Shortly after I returned from a two-day difficult trip to Olutanga Island, I was asked why I take the long journeys to the remotest parts of Mindanao.
The answer is simple.
Governance is like the practice of medicine.
Unless the doctor personally examines the patient, he will never be able to prescribe the correct medicine.
Even when I was Secretary of Agriculture, I took long road and sea travels because each and every area I visited had distinct problems.
It was in Aparri, Cagayan when I came up with the idea of using Solar Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) to draw water from deep rivers.
My trip to Mapanas, Northern Samar and Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat, including Tawitawi, where Tuna and high value fish were just wasted made me realize the squandered resources from the sea simply because of the absence of a small ice-making equipment.
This gave birth to the Mindanao Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Program which will build “Fish Centers” complete with post-harvest facilities in 22 fishing grounds.
Three-month-long floods in Bunawan resulted in the crafting of the Survival and Recovery Loaning Program (SURE) while a visit to the poor town of Malimono, Surigao del Norte gave birth to the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) Loaning Program.
The National Color Coded Agriculture Guide Map (www.farmersguidemap.gov.ph) was crafted because many farmers like me still do not not know what plant to grow in our fields, taking into account climatic and soil conditions.
Many other programs like Balik Sigla sa Ilog at Lawa, Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD), the 4Ks for the tribal communities, Green Mindanao, MinDAWater Supply Program were all governance innovations conceptualized because of problems I saw on the ground.
Without being immodest, I could proudly declare that I conceptualized and crafted all of these Programs.
In Olutanga, I came out a wiser man realizing that there are many more areas in Mindanao where vast resources just lay waiting to be harvested by the people with a little help from government.
Lapulapu Fish Cage Farming, Seaweeds Processing into fertilizer and feeds, Lobster Farming, Blue Crab, Fish Drying and Packaging and Sea Cucumbers are among the opportunities available for the people.
I asked a local inventor to design a machine which could be operated off-grid to dry fish and process seaweeds using bio-mass and solar power.
(Update: As of March 7, 2021, the proto-type had been established in Olutanga and is now being used by fishermen.)
These ideas would not have come into realization had I not crossed the rough Moro Gulf under the heat of the noon-day sun and travelled through the difficult 29-kilometer Olutanga-Alicia Road.
#LetsSailTheSeasToDiscover!
#LetsWalkAnExtraKilometer!
#LetsClimbOneMoreMountain!
#LetsCrossOneMoreRiver!
#LetsChaseOneMoreDream!
(This video presentation is a production of the Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao Media Team for the Mindanao Development Authority.)
https://fb.watch/aMrio6O3pl/
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