BONTOC- Volunteerism in Mountain Province will surely be strengthened following the executive order of Governor Leonard G. Mayaen creating the Volunteer Citizenship Program (VCP) of the provincial government.
During the Orientation and first meeting of the VCP Committee chaired by Provincial Administrator Johny V. Lausan with members comprising the department heads, assistant department heads and administrative officers of the provincial government on July 16, 2014 at Samoki Valley Inn; the committee were informed on the importance and legal basis of the establishment of the VCP.
In his message, Lausan stressed that the program promotes the spirit of volunteerism among employees of the provincial government and the people in the province.
Moreover, partnerships among government employees, organization and civilians will be strengthened while more constituents who are in need will benefit from free services.
Marites Cariño of the Department of Interior Local Government (DILG) –Provincial Office who is the speaker in the orientation stressed that volunteerism is the principle of donating time and energy for the benefit of the general public without expecting anything in return.
Cariño explained that R.A.9818 or the Volunteer Act of 2007 provides that national government agencies and Local Government Units (LGUs) shall establish volunteer programs in their respective offices to promote and encourage volunteering in government programs and projects as well as enjoin government employees to render volunteer service in social, economic and humanitarian development undertakings in the community.
With this, the VCP aims to harness available human resources in the community towards productive ends while inculcating the values of volunteerism to the younger generation that they will appreciate and participate. “Committed volunteers, be a civilian, private individual, organization and government employee can enrol in the program to volunteer their services for free in their chosen areas of expertise or interest”, Cariño further said.
Relative to this, a volunteer desk will be set-up in conspicuous place where the volunteers may stay. She clarified that the volunteer desk is different from that of Public Assistance Desk since the former is rendering free services by the volunteers in their chosen expertise while the latter is concentrated in assisting clients entering the office and giving information they need.
Cariño further elaborated that a databank will be put up containing the list of volunteers and their chosen expertise for easier identification and retrieval of information. She expounded that an engineering student may volunteer in community beautification; a nurse may volunteer his/her services in medical mission, students may volunteer their services in tree planting and clean-up drive, a social worker may volunteer in guidance counselling to victims of disaster, calamity or accident while a carpenter and architect may volunteer their services for free in construction of public schools and health facilities.
However, to ensure effective implementation of the programs, requirements and guidelines will be finalized by the VCP Committee before they start to accept or enlist volunteers.
