Going into the 5th season of the expanded-Green and Wholesome Environment that Nurtures (eGWEN), the local government units (LGUs) in the province of Cebu were urged to put up a purok system, as an effective grassroots approach towards participatory governance.

“This is now about the purok- the essence of the eGWEN program. We have discovered this on our 4th year, that after all, what we are trying to achieve by the eGWEN Our Cebu program, is all contained in the purok system,” Governor Gwendolyn Garcia told the media during the 4th eGWEN Partner’s Conference held at the Cebu International Convention Center today, August 7.

The conference highlighted the purok system that originated in the municipality of San Francisco in 2004, which involved the community in governance. The event was attend by more than 2,500 participants; including, mayors, vice-mayors, barangay captains, purok leaders, eGWEN coordinators from the different cities and municipalities, representatives from various regional line agencies, private sector, media, and civil society.

In 2011, San Francisco won the United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction, highlighting the town’s purok system as the best tool to mitigate the destructive effects of natural calamities and climate change.

After winning the award, the “Sanfran Purok System” gained instant international popularity. A purok is a smaller unit than a barangay or a sitio. It is composed of several households led by a set of officers elected every year or every three years. Mayor Alfredo Arquillano, Jr, the innovator of the purok system, said that he was very glad that 19 municipalities in the province of Cebu adapted the system, “because even the UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) has adapted the system.”

“In November 2011, no less than the director of UNISDR, Helena Molin Valdes, together with leaders from Vietnam and Thailand, came to visit Sanfran, nakaingon siya: This is the ‘real role model,’” Arquillano said.

Arquillano was thankful to the eGWEN for recognizing the local government of San Francisco and its constituents’ efforts. The town has been the consistent grand champion of the eGWEN since it started in 2008.

The eGWEN program gives monetary awards to the winning LGUs, who are evaluated based on the following determinants: Cleanliness, Sanitation and Health; Greening Protection and Enhancement of the Environment; Creativity, Artistry, and Aesthetic Impact; Appreciation, Promotion and Nurturing of Culture and Heritage; and Governance Systems and Structures.

The Capitol has partnered with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) in the implementation of the program all throughout the province. The 5th season of the eGWEN was launched during the opening ceremony of the 443rd founding anniversary celebration of the Province of Cebu last August 1.

This year, Garcia gave an additional set of awards for the best puroks. Oslob Mayor Ronald Guaren said, “I believe in the purok system, the implementation of the programs is much easier because they (people) are part of the program. And whatever accomplishment we have, they are part of the success and they become proud.”

Arquillano and Guaren joined Garcia, Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, and RAFI President Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz in a press conference during the partner’s conference.

Garcia, whose term will end in 2013, believes that the program will continue even with the change of leadership, as it has penetrated to the household level. While the people continue to work, Garcia said, she hopes that the next governor will see the importance to give them “encouragement and support.”

“I hope and pray that it will be so, for the good of Cebu, because we have achieved so much. It would be a pity if all the gains that we have achieved will just be risked and negated because, maybe, someone else may wish to experiment with something new. This is a proven and effective tool of a very good governance that cascades down to the purok level. We hope that this would really be sustained,” Garcia said.

Liloan Mayor Vincent “Duke” Frasco, who was one of the speakers in the conference, said the sense of ownership of the people in the purok holds the key. He explained that it is like a “thing” that, when once it is lost, they will look for it. Xerxes Alkuino