners up-to-date on every aspect of Project Pagbangon, a consultation meeting was held at the Municipal Office of Guiuan, where the town mayor expressed his support and confidence on the project.
The Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI) and the partner organizations shared with Mayor Christopher Sheen Gonzales the project’s report card since day one of its implementation.
The group discussed the developments including several roadblocks to specific project components encountered along the way.
PMPI National Coordinator Yoly Esguerra, Project Pagbangon officers and staff, and the partners also consulted with the municipal leaders the ways forward for the components facing a slight curb in implementation. These include the target evacuation center in barangay Buenavista in Manicani Island, the resettlement area in the island of Homonhon, and the present radio communication system that involves chairpersons in island barangays, and the project’s community-based radio station.
Mayor Gonzales voiced out his belief on the genuineness of support PMPI gives to the islands. He pledged to cover the fuel costs for the delivery of housing materials from Tacloban and Cebu, which is part of the shelter component of the project led by Tao Pilipinas.
The meeting was held at the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), where one Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member and representatives of Peace & Conflict Journalism Network (Pecojon), Integrative Medicine for Alternative Health Care (INAM Philippines), Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya (SIKAT), Medical Action Group (MAG), TAO-Pilipinas, and Green Action Collective were also present.
Project Pagbangon is the ongoing post-disaster initiative of PMPI, which initially started as a relief effort to support partner communities of member organizations in Panay and Eastern Samar. The components of the project in Guiuan include coastal resource management, shelter and evacuation center, water, renewable energy, health, communication, and land resource & sustainable agriculture.
