Gawad Kalinga carries legacy of late Mayor Yabes

MAITUM, Sarangani (April 3, 2007) – For Gawad Kalinga (GK) volunteers, building houses for the poor carries on the legacy of the late Mayor George Yabes.

"We build a legacy village na maalala ng lahat ng tao what he stood for at ang pagmamahal nya sa bayan," GK international coordinator Issa Santos disclosed.

Santos attended the ceremony for the massive house build program and mass offering for the late mayor at Maitum municipal plaza on March 28, Yabes' birth anniversary.

"Kailangan po namin ng champion sa Gawad Kalinga and that's what we really found in Mayor George."

But before the housing project could be finished, Yabes was shot dead by assassins on November 11, 2006.

The GK EcoVille at Barangay Mabay will benefit 340 families with 340 housing units, livelihood, education, and health program for fisher folk.

The fisher folk have been suffering from the effects of calamities and mild typhoons visiting the locality in the past years, according to Hermelo Latoja, provincial social welfare officer.

"We are taking them out from a danger zone and put them in a safe community na meron pa rin silang source of livelihood," Santos said.

Santos reported that nearly 20,000 families have benefited from GK's housing program in the country.

The Mabay EcoVille is the second site in Sarangani for the Highway Of Peace and Progress in Mindanao (HOPE) according to GK lead implementer Couples for Christ. In Maasim, community beneficiaries started to build GK's 77 houses in 2005 in the 1.5 hectare land from a donor member of the Couples for Christ.

The provincial government funded P1.5 million for the purchase of land in Mabay EcoVille and added P500,000 for land development. The municipal government of Maitum shared P450,000.

"At the beginning of his term as governor, (Governor) Migs (Dominguez) committed to build the Gawad Kalinga in the province," said facilitator Nono Guipo.

Norberto Esteban of the Couples for Christ and the Gawad Kalinga provincial head said the program "will help the poor and the less privileged of our brethren and rebuild the nation."

"The GK are not fund raisers. We are here to raise the heroism of the people and to really inspire Filipinos all over the world na ang Pilipinas may pag asa," Santos added.

A Nation's Cry Of the Poor (ANCOP), a group of Filipino families in Canada, donated 30 houses for the Mabay EcoVille.

A ground breaking ceremony of the Yabes Library was held in the poblacion on the same day after receiving P1 million donor's fund. (Sarangani Information Office/RGP)