Out of the box

OUT OF NOWHERE, this tiny third class municipality famously known for the Basi Revolt during the Spanish era has been making a lot of noise lately.

It first surprised the province by starting a coffee plantation with an eye on at least making a dent in the highly profitable coffee market in the country. With a 10-hectare plantation being planned and which would be implemented as public-private partnership, the Piddig municipal government, through Mayor Eduardo Guillen, has also entered into a supply agreement with a coffee corporation or the establishment of a modern coffee plantation and later on a milling center to supply quality grade coffee to at least 200 supermarkets and 150 hotels and restaurants in the Philippines, Canada and the United States.

Aside from this, the municipal government, through Mayor Eduardo G. Guillen, is now also implementing an honest-to-goodness health care system that looks after their poorest constituents from birth to burial. And according to the mayor, the health care package is actually available to all Piddig residents as the municipal government has deposited an amount at Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital in Batac for all concerned to be admitted at the hospital without question.

In a rare exclusive interview with The Ilocos Times, Mr. Guillen stressed that the progress of a municipality—or a city, province or country for that matter—lies on a healthy population; once they are no longer worried about getting ill, they can then focus on being very productive and this would drive growth.

The mayor added that all developed countries had to improve their agriculture first before they can reach industrialized status. And this is the blueprint he wishes to implement in his tiny municipality. For this reason, the municipal government is leaving no stones unturned as they attempt to boost agriculture productivity in the town by providing all the basic needs for farmers from water, fertilizer, seeds and the motivation to improve their skills and thus their productivity.

Piddig may be just a small municipality, but as their mayor emphasized they dare to dream big. But not to be seen as trying to overreach, the idea is to dream big so that even if they unfortunately fail, they would still have achieved a lot.

As in history, success comes to those who dream—and dare. And as this tiny municipality led by an inspiring local chief executive moves to grasp their dream, we can only hope that they achieve all their aims and goals not only for themselves but also for the whole province to see, hear and understand that all things—big and small—come from having a vision and the pure motivation to achieve them.