This belief has been shattered after Sitio Scout Lozano in Barangay Laging Handa organized a goal-setting gathering for its residents. The event’s goal was to unite the neighborhood and to promote the bayanihan spirit among neighbors, or kapitbahay. 

The group, led by the Sitio’s vice president Johnny Ramos, presented their platforms and action plans to other Sitios and community members. “Our agenda, dubbed ‘Platform of Moving Forward’, aims to do the following: to have a dynamic, peaceful community of healthy and happy people which is our vision, and to work together now for a model community and a better tomorrow which is our mission,” Ramos, a public relations consultant by profession, stated. He hopes that other community groups will take the lead and also organize themselves. 

The Sitio concept is the brainchild of Laging Handa Chair Ralph Diaz, which he had introduced during their 1^st Barangay Assembly, held in February of this year. Chairman Diaz encouraged the various Sitio leaders to form and unite themselves into mini neighborhood organizations, an idea that can greatly help the barangay in micro-managing its constituents and diffusing its heavy workload. 

Leading the pack is former ambassador to Japan Ben F. Sanvictores, who urged the community to unite and closely coordinate with each other to iron out problems. He shared the values he learned from being a diplomat. “Diplomacy is a key component in human interaction. Mutual respect between individuals is paramount in order to get your message across,” he stated in his keynote speech. 

The first real endeavor of the group as outlined by Ogie Garcie, the Sitio’s Auditor, was to update the neighborhood directory. Called “Code Name: Getting to Know You”, the project aims to gather as many details as possible for all the residents of Barangay Laging Handa. “We launched this program last July 15 and we hope to finish this report by the end of this month,” Garcia informed ScoutAreaOnline.com.