The lady solon, ‘siling labuyo’ in fighting form

THE cool breeze of the early dawn excites us as we travel down south heading to Lipa City of Batangas. As we drive towards SLEX and STAR Tollway and exiting the quiet part of the Balete town, we started to notice its charm and give us a nostalgic feeling. A warm welcome greeted us as we meet the scion of a Filipino historian Maria Kalaw Katigbak, PR par excellence, Ms. Emelie Katigbak.

Ms. Emelie, as I fondly call her arranged the meeting for us with the 4^th district of Batangas Congresswoman Lianda “Siling Labuyo” Bolilia. The congresswoman recently made headlines because of her controversial stand on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal. The solon was known as one of the BRAVE 11 who made a firm decision on the network’s legal battle. The meeting was set at the luxurious club Malarayat, beautifully set on the scenery of greens and mountain range with the stunning natural landscape. In a few minutes, the congresswoman arrived and settled with us after the curtsy exchange.

Inquiring about the readiness of the district regarding online education, the congresswoman, aware of the geographical placement of the province, admitted that the district needs additional infrastructure to sustain and implement the program. The present condition of the pandemic resulted to the demoralization of the students and parents losing their hope to continue school attendance in the coming school opening.  This challenging condition for education is affecting a lot of students, parents, and school administrators at the moment. The readiness in the coming school opening is uncertain for everyone involved in this province. But the congresswoman is in the fighting form to address the present state of the district, in fact, the solon continues to seek, though the LGU the commitment of communication companies for additional internet infrastructure projects and support to DEPED on their distant learning program. The efforts will not be easy and the results are not going to be felt soon but at least the readiness should be initiated now rather than later.

We asked further if she has any projects that will ease the burden of the students in her districts; the lady solon immediately provided us an answer;

“Although I am constrained due to the present pandemic condition, ‘Biyaheng Galing’ on my education program will continue its way to help the students of the district when the condition improves." In this program, a mobile library van goes to every barangays and bring with them different reference books for reading, coloring book paraphernalia and computer wares with internet for students to enjoy learning and tinker with.

Prior to the GCQ, what is unique in the project is the presence of the solon herself reading stories for the children and giving inspiration to the parents and folks. These educational materials are to be distributed for free to the children of the district. The congresswoman also gives cash assistance to the deserving students of the province.

As we continue with the conversation, we were treated to a good lunch prepared for us by the Club Malarayat. Neatly placed on my table is the delectable “Batangas Bulalo” a soup based stewed beef shanks and bone marrow seasoned with salt and pepper. I excitedly sipped on the hot soup and started to munch on the corn and veggies first before digging into the meat. As we continue to enjoy our lunch, we started to engage once again the lady solon to a casual conversation. 

The “Siling Labuyo” solon added that during the recent Taal Volcano eruption, they were able to distribute in the resettlement areas about more than 1000 books and educational materials to the evacuation centers spread all over the affected areas. Teachers are also being given importance by the lawmaker through the “Bisita Eskwela” program that provides assistance and moral support to the school teachers. She was just adorable in the eyes of the educators and appreciated the help extended for them.

The soft-hearted congresswoman also shared that she extended basic needs provision in her constituency especially now that a large number of residents are out of employment. Recently they have distributed rice, canned goods, and alcohol in the districts. Concerns on the front liners during the pandemic were also discussed and provided the necessary assistance for them. The office of the congresswoman supplied PPE’s to the hospitals and rural health centers in the province.  We have also known that currently around 2100 individuals were given medical, burial, and educational assistance by Congresswoman Bolilia.

As we progress on our conversations, we have been provided information that the province is regarded as predominantly an agricultural town; I suddenly remember that Batangas was once the coffee capital of the Philippines through their famous “Kapeng Barako”. Through this, the lawmaker stresses that she focuses too on developing legislative measures to maintain and improve its livelihood by providing legal aid in supporting and enhancing their products. Rosario town is the rice granary of the province and other districts are into livestock and poultry farm. The good congresswoman also reminded us that  

Livelihood, health, and education are the center of her flagship programs.

As we ended our meeting with the lady solon, we cannot help but appreciate her grit, dedication, and the fighting form she has for being the “Siling Labuyo” in attending to the needs of her constituency.