Laoag City’s ‘Rang-ay ti Barangay’ resumes

Laoag City’s ‘Rang-ay ti Barangay’ resumes

By Dominic B. dela Cruz

Staff Reporter

Laoag City—The city government program that brings it closer to the people has resumed.

Laoag mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas said the first “Rang-ay ti Barangay” event was held at Brgys. 29, Bacsil North and Bacsil South during the first week of June.

She expressed hopes that all of the city’s 80 barangays would be visited before the end of 2014.

“Rang-ay ti Barangay” not only brings city hall to the people, it also determines their most important needs so they could act on them.

This version of “Rang-ay ti Barangay”, as The Ilocos Times observed, is more orderly as the different offices and agencies have their own areas specifically marked.

Among the services brought by the program include free medical and dental services; milk and supplemental feeding; socialization for senior citizens; registration of birth, death and marriage; free pap smear; payment of taxes; free appraisal and assessment; lecture/film viewing of solid waste management; assistance in the registration of business; blood typing; Comelec biometrics/registration; and free legal counsel.    

Wheel chair distribution and other assistive devices, livelihood trainings; capital assistance; police women and children’s desk; repair and maintenance of street lights; delivery of gravel and sand; free vaccination and castration of animals; distribution of seedlings and eye glasses; and “Libreng Gupit” from TESDA, are also offered.

Ms. Fariñas said that all of these services will be available in all Rang-ay events.

The mayor however noticed that most of the barangay requests are for materials that they need but has no budget for them.

At Barangay 29, requests were for jetmatic pumps, fertilizers, sprayers, sports equipment, concrete pavements and others.

Ms. Fariñas vowed to give all of the barangays’ requests provided funds would be available.

The city government has an equal sharing program with all the barangays for their infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, Laoag police officer-in-charge P/Supt. Jeffrey Gorospe personally led the police contingent where they lectured on the law on violence against women and children.

Mr. Gorospe advised children and women not to be afraid to come out and report immediately to the nearest police station, with the help of trained lady police personnel, any type of violence against them.

For her part, community affairs division chief Mylene Pascual said the program now includes the lecture and film viewing on solid waste management in line with the city government’s campaign for a zero waste management program and the segregation at source.

Ms. Pascual said all the department heads were required to submit their accomplishments report to the office of the mayor during the Rang-ay in order for them to monitor if all the services and requests for the barangays were served and delivered.

She added the city government also taps the national agencies like the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) among others to bring their services closer to the people.