Guripan: An Introduction

"Ang Guripan ang nagpa-hayag sa Mahayag..."

This was the statement told by the Secretariat of Brgy. Guripan, Ruth Cordero. It's a wordplay and the English translation cannot seem to capture its poetry. It means "Guripan is what illuminated Mahayag" (Mahayag in Bisaya is akin to "Bright Light").

According to her, what gave light to the Bright Light was Guripan. How?

In the early 1900s, Suricon Incorporated came to the Barangay in search of gold, silver, and high-grade copper. At that time, Mahayag was not yet a municipality, and was still under Molave. Through the mining operations, Mahayag became wealthy due to the gold and minerals found in what is now Guripan. In fact, Guripan was one of the first places to have electricity and roads. Over time, the place became economically wealthy due to the mining, trading, and commerce. By 1960, Mahayag was ready to become an official Municipality. This is due in part because of Guripan and its expensive metals (Source: Guripan LGU).

Abandoned storage area for mining explosives

Mission

We shall advocate an independent economy through adaptation of sustainable package of technology, increase barangay income and revenues in a good planning of educated public officials and responsible citizenry.

Vision

We shall advocate an independent economy through adaptation of sustainable package of technology, increase barangay income and revenues in a good planning of educated public officials and responsible citizenry.

Government

The legislature of Guripan is the sangguniang barangay, composed of the barangay captain, the barangay kagawads (barangay councilors) and the sangguniang kabataan chairman. The government of the barangay is composed of the barangay council and each of the sangguniang barangay members, each playing a vital role in reviewing ordinances and resolutions through different committees. It is headed by Hon. Alfredo L. Duyar, as the punong barangay or barangay captain and the presiding officer. Along with him are the seven (7) barangay kagawads: Hon. Babele L. Lepiten as the committee chairman on health, Hon. Natividad B. Beral as the committee chairman on education; Hon. Andres V. Andrada as the committee chairman on peace and order; Hon. Eduardo C. Villarmino as the committee chairman on agriculture; Hon. Joel P. Hamot as the committee chairman on appropriation; Hon. Edgar A. Camiguing as the committee chairman on environmental protection; and Hon. Albert B. Biscayno as the committee chairman on infrastructure. Hon. Junry A. Broca leads a separate assembly for youth as chairman, in the form of sangguniang kabataan or SK. The barangay secretary, Ms. Ruth B. Cordero, is the one who keeps custody of all records of the Sangguniang Barangay and the Barangay assembly meetings, while the treasurer, Ms. Charidel V. Macatiog is in charge on the finance and the barangay record keeper, Ms. Annie R. Apale, who records reports, summaries, and registers in preparation of the necessary financial reports.

Organization Chart of Barangay Officials of Guripan

In addition to this, the barangay is also subdivided into puroks. Although it is not a local government unit and does not have a leader elected in formal elections, the barangay has some arrangements of having a head or what they call purok officer in each purok as shown by the table below.

Purok Officers of Barangay Guripan

Water System

There is no water supply system that acts as their source of water. Their water comes from natural springs which they store in a water reservoir and is also piped to supply water to the community. Some households also use water pumps. Families in barangay Guripan use a variety of water supply types which include Level I (point source), Level II (communal faucet), Level III (individual connection), and others which are labelled as ‘doubtful sources’ and is considered as high-risk water source: spring, dug well, and deep well.

A well in the middle of a ricefield

Unfortunately, one of the problems in the community is leaking of water pipes along the road. Worse, there is illegal tapping of the water system by some locals in the upper puroks. Together, these lessen the amount of water used by those who depend on it in the lower puroks. Some locals also complain of the unsanitary condition of the water, hence, it is not safe for drinking.

Leaking water pipes near the road

Energy

The electricity is distributed by Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. (ZamSurECo). Puroks 3, 4, 5, and 6 have electricity, while there is no supply of electricity on Puroks 1 and 2. As an alternative, some use solar panels for technologies.

