A farmer from Patnongon, Antique was named as Best Community Volunteer for Improved Local Governance during the 3rd National Bayani Ka! Award of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Kalahi-CIDSS community volunteer Edwin Pacheco received the award from Kalahi-CIDSS National Program Manager Alex Glova, Ramon Falcon of NEDA and Carmen Reyes-Zubiaga of the National Council on Disability Affairs.
DSWD Assistant Regional Director for Operations Delia Bagolcol, Kalahi-CIDSS Deputy Regional Program Manager Belen Gebusion and Regional Program Coordinator Asuncion Santiago joined Pacheco in the recent Bayani Ka! awarding rites held at Sequioa Hotel, Quezon City.
Pacheco received a similar award from DSWD Regional Director for Western Visayas Rebecca Geamala during the regional Bayani Ka! Awards in 2016.
The “BayanI Ka!” awards is a yearly undertaking of Kalahi-CIDSS Regional Project Management Office and National Project Management Office intended to acknowledge the hard work being put by the local, everyday heroes who put their own communities (“bayan”) before their own selves (“I”).
Pacheco is one of the new generations of champions who had helped and will continue to rally around with Kalahi-CIDSS in its advocacy of making community-driven development (CDD) a reality.
Pacheco is the Barangay Sub-Committee Chairperson in Barangay Villa Salomon, Patnongon and same time PTA president of Villa Salomon Elementary School. On Sundays, he serves as teacher to the young children.
He took active steps in making an impact in his community. Through his leadership, his barangay was able to implement three classrooms for their elementary school and consistently conducting monthly ‘dagyaw’ to maintain the subprojects.
In the midst of struggle, uncertainty and the dying zest of people around him, Pacheco’s inestimable perseverance, charity and passion for community service makes him emerged to be of incomparable inspiration.
They live in a house which others may call “kamalig” but for him, it is a home already. Whenever there are chances, Pacheco works as carpenter earning P 250 a day, hoping to feed his family and have ample funds to send his three children to school.
Despite his meager income, Pacheco chose to serve his fellowmen through volunteering even at the expense of a compromised time and chances to earn an income.
For him, quitting is never an option worthy to be entertained. Though he may have less in life, he never hesitated to give more for others, for the community.
Pacheco is a forerunner and the spur of “bayanihan” undertakings. He was able to organize number of “dagyaw” or bayanihan activities in the community to improve access for easy delivery of construction materials and construction of a provisional storeroom for materials during the sub-project implementation.
Through his commitment, coupled with persistence, courage, integrity and his genuine concern to his community, he was able to unite the residents and stakeholders, evident though the conduct of “dagyaw” or bayanihan.
Moreover, he was able to imbibe, firmly integrate and promote the principles of Kalahi-CIDSS which makes the community, aside from tangible improvement, embrace change and progress in behaviors as well as perceptions towards common welfare. (Kalahi-CIDSS/DSWD)
