Matnog Bayview from a hill at Barangay Sinibaran, Sorsogon, Philippines | Photo by Ramon Garra via Wikimedia Commons
Part XIV of the “Back-to-Basics Governance” Series
In 1996, then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote a best-selling book, It Takes a Village. It tells the heartwarming and universal story of a diverse community coming together to make a difference. Yes, it takes many people to work together to complete even a simple village project.
This columnist remembered Mrs. Clinton’s book as he brainstormed how to start a pilot project for the “Medical Moonshot.” Yes, Mrs. Clinton was elected later as a member of the U.S. Senate representing New York. She became a Secretary of State during President Obama’s term and the first woman candidate for the presidency of a major party in the 2016 election.
Sorsogon is a rustic but poor province of the Philippines. It is the 19th-poorest province of the country out of 81 provinces. It has many villages, some in the province’s mountainous areas. The desolate villages are not connected to the local electricity grid and lack potable water. Often, they do not have an elementary school or even a semblance of a first-aid clinic.
Sorsogon Province is said to be the “brownout capital of the region, if not of the country.” It also has an erratic but expensive Wifi service provided by telecommunications firms located 600 kilometers away in Metropolitan Manila, the country’s hub for trade, commerce, and industry. But then, even the big towns and its capital city of Sorsogon frequently experience brownouts.
Villages are called barrios in the Sorsoganon dialect and barangays by Philippine government units. The dream of turning them into modern villages with potable water, electricity, internet access, and miniature socioeconomic zones almost started. Joseph Lai, an American electrical engineer of Taiwanese descent, invited this journalist to participate in his firm, UltraTek, which would have a booth at the 2015 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada. UltraTek will showcase the Banaue Rice Terraces Project for Sorsogon Province.
“Hopefully, by 2030 when Phase One of the “Medical Moonshot” has been completed, Sorsogon will have bright streets, houses, and more innovative infrastructures in all the province’s 541 villages.”
A press release published by a few Filipino-American websites said: “UltraTek will display at its booth at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show a Philippine Tourism poster of the famed Banaue Rice Terraces, which is more than a millennium-old version of ‘vertical farming’ by ancient Filipinos. UltraTek is a technology research and product development company based in Southern California.
“Engr. Joseph Lai is negotiating with the Sorsogon rice-terraces proponent Bobby M. Reyes about a joint venture to construct modern version of the Banaue Rice Terraces. The modern agricultural terraces will be equipped with electronic gadgets, including solar panels, a mini-wind farm and ‘micro-hydro’ paddle wheels to recycle water, produce electricity for the pumps and nearby houses of farmers. The project can also be the site for cellphone towers and a reinforced modern school building that will serve as a sanctuary for students, their teachers and families during a calamity such as typhoons that periodically hit the Philippines. Mr. Reyes calls the sanctuary, the ‘Schanctuary,’ that can survive disasters and which will be equipped with electronic equipment and relief supplies. Malaysian-based Sorsoganon Architect Carlos Lagunilla drafted the designs of the ‘Schanctuary.'”
Perhaps the combined ideas of Engineer Lai, Architect Lagunilla, other American volunteers (mainly from Michigan), and this journalist can launch “Project 541” in 2024. Or even earlier.
Incidentally, two Filipino-American executives from Michigan were part of a study group for Sorsogon projects. Both are now deceased: Eduardo Navarra (a Ford Motors mechanical engineer) and Joesan Garbarda (a retired Chrysler executive). Engineer Navarra was the national chairman of a federation of Filipino-American associations.
Why call the project “541”? Because Sorsogon has 541 barrios or barangays. Hopefully, by 2030 when Phase One of the “Medical Moonshot” has been completed, Sorsogon will have bright streets, houses, and more innovative infrastructures in all the province’s 541 villages.
By this Wednesday, this columnist will discuss how to fully fund “Project 541” and other ventures in Phase One.
