Yesterday I had the distinct privilege of sharing the joy and relief of our beneficiaries at Bayanihan Village Phase I. They were, as you know, victims of Typhoon Sendong and now the recipients of completed housing units in a new community at Barangay Makapaya, Camaman-An, Cagayan De Oro City.
There will be similar relocation communities in CDO as well as in Iligan City, the two places most devastated by Sendong. And it is nothing short of a miracle that I was there at all witnessing our people’s happy faces, the visible return of hope to their lives.
And what I witness yesterday will be repeated as we complete more relocation communities. So let me quickly say our thank you’s. Thank you Berjaya. Thank you, San Miguel Group of Companies, Pilipinas Shell, Banco De Oro, and SM Malls for responding quickly and generously to the shelter needs of the Sendong victims in CDO and Iligan. And thank you, Gawad Kalinga.
You all know it is never enough to say thank you but come and share our joy and fulfillment at being able to help, but share too the joy and hope of those we have helped.
As the families move into their homes in safe, beautiful and productive GK communities, we celebrate the "bayanihan" spirit that transforms tragedies into opportunities. Yes, we can be our brothers’ keeper and yes, we can partner with each other in building our nation—whether in rebuilding from the ruins of disaster or simply continuing to build housing towards a better future.
It is my great hope that we continue to work this way. That more partnerships of this kind will emerge so that more Filipino families not only can survive the vicissitudes of nature but thrive and simply live better day to day, from and inside their own homes.
As chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, or HUDCC, my vision is to provide not just houses but homes, not just relocation sites and neighborhoods but communities.
My friends, indulge me a bit to dream. Allow me to share a glimpse of my vision. When I think of houses, I think of green shelters nestled in sustainable communities. When I think of shelter I think of home. Homes that are resilient to the natural elements, providing a safe haven in times of typhoons and natural calamities.
I think of homes that are green in composition and design. And I think of communities that can show us what sustainable means—that they can continue to thrive and nurture the families that live in them, while preserving the green around them, while not working against the life around them.
This is the kind of life and growth that does not taint the water or erode the mountainside. This is the kind of life that promotes not just individual or selfish growth but the equitable burgeoning of life shared by all—man, beast, leaf, flower.
If we are to draw a lesson from our experience with Typhoon Sendong and other calamities, it is the realization that climate change and sustainable development are intertwined.
Climate change and sustainable development must be addressed at the level of policy, and policy should be executed with urgency and efficiency, harnessing the resources of both the public and the private sectors. To suspend or delay the enactment and implementation of such a policy would mean again exposing vulnerable sectors of our society to the dangers and the risks, even a repeat of suffering.
The other lesson, which we cannot choose to ignore or repeat is that, government cannot do it alone. Constructing one house needs a team of skilled workers and leaders. Community building needs more than the hearts and minds of one team. We have seen how our solidarity, how the meaningful partnerships we have established, helped us in achieving big and small victories.
The third lesson is that we must institutionalize this kind of partnership, this coming together of hearts and minds from the various sectors of housing. That’s why I have been putting forward the idea of a Department of Housing.
We must consolidate the housing program of our country and integrate all its resources. Gawad Kalinga is foremost in my mind as a major partner in community development. For now, GK can expect the National Housing Authority or NHA to help you in engineering plans and site development plan of future GK communities. Wherever possible, NHA can help in the land development as well. The possibilities for collaboration are endless when the spirit driving this campaign is the bayanihan.
And so we come full circle to that value that we mentioned as being at the core of all our partnerships. And that is the one Filipino value that has sustained us ever since we thought of ourselves as Filipinos. Bayanihan.
It is as simple as: everyone gives help when someone needs it. But everyone gives help not just because one may also need it in the future. It is strength in numbers, yes, because bayanihan thrives in numbers. But they only give help because they can and they have something to give, without hope of getting something in return.
Bayanihan is also the native concept of sustainability. We thrive individually and collectively because we work together and not against each other. And not against nature that surrounds and sustains us. We thrive because we share and not work against life—man, beast, leaf, or flower.
Bayanihan is partnerships. Bayanihan is sustainable communities.
Sa bayanihan walang naiiwan! Sa bayanihan lahat nabibiyayaan!
Maraming salamat! Mabuhay tayong lahat!