While couples were busy booking dinner reservations and posting roses on social media, the team of Lakaran Institute (formerly SEA Inc) was celebrating a different kind of love this Hearts Day — love for community.

Led by Municipal Coordinator Mary Angelic Muzones, the staff conducted the Adaptation of the Barangay Strategic Plan and Vision-Mission of Barangay Bagumbayan, Santa Barbara, Iloilo through a General Assembly that gathered CSOs, business groups, BLGU officials, and residents.

Because sometimes, the most romantic thing you can do… is plan responsibly for the future.

One resident jokingly said, “Ma’am, wala kami ka-date ngayon.”

To which someone replied, “Meron — ang barangay natin.”

And that, in many ways, captured the spirit of the day.

Instead of candlelight, there were PowerPoint slides.
Instead of chocolates, there were strategic frameworks.
Instead of love songs, there were shared visions for progress.

But make no mistake — this was still about the heart.

The heart of governance is participation.
The heart of development is shared direction.
And the heart of Bagumbayan beat loudly inside that assembly hall.

Through open dialogue and collective reflection, participants revisited the barangay’s Vision and Mission — not as framed statements on a wall, but as living commitments. Business leaders offered practical insights. CSOs shared grassroots realities. Residents voiced hopes that were both simple and profound: safer streets, stronger livelihoods, and a community that listens.

As one elder quipped during the discussion,
“Ang plano, parang relasyon. Kapag walang malinaw na direksyon, madaling maligaw.”

A strategic plan, after all, is a promise — a promise that today’s decisions are guided by tomorrow’s dreams.

What made the gathering meaningful was not just the technical adoption of a plan, but the visible ownership of it. Governance ceased to be something “out there” and became something among us. It was bayanihan in action — structured, intentional, and future-facing.

On a day the world celebrates affection, Bagumbayan chose commitment.

And perhaps that is the deeper message:
Love is not only expressed in flowers and hashtags. Sometimes, it is expressed in attendance sheets, community dialogue, and the courage to align vision with action.

Because in the end, a well-loved community is one that plans together.

Happy Hearts Day — from a barangay that chose to fall in love with its own future.