CABRERA, Candice Maegan M. 2014-50089

SANTOS, Shiela Anne Marie S. 2014-05894

Date Due: 03/19/2015

Date Submitted: 03/19/2015

TITLE OF REPORT HAHAHAHA

Barangay Kapitolyo, currently headed by Barangay Captain Noel A. Pajara, is one of the emerging barangays in Pasig City. Its streets are home to numerous restaurants and food hubs, and service-oriented establishments that are known to produce very good quality food and indulgences, which are visited by people coming from all over the metro. This barangay, sandwiched in between big establishments like malls, hotels, schools and offices of large corporate companies, has been a go to place for a lot of people. Generally the barangay thrives with all the commerce going on within its premises. It is even considered among the top ranking barangays within Pasig, given the good profile of the barangay in terms of cleanliness, peace and order, etc. Most residents of the barangay are from well-off families of professionals with good homes, however, it also houses communities of families with lesser financial capabilities in the effort to uplift the quality of living of the people from these families. One of these communities is the GK-Unilab Arkong Bato Village or simply called, Arkong Bato by its residents.

Arkong Bato is a community located in barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig CIty along San Ignacio street right beside Kapitolyo High School. It was in the year 1973 when this old space, owned by Ortigas and company was inhibited by informal settlers. The land which was supposed to be used to build a recreational park of the barangay has become a niche for these informal settlers. However in the year 2002, this space caught fire and burned down all the houses of the families residing there. It was in that year that Ortigas and company donated this land to Gawad Kalinga (GK) and in partnership with Unilab and the barangay, they started the construction which turned the space into a village. Finishing in the year 2006, with 189 houses, it was able to give about 250 families a home. After that time, more houses were built at the extremities of the lot to house more people. Today there are about 300 families with a GK home in this particular community, and this community continues to strive to better their homes and their surroundings. This compound is made of houses lined up side by side tightly packed up against one another, only roughly 3x4 meters, two floors in height, each in bright technicolor, would house about 2-3 families. It also has an amphitheatre for events and gatherings, such a religion classes or different lectures which contributes to the aims of this village to make their residents productive and morally sound people (Cabrera, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Being a project of the barangay, this community is directly under its governance, however this group has within themselves a government, called ABaNA (Arkong Bato Neighborhood Association), headed by Elma Dela Isla, and this group takes charge of the different activities held within their community and this group encourages the residents to take part in these projects (Benoy, R., personal communication March 7, 2015).

Arkong Bato with roughly 300 families, and roughly 5-7 people per family has a generally young population with mostly young kids and teenagers. These families would sprout from the older generations who have resided there, to their children and grandchildren. Note however, that there are only very few significantly older residents, who have retired from working. Most adults on the higher scale of the age spectrum, even though these residents are considered relatively old for their population, they are still able to work (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Generally the community has a low socio-economic status. Because of financial constraints or the circumstances the residents were and are still faced with, such as deaths in the family, unplanned pregnancies, and the like, some residents are forced to stop schooling, that is why most of the population that is part of the workforce would engage in low-paying jobs which require minimal educational attainment. Often, males would engage in driving tricycles, trucks for different companies or private cars for families, while women would be involved in clothes laundry in small laundry shops or homes, or serve as house helpers for different families usually living within Kapitolyo as well. Some families residing there would have members trained in Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) who work as parlorists in small local salons, or those who work in the barangay as assistants or barangay tanods. If some of these more trained residents are lucky, they would be sent abroad to work as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as domestic workers (Benoy, R., Retardo, W., San Juan, B., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Children mostly receive education primarily from public schools within the proximity, they usually receive primary education in elementary schools or nearby barangays, Pineda and Oranbo, and they would attend secondary schooling in their neighbor school, Kapitolyo High School. In addition, there are also different programs such as Sibol, Sagip and Siga (Serving in Gods Army) where younger children would receive values education, those children aged 7-13 are exposed to different tutorials, sports and art workshops, and those who show potential are given scholarships to attain higher education (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Common illnesses that people from the area would extract includes cough and colds, and diarrhea. The latter would often lead to one of the leading causes of deaths, which is extreme dehydration. This could be attributed to the extreme weather conditions, given the erratic shifts in weather our country undergoes. These illnesses may also be caused by the cleanliness of their environment, and how their kitchenware and food items are prone to different forms of bacteria because of the lack of sanitation in the area. Lastly, their water supply may be a leading factor especially with the case of diarrhea. The communitys drinking water source is from the National Water and Sanitation Association of the Philippines (NAWASA), though the quality of the water may be deemed potable, the pipelines in which it passes, or the kitchenware used to store it may not be clean. Other than this, other causes of death would be because of rare cases of terminal diseases, or natural death because of old age, which given in the abovementioned data, would not occur much given the demographics of the people with the population age (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Though these families do not live in extreme poverty, considering their income, education and occupation, as well as adding up their living conditions in the compound, and their vulnerability of different health issues, their socio-economic status could still be considered low.

