IN RECENT YEARS, THE AGRIcultural town of Rosales in Pangasinan was largely known for Carmen, a village where buses made pit stops on their way to Baguio City or the Ilocos.

The village, however, had nothing much to offer to travelers, apart from the delicacy tupig (native rice cake) sold by vendors. Despite its name recall (a famous actress was named Carmen Rosales), the place was drab and poverty was evident.

But Rosales, named after the flower rosal (gardenia), is now far from the image that Carmen, the town’s “window,” used to project.

Mall presence

A branch of the shopping mall chain SM carries Rosales’ name like a badge of honor and its mere presence has pulled the once sleepy town to progress since it opened last year.

Gone is the reputation of it being a hideout of illegal drug dealers.

Rosales, in fact, has been cited as the cleanest, greenest and safest town of Pangasinan for three consecutive years (2006, 2007 and 2008) by the provincial government.

For the transformation, the Civil Service Commission gave the 2008 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award to Mayor Ricardo Revita, a former police official.

Revita, now on his second term, was cited for his outstanding service and accomplishments in public service through projects “leading to the invaluable investments that improved and revitalized Rosales into a progressive town.”

Social programs

Yet it is not the physical investments that matter most to residents. Rather, it’s the investments poured on social programs, such as education for out-of-school youth.

Revita said the reality about the need to educate out-of-school youth stared him at the face in 2007 when a dropout ran for chair of the Sangguniang Kabataan.

The candidates were deciding on who would be fielded as officers, and a boy, who was deeply involved in community activities, was nominated. But he was rejected by all others.

Revita later learned that the boy finished only Grade 2 and the other candidates felt he was out of their league. The boy was so humiliated that he never joined any SK activity again.

He also cited a story of an 18-year-old high school dropout who tried to kill himself when his father scolded him when he asked for P1. The father, it turned out, is also a high school dropout who drives a pedicab to feed his family.

Lack of education

“I realized then that lack of education among residents was a big problem,” Revita said.

A survey done by the municipal government showed that 4,300 residents, aged 15-25 years, had not completed elementary or high school education.

From their ranks arose delinquents and youth offenders, showing that somehow, lack of education, poverty and crime rate are closely intertwined, said Revita.

“I discussed with my son, Rickson, a program to help out-of-school youth complete at least their high school education using the SK’s local funds,” he said.

The SK has a P250,000 annual budget for its programs and projects, and most of the money is used for sports tournaments and low-impact projects. The Revitas thought it would be wiser to use the money to educate the youth.

Out-of-school youth program

Under the municipal government’s continuing education program for out-of-school youth, classes are held three times a week. The first batch of learners totaled 380, including a nursing mother and a 54-year-old father, who both wanted to complete their secondary education.

About 120 enroled in the second batch.

Just before the first batch started, Revita asked the students who among them had trouble with the police. “Many hands were raised,” he said.

After a while, however, those who raised their hands looked disciplined and wanted to become policemen themselves.

“So we are addressing not only illiteracy but also juvenile delinquency,” Revita said.

Only 17 students in the first batch passed the Department of Education’s accreditation and equivalency test for secondary education.

But Revita said this number was good enough. He hoped that more would be inspired to pursue their studies up to college or take technical courses.

Another project close to Revita’s heart is the eco-tourism program.

About 10 kilometers from the national highway is a 100-hectare area of rolling hills covered with forest and fruit trees and straddling four villages.

“This used to be a lair of insurgents,” Revita said. “When I was a police officer, I was assigned here to keep insurgents away. I found it a beautiful place worth preserving and developing for eco-tourism.”

The area has a lake fed by the springs from Mt. Balungao, an extinct volcano. Two other lakes in adjoining villages offer residents a place to relax and bond with their families.

Revita said the place was inaccessible to most residents until he ordered the construction of a road across the hills.

Hundreds of fruit trees were planted there and when these bear fruits, residents and visitors can grab anything they can eat, he said.

“Rosales is blessed with bountiful resources and beauty, and we hope to make it worthy of its name,” he said.