ILOILO CITY -- Some two remote local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas are recipients of the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program of the Department of Science and Development (DOST).
During Monday's kick-off of the Regional Science and Technology Fair held at SM City here, the municipalities of Carles, particularly Isla de Gigantes, in Iloilo and Libacao in Aklan were recognized as beneficiaries of the program.
“This is DOST’s response to multi-dimensional development constraint in marginalized areas of the country,” said Engr. Rowen Gelonga, Regional Director of the DOST in Western Visayas.
The interventions cover health and nutrition, water and sanitation, basic education and literacy, livelihood/economic enterprise development and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
In Carles, the program was implemented in Barangays Gabi and Asluman where more than 80 percent of each village’s population were tapped as recipients. Each barangay has a population of around 2,000, according to Mayor Sigfredo Betita.
The package of interventions can be around PHP500,000 to PHP1 million including livelihood and economic enterprise programs, water and sanitation, health and nutrition, technical assistance on food supply and StarBooks digital library, he said.
Through these services, the impoverished situation of the people will be alleviated, he said.
Betita said the services have benefitted them a lot, like educating residents about sustainable livelihood program.
Gelonga said the StarBooks digital library with 10,000 publications showcases “how technology can change the way of life of the people in the far-flung areas of the country.”
They also provided beneficiaries with ceramic filters for potable water, livelihood programs, training on disaster resiliency and feeding program using complementary food produced by the University of Antique (UA).
Carles, being a coastal area, is supposed to be abundant in marine resources, but ironically it has higher malnutrition cases.
Meanwhile, Libacao, on a regular basis has produced passers in the Philippine Science High School entrance examination after the CEST program was introduced. DOST conducted tutorial classes in science and math among graduating students in Libacao.
Gelonga said they are now starting to implement the program in almost all provinces in the region.
“Despite our limited budget we really look forward to the strengthening and expansion of our CEST program,” he said. (PNA)
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