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In Nabua,
local leadership is the natural domain of our elders. They are
considered traditional leaders of our town. They are those who by
virtue of experience, wisdom and integrity hold significant influence
in shaping our community. Their presence is a source of strength. They
are pillars in the development of our town. But
while our local elders are recognized in the social structure as
community leaders, they are not given clear role to play in the local
government. This is a thorny issue that needs to be resolved because
keeping local elders, either officially or unofficially, out of the
loop is to defeat the essence of rural development. Their inputs and
leadership abilities are very valuable if we are to move forward and
develop as a prosperous community.
This being the case, we come to the issue: What does our local government needs to do? I say, "Get our local elders to be actively involved in the planning and implementation of any development plan in our town". It is imperative that we utilize them. Their participation is vital. Properly trained and astutely utilized, they could provide outstanding leadership to our communities. Local elders, having the advantage of social respectability, can easily set the right direction to our communities, whether in the rural or poblacion barangays as the case maybe. But sadly, local experience shows that though most of our elders tried to make noteworthy contributions to the progress of our town, many were unable to sustain their efforts while a few were utterly discouraged because of several encumbering factors. Some of these are:
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No definite role in local governance. Without any official and legal mandate, they will always be prone to suspicion and distrust by the community they want to serve.
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Poor government support. Leaving our local elders with minimal assistance or lack of it is tantamount to setting them up for failure. It should be understood that their failure reflects in our community and to the local government as well.
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The warping of the barangay government system. Some barangay leaders and local officials have become too politicized. Petty differences are oftentimes turned into serious squabbles because of political affiliations and beliefs. This scenario badly affects implementation of any program.
Though the aforementioned factors pose serious challenge to our elders in their desire to help, these problems are not without solution. Our town, with our municipal government on the lead, can handily overcome the challenge. All we have to do is to collectively act and adopt a win-win approach. The following are some of my unassuming suggestions:
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Local elders must be given specific roles in local governance and community-building. They hold so much experience and social respectability. Given the proper role and training, local elders can be excellent stewards of their respective communities. They have experiences that current local leaders lack. Elders can be great mentors. A clear-cut role must therefore be established in order for our local elders to be more effective partners in development.
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Resources must be made readily available. It is the duty of the local government to provide support and full assistance to different communities for their projects. To delegate authority without proper support is irresponsible; and worse, any effort will most likely result in failure. Easy access to government assistance should therefore be institutionalized. There must be a reasonable balance between government support and community effort.
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Conduct intensive training for our elders, and aspiring local leaders as well. Leadership training is foremost in the list. Other relevant trainings can be added such as project and budget management, etc. Local business schools could be tapped to formulate programs of instruction and to conduct training while known non-government organizations (NGOs) and reputable persons could act as resource organizations and speakers respectively.
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Insulate the barangays and its leaders from too much politics. Over indulgence in politics at the local level destroys the very core of the barangay system - it is against the communal spirit of the barangay. It is sad to note that politics has become a crippling problem to our communities. Families are divided unnecessarily, projects are placed in the back burner, investors hold back, progress is stymied, etc. Being such, may all of us be constantly reminded that our town is too small and too fragile to be torn apart by parochial politics. Our ancestors envisioned the barangay to be a “larger-than-a-family” community wherein everyone can live harmoniously.
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Actively involve the elders, and the community, in planning and implementing government projects. It must be remembered always that any project should benefit the residents. Hence, it is only logical to involve them because they will be the ones to enjoy or suffer whatever consequence a particular program may bring to the community. But most important, local elders should be encouraged and helped to provide the leadership in monitoring projects and in evaluating the performance of local officials.
The value of local elders in our community must be recognized and capitalized by all of us. It is common knowledge that a host of professionals and persons of character have chosen to stay and retire in our town while a significant number have also spent many years outside the country, they must surely have experiences that are useful to our community. For example, engineers who have worked both locally and abroad can be asked for workable concepts regarding our perennial problem in flooding, educators can be asked for ideas concerning educational programs, medical field specialists can give inputs on health and sanitation, military/police/security professionals can share ideas for a comprehensive plan on peace and order, economists/businesspersons could devise a system for a vibrant trade and commerce, OFWs may provide information and training regarding marketable skills for foreign employment while others can also be tapped depending on their field of expertise. Even those Nabuenos who decided to live somewhere else could still be asked to support projects. After all, their hearts still beat for Nabua most certainly. Eventually, these retired professionals/elders can be requested to practically work with our local officials, NGOs and young leaders by providing the latter with pertinent professional advice. I am pretty sure the spirit of volunteerism and selflessness is very much alive in our elders.
Truly, Nabua is never short of good and productive people. All we need to do is to make use of their talents, make use of our erudite elders for the benefit of our town. A sort of "council of elders", with adequate powers and equal responsibility, may even be formed from among them... But of course, I humbly leave the details to our local government, experts and participants in this Forum on how to utilize the vast experience and intellectual resources possessed by our local elders. Mabalos po.
"Nabua is our home and nowhere else" 
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