In less than a month, the façade of Brgy. Purisima in Manapla town changed after residents took to heart the “Barangay Ko, Love Ko” cleanliness drive spearheaded by Purisima Community Service Volunteers (PCSV).
The contest was launched last October 30 with the end goal of sustaining the clean-up and beautification drive in the village.
Thamar Theresa Genobis of the PCSV, along with the Mellow Arce Bytes Basketball Team, were surprised at the positive reception they got from residents “because even before we officially launched it, people started cleaning up their front yards and the roads leading to their homes as soon as they heard about our program.”
More than that, “there has been a change in our residents’ community spirit. It uplifted our moods and many are happy to see the change in our community,” Genobis added.
Among the group’s objective is to promote discipline and appreciation of the environment. “We will educate the people on the importance of cleanliness in our own village and their social responsibility towards becoming a progressive community,” Genobis said. She also added that in order to sustain the program, there will be talks on waste-management “and how cooperation and bayanihan are key to achieving our goals.”
Lawyer Eva Rodriguez, chief administrative officer of Victorias Milling Company Inc. (VMC), said they are happy to collaborate and support the project because “we saw an alignment in purpose to promote safe and healthy communities.”
“When we were approached by PCSV and MAB-BT, we saw the possibility of a sustainable partnership and we were impressed with their enthusiasm in coming up with their own sustainability plan, which we are more than happy to support,” she added.
Zone leader, Normandy Bustamante, said the residents in their purok see these efforts beyond the cleanliness drive. “The people feel that somehow, we are contributing in a significant way to a more meaningful and progressive community.”
“Cleanliness, waste management and caring for the environment can be possible if the whole community comes together and make it part of our daily lives,” Bustamante added.
“This kind of activity will benefit our family and the community and we are happy that PCSV launched this and VMC is supporting it.” Sombero said, adding that “lasting change cannot happen without active community involvement and we are happy that everyone is committed to ensure we sustain this drive.”
The competition is open to all 12 zones in the barangay and each zone must have a model house and common area or park as part of their entry. To ensure community participation, at least 40 percent of the households in each zone must take part in maintaining their zone streets and common garden site.
Pre-judging will be this weekend, while final judging will be on December 29. The best zone will receive P30,000 followed by P20,000 for the second placer and P10,000 for the third place. Consolation prizes of P5,000 will be given to other winners.*