Signal of hope from former rebel stronghold

ALABEL, Sarangani (December 12, 2007) - After years of catering to the needs of the New People's Army, residents of Sitio Ihan in barangay Datal Anggas shifted allegiance to the government.

In addition, the masses found a new friend in telecom giant Globe.

The former rebel stronghold is a recipient of Globe and ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation's BridgeCom sa Bayan.

"This is an unusual community for us to serve since we don't have a cell-site here," said Jeffrey Tarayao, community relations head for corporate social responsibility of Globe.

Sitio Ihan is a two-hour drive from capital town Alabel, traversing a road over mountain ridges and rolling hills.

The only cellular signal is atop a mountain overlooking Ihan.

"We don't limit our programs to places we do business. We want to unlock the potential of this place and work with partner agencies so we can do a lot for the people," Tarayao said.

Seventy-five residents of sitio Ihan participated in a livelihood training of weaving baskets and other ornaments made of rattan and nito conducted by BridgeCom sa Bayan, Conrado Alcantara Foundation (CAFI), the Cottage Industries Training Center (CITC), and the provincial government.

"This program has given us hope and showed us that there is a working government in Sarangani and business organizations who care for us," said Analyn Yuba, 21, a mother of two.

Agfulo Moda, 70, said the program not only gives hope but the government would also earn the trust of Ihan's residents.

Recently, scores of Ihan rebels surrendered to the government.

"This place is now free from rebels. In fact, we have 10 rebel returnees who participated in the livelihood training," said barangay chairman Caris Salimama.

Rattan and nito are endemic plants in Ihan.

"In fact, we consider them garbage since we did not have the capacity to do these things (weaving)," Salimama said.

The participants were trained by members of the CITC to weave baskets and table ornaments. The designs also came from the CITC.

"We chose this remote village after we found out from our partners that this village has the potential in developing community enterprises given the rich local resources of rattan and nito but requires skills development to realize that potential," Tarayao said.

"Although we have given them a design to follow, some participants have innovated and the results are very good," said Fernando Esguerra of Globe's community relations office.

The training included a crash course in entrepreneurship.

Esguerra, with representatives from ABS-CBN Bayan Foundation, CAFI, Sarangani provincial government and CITC spent two nights and three days in Ihan.

The program includes product development and marketing.

"Hopefully next year, we can start buying their products," Tarayao said. "This will not end here. We are their guaranteed market after they can produce their products. In fact if there are festivals that Globe will attend, we intend to display their products," Tarayao added. (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE/RIO)