A number of Palanca's residents realized that unless they owned their own lots, little real change could ever occur. Without ownership, they would wield no political clout with city government officials responsible for such things as water, sanitation and lighting. A handful of the residents formed the Palanca Village Homeowners' Association and, through the government's Community Mortgage Program, began taking the slow, arduous steps toward property ownership for the village's residents.
Even though a legal and accredited organization existed, the villages were not truly organized. They had no vision for their community, no long-term goals, no comprehensive plans, no working committees or action groups.
"There used to be only a few of us trying to work for the community's good", recalls Noe Sabuya, then president of the Homeowners' Association. "The villagers used to tell me that I was just wasting my time, and that the time for heroes was past."
World Vision's Urban Advance began providing assistance to the Palanca association through community organizing. An organizer was assigned to help the community's leaders organize and plan their future. In the first few meetings facilitated by the organizer, some 20 adults and young people began to shape their vision for Palanca's future. They discussed their community's major problems and ways these might be solved. Lack of land tenure, dirty surroundings, low income, lack of roads and adequate lighting in pathways, lack of adequate drainage, disunity, neglect of children and youth, and gambling were identified as the main problems.
At the top of their list of concerns, however, was the problem of land ownership. It would not be the easiest problem to tackle, but they decided it was the most urgent. They negotiated a deal with the owner of the land on which Palanca was situated to buy all 15,000 square meters of the property. It took an entire year for the Association board to secure the precious Landowners Agreement to sign.
As the residents negotiated with the government and with the owner, residents also began saving money collectively toward a Savings Lot Equity fund. This sum would be used to offset the difference between the government loan and the purchase price of the land. It also represented a tangible and very real commitment on the part of the people, and further bound them together in this venture.
The Association also realized during this time that the community would need to develop their site physically in order to qualify for the Community Mortgage Program. Previously, houses had been built anywhere their owners chose, since there had been no subdivision plan. The neighborhood sprawled out like an unruly maze. In order to put their community in order, residents voluntarily relocated their homes to make way for roads and pathways. They did this through a process known as bayanihan, in which about 30 men would literally lift a house onto their shoulders and then carry it to its new location. This process was perhaps the most concrete witness to the villagers of how they were coming together to help each other as they rebuilt their community. The values of cooperation, care and concern were developed and deepened during this process.
In addition, a swamp covering nearly a quarter of the total area needed to be filled. So the people, young and old alike, took to the task with picks and shovels. They first enlarged a canal so that the murky water could be drained off. Then they embarked on the backbreaking job of filling in the swamp with dirt.
With the village redesigned with moved houses, new roads, plotted land, and drained swamp, the people received the loan from the Community Mortgage Program, purchased the land from the former owner and deeded over each parcel to each family. "Houses are now arranged in order," said Association secretary Lenita Araneta. "People can easily go from street to street, from pathway to pathway. Before, people would just build fences wherever they pleased, even across pathways. Now, people seem to understand what being neighbors means. They now easily volunteer to help with community tasks."
Far more had occurred in Palanca than the physical rebuilding and the purchase of the community by its people. Beyond the physical changes were the changes in the people themselves. There had been a shift from indifference to active and meaningful participation, from powerlessness to beginning steps toward charting their own destiny and controlling their circumstances.
