Before he became a barangay official, a pastor, and a community leader, Jesus C. Pungcol Jr. was simply a fisherman in Barangay Eastern Cabul-an, Buenavista, Bohol, raising three children and living a quiet life with little awareness of government programs.
That changed with a single barangay assembly.
Pungcol recalls first hearing about KALAHI-CIDSS without fully understanding it, even mistaking it for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). It was only when their barangay captain gathered residents to explain the initiative that things began to make sense.
Each household was required to send a representative. Pungcol attended. What he learned there would alter the course of his life.
When KALAHI-CIDSS Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB) rolled out in Buenavista in 2005, he signed up as a volunteer. He stepped into unfamiliar territory: community meetings, participatory planning, and decision-making processes that demanded courage and patience.
Amid political tensions in the barangay, he kept showing up.
At the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum (MIBF), where communities compete and prioritize development projects, Pungcol pushed for a solution to transportation challenges in their island barangay. He argued for fairness between mainland and island communities, even when his proposal faced resistance.
For him, the process mattered as much as the outcome.
“It taught me transparency, accountability, and that decisions should serve the common good,” he said.
His commitment deepened over time. Even after a tricycle accident during a post-qualification activity on mainland Bohol, Pungcol remained active. He later joined the Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC), stepping in following a member’s death.
From volunteer to leader, he became one of the group’s pillars, implementing the KALAHI-CIDSS projects.
One of their most transformative projects was the construction of a causeway; it became a lifeline for residents of Eastern Cabul-an.
Before the causeway was built, crossing between areas, especially during low tide, was risky. Residents navigated slippery paths and faced threats from marine creatures. With the causeway in place, movement became safer, faster, and more reliable.
Fishers could transport their catch more efficiently. Emergency response improved. Daily life, once shaped by limitation, became more manageable.
But the journey came with sacrifices.
Pungcol faced unstable income due to volunteer work, harsh weather conditions, and even family tensions. Still, he pressed on, driven by the visible changes in his community.
“Seeing people’s lives improve, that was enough,” he said.
His leadership did not stop at KALAHI-CIDSS.
Pungcol was eventually elected as a barangay kagawad, where he continued championing community-driven development. He pushed for a resolution allocating barangay funds for the maintenance of KALAHI projects, ensuring their sustainability beyond implementation.
He also forged partnerships with government agencies. As president of the Eastern Cabul-an Fisheries Association, he helped secure fish cage projects from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), opening new livelihood opportunities for residents.
Today, he continues to mentor KALAHI volunteers, sharing lessons from his journey.
In 2024, his efforts were recognized when he received the Regional KALAHI Bayani Award, an affirmation of years of service rooted in quiet, consistent work.
In Buenavista, Pungcol is now known as a community leader often invited to training and tapped by the local government to share his story.
But for him, the transformation is simple.
KALAHI-CIDSS was never just a program. It was a platform, one that turned an ordinary fisherman into a catalyst for change.
His story proved that real leadership is not always loud or visible. It grows in small barangays, in volunteer meetings, in difficult decisions, and in people who choose to serve, even without recognition.
In communities like Eastern Cabul-an, change does not begin with titles.
It begins with participation. ###