Transportation

The barangay has one bongo which is utilized for official use. There are also privately-owned four-wheeled vehicles. The Bajaj and Piaggio have a fare that amounts to around PHP 20.00 – 30.00 fair for each person going to Poblacion, and the most commonly used means of transportation is the motorcycle or habal. Public transportations are not always readily available and may sometimes be difficult to find, hence the people usually get the numbers of the drivers, to contact them whenever needed.

Medical students riding the on a habal

Economic Profile

Shown on the table below are the agricultural crop area and crop production of the barangay for the CY 2017-2019. Coconut ranked as the most planted crop which constitutes 231 hectares, this gives a yield of 40 metric tons per hectare. This has been followed by irrigated rice with 194 hectares of land allocated to the said crop. Other crops are enumerated in the table below with their average yield per hectare and production in metric tons.

Agricultural crop area and crop production of Guripan CY 2017-2019 (Source: BDRRMP CY 2017-2019)

Shown below are the livestock in the barangay which includes swine, carabao, cattle, horse, goat, duck, geese, turkey, dog, and cat. Based on this, ducks comprises the largest number of livestock in the barangay, while geese has the lowest number.

Inventory of Livestock in Brgy. Guripan as of December 2018 (Source: Municipal Agriculture Office)

Education

Barangay Guripan has a daycare center located at Purok 5, fronting the barangay hall. It is headed by Evangeline Mansueto, which has 51 students enrolled for school year 2019-2020.

Barangay Daycare and Supplemental Feeding Center

The barangay also has an elementary school located at Purok 4 which has a total of 176 enrollees in the school year 2019-2020, and is compliant with to the K-12 program. There are ten (10) teachers, shown on the table below with their positions.

Teachers of Guripan Elementary School with their corresponding position

The figure below shows that the number of enrolees does not correspond with the population of children on the given ages. There are 16 children ages 6-12 who are not enrolled in an elementary school, while there are 36 children ages 13-16 who are not enrolled in the secondary level.

Comparison between population of children and number of enrollees (Source: CBMS 2016 survey)

Local Government or Non-Government Organizations

There are different organizations existing in the barangay which focuses on different social groups. Below are the following organizations with their corresponding head:

· Guripan Farmer’s Association – Luciana Pon

· Guripan Mamatyan Organization (GuMO) – Wenceslao Ponce

· Women’s Group – Lynneth Baluntang

· Senior Citizens – Wenceslao Ponce

· Livelihood and Development - Wenceslao Ponce

· Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) - Lynneth Baluntang

Protective Services

Barangay Guripan is labelled as “Moderately affected barangay” in the anti-drug campaign, which means there is a presence of abusers/pushers. Based on Police community relations Mahayag police station, on year 2016 – present, there are fifty-seven (57) persons reported who use drugs, fifty-three (53) drug users, and four (4) drug pushers. As of 2019, Guripan is already declared as drug-cleared, the person in charge on barangay Anti-Drugs Action council is Hon. Babele L. Lepiten, which is also the head for Violence against Women and Child (VAWC) committee. Also, there are no crimes reported in barangay Guripan.

Communication

Some residents have cellular phones to communicate with those who are away from them but due to the signal not being available at all times on some parts of the barangay, it is most of the time difficult to communicate. Some residents do not have cellular phones at all, especially those who live on the mountainous areas of the barangay. Also, some households use signal boosters to have internet connection. Due to these difficulties, people would have to go personally to each other when needed especially in in disseminating information.

Recreation

Some residents enjoy playing basketball and volleyball as recreational activities. They have basketball courts located at Purok 6, 5, 3, and 1. 2 out of 4 are cemented, while the other 2 are makeshifts. They also have 2 volleyball courts all of which are makeshifts. Aside from this, some households own ‘videokehans’. For public usage, there are available ‘videokes’ on purok 5 and 4.