By Manny Piñol
Lake Mainit, Surigao del Norte – Being told that I was the first Agriculture Secretary to ever reach the lakeside town of Mainit on Friday was not really something that made me proud or happy.
In fact, it made me sad realizing that over a century after the Philippine government was established by our founding fathers, there are still remote places in the country where people have never felt how it is to be touched and listened to by officials like me.
The “Biyaheng Bukid” which the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) held in Mainit, gathered farmers, fisherfolk and women from the lakeside towns of Mainit and Kitcharao in Surigao del Norte and Jabonga, Agusan del Norte.
When I entered the municipal gymnasium with Mainit Mayor Crisanta Mondano, Jabonga Mayor Jasmin Monton and Directors Abel James Monteagudo of DA and John Albaladejo of BFAR, I immediately sensed the electrifying excitement of people.
They roared and applauded and when I took the floor to engage them in a consultation where they openly shared with me their problems, including concerns which were outside of the mandate of the DA.
Mayor Mondano proudly announced that it was the first visit ever by an Agriculture Secretary to her town.
As I responded to their concerns, their faces lighted up and I saw teary-eyed older people who perhaps could hardly believe that the problems they faced for so long like access to small credit so they do not have to borrow from usurers could be addressed that quick.
Farmers and fishermen, including woman groups, in each of the towns of Mainit, Kitcharao and Jabonga will be given access to a credit facility of P5-M or a total of P15-M for the three towns.
Rice seeds totaling 1,500 bags were also delivered so farmers could replant after their fields were attacked by the Black Bugs while 150 fishing boats complete with fishing gears were turned over to fisherfolk families.
Issues and concerns like irrigation systems and coconut farms were gathered to be referred to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) which are not under the DA.
I wanted to stay longer in Mainit but I had to leave the DA and BFAR staff behind after two hours to finish the turn over of projects and assistance because the helicopter pilot told me that dark clouds would cover the skies at 2 p.m.
Flying out of Mainit, I asked myself how many more people in the remote areas of the country have not been reached and touched by government.
This was actually the question which motivated me to start this nationwide journey on May 19, 2016, three days after then President-elect Rody Duterte announced that I would be his Agriculture Secretary and over a month before I could officially assume the office.
Today, 20 months later, I am left with a few provinces – Batanes, Dinagat, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Rizal, Bulacan, Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental – which I still have to visit but which are already in the list of areas for the “Biyaheng Bukid” sorties.
When I am done with the sorties, I will write a report to the Filipino people on the dreams and aspirations of the masses which I heard through their voices, not black and white reports from the field.
This will come in the form of a book titled “Biyaheng Bukid: A Journey of Love” which will be published middle of this year.
(Photos of the Biyaheng Bukid forum in Mainit, Surigao del Norte taken by Alan Jay Jacalan.)
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