Catanauan, Quezon – Out-of-school youths remain one of the most neglected groups until now. Not only are they deprived of educational opportunities, they also are vulnerable to different forms of abuses, whether these are brought about by other people, such as in the case of child labor or being recruited in gangs, or upon themselves, by taking up different vices, including alcohol and drugs.
In Barangay San Vicente Kanluran in this town, a lot of the out-of-school youths got themselves entangled in these situations. Some lost motivation in doing productive activities, believing that their situation is hopeless. As such, they usually just laze around doing nothing.
Others, however, resort to small-scale crimes. More often than not, these out-of-school youths become bugano.
Bugano
“Bugano” is a local term used to call those who steal copra.
Twenty year-old Richard Rejano Perlada is one of the youths who admitted to being a bugano, although he explained he only did it so he could have something to eat.
With 11 children in the family, Richard’s parents were unable to feed them all properly because of poverty. As such, Richard resorted to stealing to put food in his belly.
“Ginawa ko ‘yon kasi gutom ako (I only did it because I was hungry),” he confessed.
He said that their poverty prevented his parents from sending him to school.
He said, “Hirap na hirap ang mga magulang ko na kumita para sa pagkain namin kaya hindi na nila ako kayang papag-aralin (My parents really struggle to earn a living, so they were unable to send me to school),” he said.
Richard was only able to finish high school.
It took his parents’ intervention to get him to stop stealing.
He said, “Itinigil ko rin kasi sabi ng mga magulang ko baka daw ako makulong. Mas mabuti na daw magutom kaysa makulong (I stopped because my parents told me I might get thrown in prison. They said being hungry is better than being jailed).”
Recruit
Liza Reyes (not her real name), 18, experienced a different dilemma. Like other youths, she likes spending her time with company. Unfortunately, she did not know that making friends would put her at risk.
“Sinabihan po ako ng mga kaibigan ko na maglulubak lang sa bahay ng isa kong kaibigan. Pero nang makita ko po na masukal na ‘yong daan at wala na sa direksyon ay kinutuban na po ako. Sabi nila saglit na may gustong kumausap sa amin. Doon po ay alam ko na gusto kami i-recruit kaya tumakbo po ako at tumakas sa kanila (My friends told me that we would be visiting the house of one of our friends. I began to feel uneasy when I saw that we veered off from, the road. It was then that they told me that there were some people who wanted to talk to us. I realized that they wanted to recruit me, so I fled),” she narrated.
Liza was referring to the New People’s Army (NPA), the revolutionary group of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Quezon province is one of the areas where the organization is known to operate.
Even though she felt she was followed, Liza was able to escape from them, which she was thankful for.
The parents of Sheila Angelo (not her real name), 20, however, were not as lucky.
“Pinatay po ang mga magulang ko. Wala naman nakitang nawala sa bahay. At hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa rin alam kung ano ang rason bakit sila pinatay (My parents were killed. Nothing was missing from our house. Until now, no one knows why they were killed),” she said while crying.
Sheila is also an out-of-school youth. After the death of her parents, her siblings were unable to support her college education. Sheila occasionally did odd jobs. Other than that, she had nothing to keep her busy.
It took the combined efforts of Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), one of the three poverty alleviation programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in their joint implementation of the PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) to bring hope in the lives of these youths.
Kalahi-CIDSS is a DSWD program that helps alleviate poverty through community-driven development. It has now been scaled up into the KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP (National Community-Driven Development Program), which is targeting the coverage of 847 municipalities, including conflict-affected areas, nationwide.
PAMANA is the Philippine government’s program and framework for peace and development. As the lead agency, OPAPP partners with other national government agencies to reach poor conflict-affected areas to improve their access to basic social services.
New lease on life
Through Kalahi-CIDSS PAMANA, vocational courses on welding, food processing, and consumer electronics servicing, provided by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) were offered to 10 out-of-school youths of Barangay San Vicente Kanluran.
Richard, Liza, and Shiela were among the eight consumer electronics servicing trainees, having undergone training for 55 days. The three of them were offered jobs through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), as they are now National Certification (NC) II passers.
Before the training, Richard helped his parents earn money by being involved in the copra industry, albeit no longer as a bugano.
“Kargador po ako ng copra. Binubuhat po namin ‘yon papunta ng truck (I haul copra to trucks),” he said.
He earned an average of P300 per day by carrying 3-5 sacks of copra, which he used to help his parents feed their family.
Richard hopes that through the training provided to him through Kalahi-CIDSS PAMANA, he will be able to earn even more so he can help his family.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako at napasali po ako dito sa training. Ngayon ay may pag-asa na po ako na makahanap ng mas magandang trabaho (I am thankful I was able to become part of this training. I feel hopeful now that I will be able to find a better job)”, Richard said, speaking in behalf of Sheila, Liza, and the other out-of-school youths that have been given a new chance at life through Kalahi-CIDSS PAMANA.###