But despite financial constraints, the families would still be able to eat 2-3 meals per day. The majority of the population being Roman Catholic, religion does not pose any known effect on their eating patterns, except on days where in the practices of fasting or abstinence must be observed. However there are about 3 families in the community who are a part of the Iglesia ni Cristo and practice the religions eating patterns where they are not allowed to eat food prepared during fiestas or food offered to saints. But other than this, respondents say their eating patterns are rather flexible. With an average of two meals a day, the food they intake would usually depend on what is available to them (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

In the compound, one of the main sources of food would be their own mini-palengke. It the first floor of a small home that sells fruits, vegetables and meat. This stall gets its products from the wet market, and resells them to the residents of Arkong Bato. Other than this, there are also a few sari-sari stalls around which are also set up on the first floors of some homes there, which sell snacks to go, noodles, canned good and the sort. Karinderiyas are also present in the compound, these sell ready to eat rice and viands for the people in the area. For a more varied array of food items, some residents would go to the nearby grocery store, Pioneer Center (along Brixton Street, also within Barangay Kapitolyo), which is just a tricycle ride away, to buy their food supplies. Food is generally available to them, and in great variety as well. There are very minimal constraints on the availability of food, such as the seasonality of certain fruits, or the production of certain vegetables, but over all there is a steady supply of food. However even given the variety of food, the type of food they purchase would still greatly depend of the budget they have for their meal consumption during the certain time period (Benoy, R., Retardo, W., San Juan, B., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Among the families in Arkong Bato, it is notable that most would opt for instant food, such as noodles or canned goods, because of its availability, affordability, the amount of time it saves in preparation, and how the people have grown accustomed to its taste. According to them, the children would prefer these food items, and it could ease their hunger at a very low cost (Benoy, R., Retardo, W., San Juan, B., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Based on the survey of the nutritional status of residents of Barangay Kapitolyo for the year 2014 that focuses on the low-income communities of the said place[footnoteRef:1], Arkong Bato faces nutritional problems which is most evident in children, with two severely underweight children in the community, while in the low-income communities in the whole barangay, including another low-income community housed in the barangay, Rose Marie Lane, there are a total of 27 recorded cases of underweight children, while no recordings of overweight children. According to the Barangay Nutrition Scholar (BNS), Rhea Samillano Benoy, who is also a resident of the GK Village, this number is at its lowest through the years, and the goal is to completely eradicate cases of underweight children. But although the amount of underweight children is not significantly high, Benoy stresses that the children still face protein-energy deficiency malnutrition, or the malnutrition wherein they lack the right amount of calorie or protein intake. One of the causes of the malnutrition problem is poverty, wherein the family could not afford to buy healthy food sufficient for the family. As mentioned earlier, families would prefer instant goods, and this would limit their intake of their needed proteins and calories as these food items have low nutritional contents. However, residents are still lucky to have some vegetables in their diet which support their vitamin and mineral needs, because it is still relatively cheaper than meat and also readily available to them. This data regarding their need for more protein and calorie intake reflects on the children of the barangay where often they are experiencing stunted growth, most children, though not underweight are small for their age (personal communication, March 7, 2015). [1: Note that with the barangay being made up of residents with good financial capabilities, the survey focused on these communities that cannot afford to have private health care.]

