MABINAY TOWN EYES AGRO-INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY SHIFT

The local economy has to adapt to a more productive industry in order to move forward on its road to cityhood, Mabinay, Negros Oriental Mayor Joeterry Abada-Uy said on Friday.

“Mabinay is eyeing to shift to agro-industrial economy because it will not work if we will just remain on what we are used to,” she said during the Network briefing News with host Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar as he discussed programs they have placed to assist the agricultural sector.

The local government is supporting mechanization of the agriculture sector, which is also in line with the programs of the Department of Agriculture. Farmer cooperatives there were given mechanical equipment, such as tractor, harvester,and farm implements, for their crops. They are also a recipient of a Solar Power Irrigation System. assist the rice farmers whose incomes were affected by the drop in the farm gate price of palay.

Aside from this the town is also a recipient of the animal dispersal project under DA’s SAAD program, an agricultural intervention that is intended to help alleviate poverty among the marginalized sectors of agriculture and fishery.

Mayor Uy said they are now seeking the assistance of the provincial government for the concreting of more farm-to-market roads there. She added that almost 95% of their main road is already concreted and this is really a big help for their farmers.

On the other hand, Mayor Uy said they are planning for the eventual cityhood of Mabinay by focusing their efforts on allowing more investors to venture in the municipality, and likewise increase job opportunities there.

There were also 110 marginalized farmers who benefitted from DA’s Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE Aid Program). This aims to She also noted that they are qualified in terms of municipal revenues, and required area, and the only thing lacking is the required population to become a city.

Secretary Andanar: Peace and order at hand with creation of Bangsamoro Region

The administration has attained various notable achievements in terms of ensuring peace and order in the country and part of this is the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said on Friday.

He cited this as one of the legacies of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in terms of attaining lasting peace in Mindanao.

“Ilang administrasyon yan na ipinaglaban pero ngayon lang sa panahon ni Presidente Duterte naging batas [Many administrations have pushed for it, but it was only now during the term of President Duterte that it became a law],” he said.

Through Republic Act 11054 or the ‘Bangsamoro Organic Law, the Muslim community in Mindanao was given the autonomy to pursue its political, economic, social, and cultural development in its indicated jurisdiction.

The legislation culminates the peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that spanned for 17 years since its talks started in 1997.

Apart from this, the administration’s anti-criminality, and anti-illegal drugs campaigns have pushed back the number of crimes reported across the country. According to Secretary Andanar, the crime volume in the country during the administration of President Duterte dropped by at least 64 percent.

Along with this, more than P50 billion worth of illegal drugs have been seized; more than 700 drug dens have been dismantled; and more than 1.2 million drug dependents have voluntarily surrendered themselves to be rehabilitated, to date.

“Mas panatag na ang loob ng ating mga kababayan na maglakad pauwi dahil [sila] ay kumbinsido na hindi sila mabibiktima ng krimen. Mayroon na pong law and order [Our countrymen are more at ease, that they can walk home knowing they will not be victims of crime. There is law and order],” he said as he went on to mention other initiatives which defanged modus operandi in airports, such as the tanim-bala extortion scheme and the so-called pastillas scheme.

The government has reported significant strides in terms of its anti-insurgency bid in conflict-affected areas in the countryside through the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Secretary Andanar cited that more than 18,000 rebels have surrendered to the authorities because of the whole-of-nation approach. This approach has been successful in convincing communist rebels to give up the armed struggle as there are readily available programs and projects that will help them reintegrate into their communities.

There is also the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which was signed by President Duterte to give the country more teeth in curbing threats and acts of terrorism.