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Bro. Erle Frayne D. Argonza
[Writ 09 April 2008, Quezon City, MetroManila. The author was former convenor, provincial development council of Cagayan, in late 82 till early 83.]
Imagine yourselves as young development planners, managers and implementers, all dreaming of waking up a sleeping province, vastly rich in resources but poor. Representing diverse agencies of state, bonded together by the shared sense of vision and duty, you find yourself confronting a population and a culture that didn’t share your enthusiasm for ambitious projects.
Such was my situation in the early 1980s in Cagayan, Luzon island’s northeastern most province. Already a deputy provincial manater for the Ministry of Human Settlements), at so young an age, I was convenor of the provincial development council there, and so it was my duty to prepare the agenda and call on the participants.
Fresh from my successful stints of handling enterprise development (with micro-finance) and community development, in no time at all did I rise to managerial post and help oversee development for an entire province. I had the luck then of co-partnering with other state officials, both local and national, who were very intelligent, competent, and visionary-type. Being like-minded, we were so happy being together in interagency bodies, and this wonderful social ecology facilitated our production of radical ideas to catapult the status of this province from the backwoods to the center of an emerging global economy.
This was the time when our collective efforts accelerated the installation of electricity, irrigation facilities, water utilities, telephone, new piers and infrastructures, massive financing support for diverse enterprises, and more. All of these were covered by development plans and the master plan for Cagayan.
Within the aegis of such development visions, plans and implementations did we envision a gigantic industrial estate and international trading facility for the pathetically rural province. On my side, I had the privilege of presenting key ideas and consolidating some feedbacks and recommendations from other stakeholders, notably the provincial-level officials and the mayors’ offices.
Each of the interagency groups had their own assignments, and forwarded the results to the Office of the President then, thru the NACIAD and its arm for Cagayan, the CIADP. The Governor’s Office also had its consolidation works, which it likewise forward directly to the presidential palace. Wading through all those committee networks was itself tough, and tougher was it to go through all the outputs and coming out with a final, consolidated plan.
Sensing that my tour-of-duty for Cagayan will be brief, I used the opportunity to refine the framework and rationale for an industrial estate cum trade facility. We then agreed to call it the ‘Port Irene Project’ for simplification, Port Irene being the backward pier in the reclusive town of Sta. Ana. The ideas arising from these were then presented to the mayors and local-level stakeholders who, like some enthused movie viewers, simply stared at me with stony faces during the session meetings at the famed Kamaranan Hall.
I likewise explained to the stakeholders that, for a rural provinces development to be sound at all, no polluting light or heavy industries will ever be established in any town, save for Sta. Ana where such industries will be concentrated. Only cottage industries will be allowed per town.
No matter how energetic were my elucidations then, I only got stony faces. Anyway, our efforts eventually paid, as the project was put into final plan format (mid-80s), enabled with legislation (new Congress), and implemented. I had already moved on to other development concerns since I left Cagayan in late 83, even became a social scientist and professor, but my level of elation and sense of accomplishment over our ambitious deeds then remains till these days.
It pays to dream and envision big visions that are seemingly hard to take off. This I can personally put so much words to substantiate, based on experiences worth narrating to one and all.
Bro. Erle Frayne D. Argonza
Hello, dear readers! A sunny day to you all!
I thought all the while that we had only one world on Earth, since we have only one planet. I wish to believe, even as I refuse to hear some alternative versions otherwise, that we are One World, One Planet!
In the 1970s, as I was studying sociology at the premier university in the Philippines, I encountered the 3-Worlds theories for the first time. Brilliant in their expositions, the theories converged on the idea that the planet’s nations are divided into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd worlds.
Following from the same theories, whether the UN-initiated or the Maoist version, my country supposedly belongs to the 3rd world, this being agrarian-dominated and backward. On the other hand , the advanced industrial economies of the north—the USA and USSR per Mao’s contention, the USA and OECD countries per UN theory—represented the 1st world. Sandwiched in between are developing countries that were dubbed as 2nd world.
By the 1990s, as globalization’s march was heading onwards in powerful tsunamis, it was clear that the 3-worlds theories were crumbling. No longer capable of holding water for long, as the newly-industrializing countries were reaching their zeneath, the theories crumbled.
Globalization made even greater strides around the years 1998-2001. The aegis of borderless economies was in, those of walled or ‘iron curtain’ realities was out. We were all headed towards a one-world reality, as international institutions have been emerging that ushered intensifying cross-border cooperation and collaborations.
Judging by the way that the ‘ borderless discourse’ has been accelerating each year, effecting powerful dents on erstwhile indestructible walled worlds of the older aegis, it won’t be long when a planetary government will also arise. This will cap so many epochs of struggles by humanity to unify and think as a single human family and probably put an end to wars and conflicts among nations.
Today I believe, and this reality I see increasing by the day, that there are two (2) worlds. One is the world gravitating around the ‘Light workers’, a world of hope amid a mindset of positive-optimistic-constructive or POC world outlook. The other one is a world gravitating around ‘Dark workers’, a world of despair and doom, a world founded on negative-pessimistic-destructive or NPD world outlook.
The first world, which I will label as BrightWorld, comprises of a huge web led by POC resonators and their enthusiasts among the folks. The other world, which I will label as DarkWorld, comprises of an equally huge web led by NPD Pied Pipers and their followers among the folks.
The two worlds actually intermesh. Within any given context, the two worlds are almost certainly represented. This reality of intermeshing has semblance to what St. Augustine cogitated then, about a ‘city of man’ and a ‘city of God’. And today I understand Augustine much better.
So be it that we have two worlds, that the clash between these worlds is as real as breathing air every day. I’m very optimistic that, given a little more time, the balance in fellowship will be more towards the BrightWorld as folks get tired of excessive gloom, doom, despair and what have you.
Let the BrightWorld shine and claim its true heritage among you all, sons and daughters of the Sun!
[Writ 03 April 2008, Quezon City, MetroManila]
FIND LIGHT & PEACE IN BRO. ERLE ARGONZA’S BLOGS
Gracious Day to all friends, partners in development, fellows in the Path!
You’re all invited to relish moments of Light-seeking reflections, call to relevant actions and self-development thoughts with me, through my blogs:
Development, Economics, Better World: http://unladtau.wordpress.com
Seekers’ Lessons, Freethought, Yoga, Self-Development:
http://erleargonza.blogspot.com, http://raefdargon.mysticblogs.com
Poetry for Inspirational Living: http://erleargonza.wordpress.com
Happy Reading!
Bro. Erle Frayne Argonza / Guru Ra Efdargon
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