In order to address these deficiencies, a feeding program, which happens thrice a week for three months is in existence. The food being served are mostly carbohydrate and protein rich food, like lugaw, spaghetti, and other viands that contain meat. Once the time period is done, the severity of the malnutrition is reevaluated. The duration would solely depend on the budget available for the project, and once the time has already lapsed, it would depend again on the budget if the feeding program will be renewed (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

These programs, though coined as band-aid solutions, as it will not end hunger and malnutrition, however, it can be called successful in the barangay because after the two to three months time frame for each of the feeding program, the people who were initially underweight, gained the body mass they lacked. Often times, they are able to surpass the underweight bracket, and up to normal weight. This contributes to the goal of ideally no underweight children in the community. Also according to our respondents, they also consider these programs successful, because the amount of money they save up on for food, actually helps in their financial problems. They would also respond very positively to this program because through it, they are able to eat food that tastes good and also has good nutritional content (Benoy, R., Retardo, W., San Juan, B., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Another program in action in this community would be lectures and classes, usually targeted for mothers to orient them on the different dietary needs of different types of people, such as children, and pregnant and lactating mothers. Basic concepts of their dietary patterns are taught to them, including which food items are appropriate to serve and ideas on how to prepare them, in order to try to help them apply these lessons in their own respective households in order to uphold proper nutrition. According to Benoy however, as opposed to the first project, this would not be as successful as the first project because it would coincide with other external factors such as budget to buy the required food items, or the time needed to prepare the food, and to some extent the complacency of these mothers also play a role in the effectiveness of this program (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

The Catholic Womens League (CWL), an organization of the church, also aids in the nutritional problems of the village. The CWL holds their own feeding program within the community, this happens thrice a week for two months, serving similar food items to that of the ones stated above to the residents. During the times the government feeding programs are idle, the group would fill in to provide this program especially when it is deemed necessary and for maintenance of the progress of those who have managed to normalize their weight (Benoy, R., personal communication, March 7, 2015).

Arkong Bato, under Barangay Kapitolyo, has a nutritionist-dietitian, Flor Anne Boncay, RND, whose expertise is shared among the other barangays of the first district in Pasig. Boncay not only surveys the overall nutrition of the barangay, she also makes decisions on which programs to implement in a barangay. On top of this, she spearheads the budget proposal of these projects. Among the projects are the lectures for dietary needs of different people which was primarily intended to educate family representatives on ways to prepare food so it will be optimal for the health of these specific people. In this endeavor, she is also the head and speaker for each lecture. In addition to this, she is also incharge of thoroughly training the Barangay Nutrition Scholars of the different barangays with basic concepts on nutrition so as to adequately carry out the task of implementing good nutrition in the community. According to BNS, Rhea Benoy, one of the difficulties the she and the nutritionist-dietician faced with is first, the lack of budget. This applies to both the allocation in the barangay for the projects they want to pursue, as well as the households financial constraints which limit their food intake. Second, in relation with the first major issue on budget allocation, is the continuity of the feeding program. They fear that because the sporadicness of these programs, children who may have already had progress with regard to their nutrition may regress back to their old state. Last, is the lack of care and effort of mothers to their children. This may be related with the first issue with regard to the budget of the family, and how they settle for food items which are cheaper and easier to prepare, and also with their attitude. According to Benoy, some mother are complacent when it comes to caring for their children. They do attend these talks and lecture wherein they gain knowledge and understanding of the different concepts of nutrition, however, they fail to apply this to their household thus defeating the purpose of the project. As long as this attitude remains among the different households, children, who manifest poor nutrition might not attain a better state (personal communication, March 7, 2015).

In conclusion, the findings of the study is sound with the concept of Goldberger where he states that the status of the community economically and the nutritional status of the people residing in it would correspond to one another.

As explained in the previous paragraphs, the people residing in the GK-Unilab Arkong Bato village, though not an extremely impoverished village, would present low-socioeconomic status given the factors that affect it, such as income, educational attainment and occupation. Among the factors, income plays an important role in the nutritional status of the people in the area because this would dictate the budget they have for food. That is why despite the availability of a wide variety of food to them, they would opt for cheaper food, which also pose lower nutritional value. This leads to the reflection of the lack of certain nutrients, which most evident in children who are stunted and underweight, such as carbohydrates and protein which are necessary for bulking up the body of humans.

