Hanie A. Bud: His Public Health Narrative
It was cool and gloomy night when a healthy baby boy was born more than three decades ago in a peaceful Province of Basilan. He is the second to the youngest in the family of twelve (12) children – six boys and six girls. His parents wished for him a good future, which made them pledged to take good care of him and ensure his basic rights as a child if only to assure of his bright future. Unfortunately, he became a half-orphaned by father when he was at the age of 5.
His mother could provide him but less support in life, much less in ensuring his education and other personal needs because he was already an orphan. In order to ease the hardship, the little boy made up his mind to move to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi to join his married brother (the late Professor Ahmad Alih A. Bud) who was the founding chairperson of the Southern Philippine Center for Islamic Studies (SPCIS) of the Mindanao State University @ Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
He grew up securely under his foster parents (his brother and sister in-law) who enrolled him at MSU Laboratory Elementary School as a grade 3 pupil, after graduation from elementary, he was among the lucky students awarded scholarship grant to study at the MSU Science High School in the same municipality where he finished his secondary education in 1995. In college, his foster parents sent him to one of the well-known institutions of learning in Mindanao to study International Relations at MSU Marawi, located in Marawi City, Philippines. After graduation from college in 1999, he was already equipped with good knowledge about the society he lives in; he became open-minded person and he started his exposures to social realities, which prompted him to go back home to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and challenged himself to join several local youth organizations. He involved himself in various wholesome community activities; he attended various trainings such as Reproductive Health Training, Coastal Resource Management, Community Organizing and Community Development, and the like. He became active and motivated Bangsamoro youth leader when he was challenged to handle key positions under the Bangsamoro Youth Assembly. He performed crucial roles and responsibilities effectively and efficiently as officer in the organization. He actively participated in community development activities, addressing a lot of community issues and concerns; he involved himself in local development planning and researches especially in areas of Maternal and Child Health, madrasah education, children and youth welfare and development, health and nutrition, environment, Culture of Peace and Traditional Conflict Resolution.
In 2002 the Mindanao State University hired him as a college instructor, teaching social science subjects, Islamic Studies and Culture. The young Bud was indeed an epitome of youth worthy of emulation in his contemporary generation. In 2006, the MSU-TCTO sent him to Australia to pursue his master’s degree at the University of Sydney, in Australia, under the auspices of the Australian government through the Philippine-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF). He finished his masters in Australia in 2007, then after, he came home to serve his institution, the Mindanao State University where he served as a professor for couple of years before he joined the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
In 2012, he worked for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and primarily tasked to carry out the leadership functions of the office of the Bangsamoro Youth Affairs. After few months of holding office at the youth affairs, he worked for the Regional Port Management Authority (RPMA) as General Manager and despite almost unbearable concerns and challenges; every single resolution was strategically doing well. Official functions and responsibilities turned out trouble-free for the young RPMA Manager who is equipped with good management skills and experiences instrumental in addressing difficult challenges and concerns in the organization.
After serving the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for almost five years, he was encouraged by his own constituents to participate in a political contest. The people backed him up when he vied for the mayoral race on May 11, 2016. It was no less than the trust and solid support of the masses that catapulted the young challenger to the highest post as the local chief executive of Maluso.
Now, at infancy stage of his political career, Mayor Hans as many constituents call him had inevitably faced various local political issues and concerns mostly inherited from his predecessor, almost impossible to accept, which drew significant challenges upon a neophyte politician, like Mayor Bud.
Resolving local social realities is not effortless for any new local chief executive, and that Municipality of Maluso is not spared of. Hence, leading the Municipality of Maluso for the first time, the new mayor made use of his past experiences combined several strategies to effectively and efficiently manage his government while administering genuine reform in his own municipality. He knew that the multiplying effects of Social issues requires non overnight resolution, especially on health related problems, while there is available health facility, medicines and small equipment needed to address health concerns of poor families are not accessible, such kind of gaps have struck attention of the new local chief executive, which mainly, motivated him to introduce local reform most particularly along line health concerns. Secondly, the love and concern for others are both virtues and values that keep reverberating in the mind of the new Mayor. Hence, he sat down together with other local leaders, sectors representative, and stakeholders to hatch a local development plans and strategies, set a clear local policy direction in order to address local concerns, especially health related aspects, as they regularly convene the local health board to discuss issues, plan and re-plan for actions, formulate appropriate strategies and recommendations to address health related concerns of the municipality.
As far as public health is concern, the Local Government Unit of Maluso is committed to pump priming programs, projects and services geared towards Improved quality of health gains all over the municipality of Maluso in 2022. The old poetry of the local folks reminds us of traditional value that health above wealth is very crucial for everyone:
Misan kita dayahan, bang baran ta sakitan, hapus ha pag ubatan, way ra kakuyagan.
Even if we are rich, when we are weak and sick, treatment is tiring, due unhappy ending.
Health for all is of great importance, let it not just a mere concern of the local leaders but the responsibility of every person, after all the government is the people, and every person can be a great contributor for a healthy community, and a community for a province, region, nation and the world, because we as a community is part of the whole.
Our community is at stake. Making changes in our health practice is an essential first step. And, personal choices are not a substitute for political will to do action. Public health problems can be solved through public policies governing health related concerns. No one in the community should not have access to health services – this is the essence of a healthy community.
