To Be A Barangay Tanod Is A Great Sacrifice-Noval Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-To be a barangay tanod(barrio guard) is a great sacrifice because he does not receive a monthly salary but only an honorarium which is not enough for his family; yet his task is not an easy one. This was the candid statement of DILG regional Director Pedro Noval,Jr. in his short speech during the recent Fridays Barangay Tanod Congress held at the city gymnasium. Noval pointed out that Barangay Tanods(barrio guards) are important part in the maintenance of peace and order in every barangay in all of the municipalities/areas of this province. He said that his office has conceived statement for every letter in the word tanod.1)T-all tasks are Transparent, which means that what they all do in relation to their duties and responsibilities should always have Transparency; 2)All are Accountable in the level of ones action/actuation; 3)N-must always be Neutral in the discharge of their duties and functions;4)O-Objective in its approach and let the truth prevails in all aspect of their operations; 5)all are Dedicated and Devoted in all their assigned tasks. Guest Speaker Brigadier General Danilo Lim, multi-awardee AFP official in his speech told the more or less 5,000 Barangay Tanods coming from 500 barangays of the entire province that he saluted them as peace and order officers for their unselfish and altruistic attitude in performing their role in the communities. He emphasized that the Barangay Tanods are likewise instrumental in nation building. Lim also exhorted the BTs and the Barangay Captains to unite and continue organizing among themselves for improvement and to make their performance more meaningful and useful to their respective communities. If we are united and are always honest we have nothing to fear of any obstacle that may block our way from achieving our goals for the good of the country, he stressed. The Customs Deputy Commissioner also intimated that he was incarcerated for many years for his fight against corruption in the government he once served. He confessed that as a high government official he did his best to do what is right, but he was surrounded by corruption and illegal tasks. Lim said that its not enough to say that Im not part of the process, but I want to be part of the solution to the problems in our country. The 57-year-old Nueva Ecija-born Brigadier General also urged the Barangay Tanods to be willing to stand up and be counted to make a difference. Earlier, black-colored T-shirts with the provincial logos were distributed to the barrio guards. Prior to the introduction of the keynote speaker, Governor Damian Mercado informed the attendees (BTs) that their Red Cross Insurances were renewed. Knowing fully-well that any BT might have an emergency need, the RCI will provide him with the needed medicines in case of hospital confinement; or has met an accident during the performance of his task, it was learned.

Mercado has also turned over sets of flashlights and Red Cross Insurance IDs to the municipal mayors for their respective barangay tanods. The Governor explained that the ceremonial turnover of flashlights and IDs would shorten the time of distribution than If he would be doing it individually.Individual distribution will take several hours to finish, he clarified, thus delaying the home travel of all the participants to their respective barangays that mostly situated in various far-flung areas. The Guest Speaker, who received a certificate of appreciation from the Governor, shall be running for Senator in the upcoming 2013 national elections, according to Mercado. After the city gyms affair, a meeting of all barangay and municipal officials who have attended, was conducted by Mayor Samaco, Governor Mercado and Vice-Governor Miguel Maamo,11. (Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)