15/08/2022
The Tell-Tale of The Misplaced Barangays
How do you feel if you discover that your place is misplaced on the map?
Do you think that the government has to take action and check if there is truth to it? And if there is, would it matter?
We are well aware that Maps were created purposely for navigation and for people to understand their place in the world. It allows navigators to determine the right way to reach distant locations. But what if the place we used to see on the map is not the actual location?
On July 30-August 3, 2022, Jamindan Mountaineers, a group of young enthusiasts in hiking and climbing mountains and also advocating for spreading kindness, trudge on a journey with a purpose, that is, to validate the actual location of five covered barangays namely, Maliao, Rizal Sur, Rizal Norte, Hilwan and Dalagsaan, with the use of GPS. (The red line on the map shows the covered area of the 5-day journey of the group)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S-owned utility that provides users with positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services. There is a civilian service that is freely available to all users on a continuous basis. In fact, government offices are using the same considering its outstanding performance over the years and have proven its dependability and integrity worldwide.
Below is the map showing the misplaced locations as well as the actual locations of Maliao, Rizal Sur, Rizal Norte, Hilwan and Dalagsaan. Aside from Dalagsaan, which was officially declared to be part of Libacao, Aklan, as the official map shows the inaccurate location to be part of Aklan, the remaining four barangays were known to be part of the Municipality of Tapaz.
However, if we based on the map below, it is clear that the actual locations of these five barangays are within the territory of Jamindan and not Tapaz and Aklan. The white dotted lines represent the border of the municipalities of Tapaz and Jamindan.
Granting that these five barangays were indeed misplaced, what is the best thing for the government to do? Is there a need to correct the erroneous entry? Would it affect the land area, population, and income of the Municipalities of Jamindan, Tapaz and Libacao?
And this would be another story….
But wait, these five barangays have one thing in common, they lack road access to efficiently deliver their agricultural products, and opportunities for the locals are elusive because of poor and inadequate logistics connectivity. It adversely affects the locals in countless other ways that make them poorer. If only government could hear their sentiments and weeping. These places have lots to offer and in fact, they are the major source of Abaca, if only roads are open and properly maintained, travel time is reduced and access to local markets is simple and not only that, workplaces, educational institutions, and medical and health services would significantly increase.
If only….
