Bridging The Gap

As suggested by this blog's title, I intend to address a very important issue in my home province of Zambales.  An Issue which, like a cycle, come and go and have remained unnoticed, both by the citizenry and the government.  Though not intended, this often leads to misunderstanding, suspicions, accusations and denials and in most instances is the main culprit why acrimonious atmosphere between the government leaders and their constituents sometimes prevails. Apparently, even the barangay leaders who are supposed to be the main conduit between the government and the constituency, have failed to address this lingering problem.  Most of them are busy attending to various concerns other than having a constant dialog and interaction with their people.  This is the mission of this Blog.  To bridge the communication gap between the government and the people; to encourage the people to voice out their thoughts while promoting transparency and understanding about what our local government is doing for us.

Others might say, “Hey there’s no need for that. We have our Facebook and with those localized groups or pages, anybody can post his local concern.”  Of course, this may be partly true.  But Facebook was designed to be a social network.  Mark envisioned FB not as a public affairs and current events site but something where he and his friends can post friendly, funny or sometimes naughty messages.  FB may have evolved into something like “anything goes” lately, but issues which need to be addressed and deliberated upon requires a broader spectrum.

I for one have tried posting certain public interest concerns in FB.  It was interesting, inspiring at times.  But then I noticed,  such postings flood the group’s pages and, let’s face it, may come annoying to those who are not at all inclined to discuss such serious issues.  However, abandoning this interest is not the best answer to the problem of flooded FB pages.  There’s got to be a medium,  a place where we can discuss not only newsworthy concerns, but anything which may affect the lives of every Zambaleño. Whether it concerns our environment, peace and order, industry, agriculture, tourism, economics, et cetera, et cetera.  Anything which any ordinary Zambaleño on the street might wish to bring forward to the attention of our government.  But we’re not about to leave Facebook just like that.

I intend to link every blog post here with my FB account.  That way, only the link and a few comment will be posted in the FB page.  Those who might want to further expound on the blog post’s subject can follow the link and there, can join the debate or discussion.  I also intend to link all of my blog posts to the concerned government office through whatever link available on the net.  This blog will adopt the principles of fair and balanced journalism and shall forever adhere to the norms of decency and wholesome writing.