This study would push for the barangays to pay more attention to nutrition as a whole. If the barangay could afford to have its own Registered Nutritionist-Dietician, it would be a good investment to have one concentrated solely on this barangay until at least the communitys nutritional deficiencies are removed and maintained at that point, and for stricter implementations of projects, especially those which require constant monitoring, such as that of the lecture programs for the diets and food preparation. It would also be advantageous for the barangay to seek organizations which could help in different programs, similar to the CWL and their assistance when it comes to feeding programs conducted in Arkong Bato and its other low-income communities based in the barangay. Lastly this study challenges other researchers to create a deeper version of this study. It is suggested for them to look into the private homes of Kapitolyo and the Rose Marie Lane community, those other communities that are beyond the scope of this study, in order to also assess their nutritional status and the other factors, beyond financial capability, which led to those results.

APPENDIX

Interviewees

a. Resty A. Cabrera

Former Kapitolyo Barangay Kagawad and Barangay Captain and Civil Engineer. It was during his term as Kagawad Chairman and Barangay Captain that the GK-Unilab construction was in full swing, and completed.

b. Rhea Samillano Benoy

Current Barangay Nutrition Scholar who oversees nutritional affairs in the barangay. She works closely with the district nutritionist-dietician to be able to deliver basic nutritional concepts to whoever is in need of it, especially in the cases of absence of the assigned RND.

Profile of Respondents

a. Wilma Retardo

She is working as a house helper in one of the homes in nearby barangay Bagong Ilog, while her husband works as a construction worker in one of the firms. She is a mother of 5 children, all are boys, and 6 grandchildren. However, she has a grandson who suffers from epileptic seizures, and who is awfully small for his age. Her children have been or are currently employed as drivers, barangay and factory working. She has lived in Arkong Bato since its construction back in 2002. Their family shares in Catholic beliefs, and they do not exhibit any inhibitions when it comes to food intakes, even despite the condition of her grandson. However, she herself does not eat beef, eggs and other types of food that are malansa or of a fishy stench, even if her family would consume these products. She and her husband earn around 7,000 PhP monthly, while her kids and their partners would earn a total of roughly 25,000 PhP (values are all gross income).

b. Beth San Juan

She is currently a parlorist in one of the locally owned salons in the barangay, while her husband is a tricycle driver. She is a mother of two girls, and she already has one granddaughter. All members of which are living under one roof in Arkong Bato for a good 10 or so years. Before she became a parlorist she was a barangay health worker. During her stay in the barangay, she took a course on massage therapy as offered by the barangay. She then used these skills to find a job in Fujairah, where she found a job in one of the royal families there. From there she learned basic salon skills. After some complications with the family she worked with she returned to the Philippines and found employment in one of the salons in the Barangay. She earns 6,500 PhP a month in the salon, while her husband would earn an average of 4,000-5,000 PhP a month (values are all gross income). Her family is also Catholic, and they also have a very flexible eating pattern, given the employment of both heads of the family and the relatively smaller family size.

c. Rhea Samillano Benoy

The current BNS of Barangay Kapitolyo is also a resident of the GK Village. She has resided there for 11 years. Before she became a BSN, she served as a health worker for the barangay, and from there she was chosen to become the BNS. As a BNS she is given about 2000 PhP allowance from the barangay. She is currently a mother of one, however she, together with her husband, lives with her mother in Arkong Bato. While she works as a BNS, her husband on the other hand is employed in the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG). As an employee he would earn roughly 10,000-15,000 PhP a month, depending on the performance of their team (all values are gross income).

Photos from the Community Visit

The external features of the GK-Unilab Arkong Bato Village

The communitys 3-storey multi-purpose hall

Strolling the side streets of the village

Initial gathering of information from the respondents

Interviewing respondents, Rhea Samillano Benoy, Wilma Retardo, and Beth San Juan (not in photo) in their home

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