Lil Green Gold Town Thrives

In my 40++ years on earth, I haven't really settled for more than 10 years in a single home. My longest stay was in my parent's place for about 16 years (from childhood to high school), but back then we had 3 homes (our main residence and 2 farmhouses in other villages) and we resided in all of them in that period.

I then moved to the city and lived there for seven years during my university days (4 years of schooling and 3 years of employment). I left the country afterward and spent almost a decade overseas. It wasn't until 2017 that we finally came home and moved here to the countryside.

That being said, I did observe various changes in our locality over the years. Most were improvements, impacting people's way of life, generally for the better.

The town has become a melting pot of workers from around the country (house helpers, bar and restaurant servers or attendants, farm workers, waiters or waitresses, etc), and business owners (Indians, Fil-Chinese), thus blending various cultures, especially since migrant workers often marry local people.

It is now a thriving little place with a booming agricultural industry.

With fields and farms spreading across mountainsides, businesses are growing too. Grocery shops, marts, farmers' centers, delivery, recreational or entertainment services, hardware stores, aggregates, and what have you are increasing in number. There are more banks and related establishments, improving financial services. Sometime last year, one of the country's largest banks (Banco De Oro) opened its branch in the heart of town.

New houses are being built indicating population growth. The demand for residential and business areas has likewise driven the value of real properties up in the last few years, with prime locations selling on par with the city properties' pricing.

Along with the progress in our little town, people's quality of life has improved a lot too. The majority of the households have at least one automobile. There are no more buses here (we had some 15 or so years ago). Public utility vehicles are uncommon in most areas (except in the center of town) because few utilize them. Some high schoolers drive to school in private cars or motorbikes (this was not the case years ago).

Back then, streets were usually empty. Now, roadside parking is becoming a pressing concern, especially in the valley where most people do not have garages and they park along the streets, impeding traffic. Progress certainly has its cons and this is just one of them.

Improving access to education and roads to remote areas

New roads connecting far-flung villages to the town center (albeit still needing further improvements), and basic schools are being opened, thanks to a program called KALAHI-CIDSS, that is helping to fast-track the developments of social services and infrastructures in places that need them most.

Major areas have access to better internet and cable services. Unlike in the past when options were limited, broadband and fiber internet connections are now available (although inaccessible to secluded residences like ours). 5G is expected to come soon too.

Summing Up

The town is still very welcoming and communities here are close-knit, mostly with an "all for one, one for all" mentality.

While more infra and facilities are needed, and our municipality is still considered third-class in the government category (the average annual revenue of the LGU is less than 50 million), people here can fend for themselves. There aren't any beggars around. The crime rate is low, hence, the town is peaceful and safe not only for the local people but also for visitors.

I'm positive that things will only get better...