Each one of us has its own interpretation and understanding of the word “success”.

For some, finishing a certain task is a success, while others giving relief to their long time woes is also a success.

In Barangay Bagunanay, villagers have simple interpretation of the word success- to be able to put up a concrete path walk in their community.

Bagunanay is a remote village in the town of Tubungan, Iloilo. For more than a decade, life was very difficult for residents because of the lack of road access to the nearest Barangay Bikel to transport their products to the town’s market.

The cliff on one side of the pathway and tall grasses growing haphazardly along the rocks makes the daily journey from Bagunanay to Bikel a dangerous one.

The farmers have also to pay P50.00 per sack of bananas, sweet potatoes and vegetables to haulers to bring their produce to Barangay Bikel.

On the other hand, students have to walk more than an hour from Bagunanay to Bikel to go to school.

In Barangay Bikel, public utility jeepneys and habal-habal are waiting to bring not only the products to the town proper but also the students.

During market days, farmers have to start walking at 2 a.m. to reach Barangay Bikel to ensure that their products reached the market in good condition to command a good price.

The unpaved trail is even more difficult during rainy season. It is muddy and steep. People have to care extra precautions to ensure they are safe and sound while traversing the narrow trail.

The muddy road is not only the concern of the farmers but also the students who have to walk through. At times, students slipped through the jagged rocks and soiled their uniform in mud. Others would just bring their uniforms and shoes and change it in school.

Residents were given hope when Kalahi-CIDSS was implemented in Tubungan. They have prioritized the construction of a 1.4 kilometres path walk from Barangay Bagunanay to Barangay Bikel for funding. The project was identified during their barangay assembly.

The implementation was still a challenge. Construction materials could only be hauled until Barangay Bikel because of the narrow trail linking the two barangays.  It is so narrow that not even a carabao could pass.

Gamay-gamay ang amon nga aragyan, daw isa lang ka ruler kasangkadan na. Te, kon bug-at ang amon dara, tama gid kabudlay (Our trail is very narrow. Its width is just like the width of a ruler. It is very difficult especially if we have stuff), said Barangay Kagawad Segundina Tambalo.

With strong determination to realize the project, residents helped in whatever ways they could. Men and women, even children helped by carrying the stones, sacks of cement and other construction materials needed for the path walk.

Barangay Treasurer Teresa Talipan recalled how men and women and even children volunteered in clearing the site of path walk.

“Sang primero ga clearing pa lang sang site, tingob gid kami tanan nga pumuluyo, nag binuligay kami tanan hasta sang pagpasulod sang materials. Nami gid kay nag-ugyon kami tanan. Gusto gid namon maobra dya nga project (All the residents helped starting from the clearing of the site until the moving in of construction materials. It is good that people were united. We really want to implement the project).”

The bayanihan system exudes by residents to address the decades long absence of access in the barangay enabled the completion of the path walk.

Teresita Padin, 67, resident of Brgy. Bagunanay, said it is now easier for her to go to the town proper because of the path walk. She need not walk for hours since there are already available habal-habal to transport passengers and goods to the town.

While, students can now easily reach their school through a habal-habal. Though, there are others who still opted to walk. The travel time was reduced from one-hour to 40 minutes.

Transport of goods to and from the market also became easier. Farmers need not to hire haulers, instead they just hire motorcycles. This reduced the travel time to transport their produce to the market.

The path walk is not only beneficial to the residents of Bagunanay alone. Residents from Barangay Bantayanan chose to pass Barangay Bagunanay instead of Brgy. Victoria because of the proximity to them.

This is how Bagunanay residents define success, the completion of their path walk. It might just be a simple path walk for non-residents but for them is a reminder of their struggles and hardships and victory. #