Ramon Magsaysay won handily in the November 1953 Presidential Election, then took his oath of office at the Luneta on December 30, 1953. As soon a she was ensconced in Malacañang, among the first things he did was to create by Presidential Fiat the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Community Development. Appointed as PACD was a young lawyer, Ramon Binamira, who was born in Tagbilaran of a Bicolano father and a Cebuano mother. His youth notwithstanding (barely 26 at the time of his appointment), Binamira proved more than equal to the task of successfully running an innovative program.

Binamira’s first order of business was to recruit personnel who would jump start the program. Among the first 15 recruits were Ruben Canoy of Misamis Oriental, Vicente Guangco of Misamis Occidental, Ben Llanos of Cebu, Vic Braganza of Pangasinan, and I. After training in Manila for some four weeks we were sent to our respective provinces, selected as experimental areas, to find out how the self-help feeder roads project would fare. Self-help meant people contributing labor and materials to the project.

Because of the novelty of the concept, barrio folk did not cotton to the idea of free labor and materials. This we had to overcome.

The feeder roads program did take off the ground, and it was in Bohol where it was most successful.

Maybe they wanted to make me happy with my next assignment, that of supervisor of Leyte and Samar. I was sad.

I was in Leyte on March 17, 1957. On March 18, Vice President Garcia was flown in on a Qantas chartered flight from Australia, where he presided over a meeting of the South East Asia Treaty Organization. He was sworn in as President upon his arrival. On March 19, I received a wire in Leyte directing me to report to Malacañang.

My involvement in community development ended after some four years, enough time, however, to be contaminated by the community development bug. But for the next four years, and 10 months in Malacañang the bug laid dormant and remained so up to 1978. When I was installed in the saddle at City Hal my first thought was to launch a meaningful program that would benefit those who have less in life. It seemed as if I was left without a choice. It had to be community development.

Having heard that Ramon Binamira had successfully packaged a community development program aptly dubbed the “Ilaw ng Buhay”, I went to his house in Dasmariñas Village in Makati, Metro Manila, in December 1978, roused him from bed and requested for the program in Tagbilaran City. He told me that the only available team in the South was already deployed in Misamis Oriental. I pleaded, wheedled and persisted. While Binamira did not make any commitment he said he would do the best he could.

In early January 1949, three men, not one of whom I knew, barged into my office and told me that they were sent by Atty. Ramon Binamira to work with me in launching “Ilaw ng Buhay”.

Pio Almodiel, Ben Benitez and Ver Lumacang, after introducing themselves, rolled their sleeves and began working immediately.

First in the order of business was the recruitment of men and women in every purok in every barangay who would be given a one-day training as Unit Leaders. The Barangay Captains were summoned to City Hal. They were told to designate unit leaders in their respective barangays, one for every twenty houses. Schedules were arranged for the training, one day for the unit leaders of Bool, Mansasa and Dampas, also joined were Dao, San Isidro and Cabawan; Tiptip and Manga; Ubujan, Taloto and Booy; the 1st and 3rd Districts and separate days each for the 2nd District and Cogon.

After the completion of the training of unit leaders, trainors were recruited who were to undergo three days of training. They would be the lecturers for the three-night “Ilaw ng Buhay” seminar on Food Production, Nutrition, Family Planning, Environmental Sanitation, Preservation of Marine Resources, Revival of Philippine Tradition.

A word on Family Planning. Whenever FP is mentioned, churchmen always condemn the program. I was determined to do away with the divisive chasm that estranged the Church from this government program.

I felt that the way to do it was to get presbyters to input on family planning. I convinced Msgr. Pelagio Dompor, the second highest church official in the Diocese of Tagbilaran and who being named Prothonotary Apostoli with full powers by the Holy See, was in effect the Assistant Bishop, his two assistant Parish Priests and Sister Milvida, SsPS, to enroll in the three-day trainors’ trainin. In the first “Ilaw ng Buhay” seminar held at the Booy Chapel, Msgr. Dompor was a hit, showing that God himself is in favor of Family Planning. (more next week)

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