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Two puroks — Purok 6 of Barangay San Miguel and Purok Maalagaron of Barangay Ibabao –in the town shared their experiences in implementing the purok system, saying that it has brought the long-lost spirit of bayanihan or communal unity back to their community.

Both puroks see the system as an avenue for cooperation among all purok members in implementing different programs and projects that contribute to the welfare of the community.

In Purok 6, for instance, their president Larry Tura, together with Barangay Councilor Ronilo Andales, heads the house-to-house collection of garbage to address their solid waste management problem. They even encourage children to participate in the collection in order for them to learn the importance of proper garbage disposal. An important factor that made this initiative possible is the fact that the garbage being collected is already segregated at the household level.

On the other hand, Purok Maalagaron, conducts general clean-ups every Saturday as part of the Limpyo Cebu campaign. They also created a vegetable garden in the purok center and sell the harvested vegetables to purok members at affordable prices.

Efforts from both puroks were able to promote not only cleanliness in the community, but also camaraderie among residents. They got to socialize during those activities and got to know their neighbors, both old and new ones. More importantly, obtaining household profiles was made easier to help municipal and barangay officials in delivering basic services.

The purok system also helped address other issues such as peace and order, delivery of basic health services, and even providing financial support to those who experience death in the family. Residents of both puroks now see the value of working for the common good.

In 2017, Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho implemented the purok system by virtue of a municipal ordinance. Mega Cebu Constituency Building officer Menandro Daclan, who is part of the Governance and Linkages unit of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc,., assisted the municipality in organizing the puroks through town’s Mega Cebu Focal Team. Over the past year, the initiative has made strides in showing how effective and efficient the purok system is in bringing the people together to work for the development of their community.

The Governance and Linkages Unit of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI-G&L) seeks to foster responsive institutions and an engaged citizenry through awards and recognition, good governance and leadership development programs, and active linkages and platforms of engagement and collaboration.