The Knots in Maligang's Past

Leftovers of the armed struggles against the government were heavily felt in the upland where lawlessness is freely exercised because to distance and obscurity. Struggling communities are often displaced to fear and uncertainties. The social unrest prevents them to see beyond their next harvest, and fearful that the rebels will again attack and raid the fruits of their labor.

Barangay Maligang was once a forested area that provides ample food, and was gradually depleted upon massive entry of people. Notably, the peace and order in the villages hindered the early years of development in the area. Disturbance of bandits, and other outlaws directly deterred the assisting agencies like the Upland Development Programme, in frequenting the villages. Some troops of New People’s Army or bandits would trek the mountains of Maligang and occasionally passed through the villages robbing whatever property found of value from the residents.

Poverty in the place is heavily felt due to lack of employment opportunities. Most household members were unproductive—women gossiping, children out in the fields playing, youth open to various mode of delinquencies and the elderly with nothing to do. Employment opportunities were limited to farming and some ethnic craft production but on a very limited scale. With the limited employment opportunities, women, elders, youth and children were commonly seen in the field providing farm hands in the production of various crops. Government interventions were limited to town and barangay centers due to peace and order problems and the impassibility of roads.

These are the threads of the past knotting Maligang’s endeavor to realize better opportunities in the future.

The Tale of Elsa

Elsa, one of the young married women in the village, is into selling processed food from rice to root crops. She has to spend most of her time roaming around the village. Everyday, Elsa has to walk the difficult roads and even reaching the town center under the scorching sun or the soaking rain. Worst, Elsa has to leave her 2-year old child to her mother while toiling additional income for the family. In a day, she can only earn about P50.00.

In 2002, Elsa started joining in tinagak making. This is among the enterprise supported by UDP to flourish in the area. With tinagak, the only capital Elsa has to raise is for transportation, which costs her about P40.00; or if she has no money, she can always opt to take a 30-45 minutes walk from her house to the cooperative to get and deliver the escuhido fiber. She sells her tinagak at P230.00 per kilogram to the “coop”. Hence, Elsa gets a net proceed of P140.00 to P180.00 per kilo after deducting all expenses.

A kilogram of tinagak is usually finished by Elsa in four days with an average of 4-6 hours work or about P35.00-P45.00 a day without leaving her child. At the same time, she does the housekeeping while her husband earns as a driver.

When asked of the significant difference between vending around the village and tinagak making, Elsa was quick to say that the latter is a better option. With tinagak she is at home tending to her child and still earns to augment family income. She need not worry for her capital because she can get the escuhido fiber at P50 per kilo from the cooperative (SIMATIPA) and just pay upon delivery of the tinagak.

These days, Elsa earns about P700.00 to P1, 125.00 per month. She need not wait for her husband to buy some of the household needs anymore. Slowly, she now enjoys accumulating simple but necessary fixtures in the house like kitchen utensils, beddings, clothing and other household supplies.

Elsa’s experience is common to many women in Sitio Malayo. However, hers is not an isolated tale. Other upland villages that welcome changes in their lives share similar stories of hope. The gradual change of upland folks in the ways they earn a living comes to fruition because the UDP and other key players of progress are unrelenting in pushing for its mission of, 'improving the living standards and prosperity of communities who derive most of their income from upland farming.'