Biyaheng Bukid Day 4 TYPHOON YOLANDA SURVIVORS COULD BE FOOD PRODUCERS

By Manny Piñol

On Day 4 of Biyaheng Bukid, I dediced to drop by the resettlement areas of the families ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) two years ago because of curiousity and what I saw gave me an idea on how to help these families recover from the tragedy and become contributors to the food production program of the country.

The idea cropped up after I talked to a woman who identified herself as Perlas Aler and whose husband, a fisherman, was staying in a another barangay because the fishing grounds were about 10 kilometers away from the resettlement area near the San Juanico Bridge in the outskirts of Tacloban City.

“Duterte man kami dito,” she told me when she saw the Rody Duterte ballers in my right wrist although I did not tell her who I was.

I asked her what it was that she wanted to ask from the new President and she said a little capital to start a sari-sari store.

But when I asked her who would buy from her sari-sari store when people in the resettlement area did not seem to have a livelihood project to earn money and that there were already so many sari-sari stores in the P289-million facility, she suddenly realized and said: “Ay, oo nga pala.” (Yes, you’re right.)

That was when I remembered the Israeli group headed by my friend Eyal Ben Ari of the Gur Lavi Corproation which builds Green Houses and teaches recipients to grow export-quality vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, eggplants and others which are in demand in the 5-star hotels.

These hotels, some of whom are just across the channel in Cebu City, and even in Metro Manila would just be too happy to be able to contribute to the rehabilitation of the families affected by Typhoon Yolanda by buying their export-quality vegetables.

Not many people know this, but most 5-star hotels in Metro Manila actually import their vegetables, including cut flowers, because of the low quality of the locally produced items.

Yesterday, I looked around the resettlement area and I saw wide open areas with tall shrubs and grass and I imagined how these abandoned areas could help change the lives of these people who two years ago were ravaged by the strongest typhoon ever to hit the country in history.

They could even raise hogs in a communal facility and I have designed a model for this when I was still Governor. They could also raise meat chicken or go into organic egg production. A lot of things could be done to lift them up again.

But what if Duterte did not win the elections? What if he did not appoint me to be his secretary of agriculture? What if I did not embark on a nation-wide journey called Biyaheng Bukid? What if I decided to skip the resettlement area?

Sometimes, I can’t help but smile, bow down and say a prayer at how God makes all things possible.

Indeed, when God closes doors, He opens windows.

As for me, I have to go back to these people after President Rody Duterte assumes office on June 30.

Then, I will prove to them that effective governance actually is just a simple combination of inspiration and imagination.

(Photos of the Typhoon Yoland resettlement areas by John Pagaduan.)