By Manny Piñol
Gumaca, Quezon – In a province dominated by the ruling Liberal Party in the last elections, rice and coconut farmer Manolo Opeda was the odd-man out as he and another farmer friend vigorously campaigned for then Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte.
“Sabi nila mga sira ulo daw kami dahil wala namang panalo si Duterte,” Opeda said during the open forum which marked the launching of the “Modern Coconut Farms” program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) in Gumaca town.
He was overjoyed when Duterte won, he said, but for three years after his candidate’s victory, he virtually had nothing to show that life would be different for farmers like him under the new President.
“Hindi ko alam kung sino lalapitan at ramdam namin kami yong mga bayaning nakalinutan sa rebolusyon ni Pangulong Duterte,” he said as he stood before during the open forum.
Yesterday, however, Opeda received what his community has long been dreaming of – a commitment for the construction of a Solar-Powered Irrigation System in their 85-hectare area in Calauag town.
“Noong makita kita kanina para ko nang nakita si Pangulong Duterte at alam ko ngayong araw na ito matitigil na ang pangangantyaw ng mga tao na sira ulo ako at wala naman akong napala kay Duterte,” Opeda said as he showed the ID cards issued to him during the 2016 campaign period as part of the Duterte team.
The Solar-Powered Irrigation System for Opeda’s group will entail more expense as the source of water is about 5 kilometers away.
I instructed DA Southern Luzon Director Arnel de Mesa to prioritize the validation and engineering design of Opeda’s SPIS so it could be included in the 2020 budget allocation.
Opeda was ecstatic when he heard of my commitment.
“Ngayon, hindi na kami limot na bayani ” he said.
Before he was interviewed by the engineers, I told him that he was not forgotten at all.
“Talagang pinahanap ka ni Pangulong Duterte sa akin para tulungan. Ang sabi nya sa akin ‘Hanapin mo si Manolo Opeda at malaki ang tulong nya sa akin’,” I told him.
Of course, he knew I was just joking but he also knew that the sorties the DA is doing through the “Biyaheng Bukid” is aimed at reaching out to people who believed and hoped that their lives will change for the better under the Duterte Administration.
(Photos of Manolo Opeda taken by Gian Carlo Luage, DA AFID.)
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