Hamtic, Antique (August 9) – Farmers and fisher folks of Antique who have long complained that they were not getting their fair share of assistance from the national government, gathered in Hamtic town Wednesday last week to celebrate what they called as an unprecedented attention given to them by President Rody Duterte.
Governor Rhodora Cadiao said the Biyaheng Bukid Farmers and Fisher Folks Forum, the second to be staged in the province this year, made Antiqueños feel that they are cared for by the new administration.
Some P200-M worth of interventions, including fiberglass fishing boats, farm machineries and other projects were turned over during the half-day activity attended by about 1,000 people.
Other projects amounting to about P3-B have been lined up for implementation in 2018 through the help of Senator Loren Legarda, chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate, who traces her maternal roots in Antique.
Among the major projects were the long-awaited road network in the mountain town of San Remigio and the fish landing facilities in all coastal towns and cold storage in the heart of the province.
While Antique is considered a major fishing ground for Tuna and other valuable fish species, the catch of fishermen is brought to Iloilo where most of the ice plants and the cold storage facilities are located, depriving fishermen of added income.
“You have rocked the province today,” Governor Cadiao said during her speech.
For the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, what the Antiqueños called as an unprecedented moment in their lives was just another working day.
(Photos by Gian Carloa Luage, DA-AFID)
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