Urban poor for Mabilog
Most of the urban poor will vote for Vice-Mayor Jed Mabilog for mayor of Iloilo City on May 10, 2010,” according to Wilfredo Ngipin, vice-president of the Bubong Ilonggo, a federation of 26 community associations with thousands of individual members in the City Proper, La Paz, Jaro, Molo, Arevalo and Mandurriao. “This is because we feel his sincerity to improve our lives,” he told this newspaper yesterday.
As president of one of the federation members, the Kaayuhan Association of La Paz, Ngipin believes that Mabilog’s benevolence transcends politics because, long before joining public life as councilor in 2004, Mabilog had taken initiatives for the poor through the HALIGI Foundation. Founded by Mabilog in 2003, the foundation has sponsored scholarships for poor but deserving students and has financed many livelihood projects for the poor.
Bubong Ilonggo, with Henry Tameña as president, signed a covenant with Mabilog last April 17, pledging its active support for him.
The covenant binds Mabilog – in the event he is elected mayor – to strengthen the Local Housing Board and to fill the needs of the expanding number of poor urban dwellers who can hardly make both ends meet; and to deliver basic services like potable water and drainage, among others.
The housing board would represent the urban poor in dealing with the Community Mortgage Program (CMT) of the national government, aimed at area upgrading and in-city resettlement, so that wage earners would live within or near their places of work.
The community associations under Bubong Ilonggo enjoy the support of three non-government organizations: the Iloilo Caucus of Development NGOs, the Iloilo People’s Habitat Foundation and the Iloilo United People’s Development Cooperative.
The multi-purpose cooperative, incidentally chaired by Ngipin, is open for membership by association members. It offers housing loans and emergency loans.
Ngipin told this newspaper yesterday, “I am not surprised why the poor are with Jed Mabilog. The man has already proven his mettle in improving our lives.”
In cooperation with the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), Mabilog’s HALIGI Foundation has trained the unemployed for livelihood skills, including computer literacy, reflexology and food preservation, among others,
As vice-mayor, Mabilog has organized regular activities aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and development among the poor. The annual Job Fair every Labor Day (May 1) at SM City, for instance, affords job seekers the opportunity to seek local and foreign employments. Representatives of more or less 60 local and foreign employers come to Iloilo for the fair.
Knowing that the poor dream of waking up rich one day, the vice-mayor encourages them to engage in small business, say in sari-sari store operation. Every other year, he organizes the Sari-Sari Store Owners Convention to provide sari-sari store entrepreneurs linkages with potential markets and suppliers; to provide opportunities to micro-scale businesses in the barangay level; and to provide them with technical skills for growth. Here, the store owners rub elbows with product dealers and suppliers for terms and conditions that lead to profitable return on investment.
The vice-mayor has also enabled the urban poor to avail themselves of collateral-free livelihood loans from Taytay sa Kauswagan, in effect saving them from the clutches of usurious “Bombay” lenders. Scores of these used-to-be-poor borrowers are already stable entrepreneurs.
Among the community and home owners’ associations under Bubong Ilonggo are the Paghiliugyon Sang Pumuloyo Home Owners Association of Barangay Jereos, La Paz; Pagbuyloganay HOA, La Paz; Camp Delgado Villagers Association; Pali HOA, Mandurriao; Bayanihan, Jaro; Paghiliusa HOA, La Paz; Punong HOA, Molo; Bitoon HOA, Jaro; People’s Victory, Molo; Paghiliusa, La Paz; M. H. del Pilar Zone 1 HOA, Mandurriao; Kaayuhan Associaation, La Paz; Rosario Village HOA, Molo; Kalayaan Association, Mandurriao; Oñate Neighborhood; Gustilo HOA, La Paz; Pacificville HOA, Calumpang; Campo Suerte Association, Arevalo; and Happynest HOA, Mandurriao.
