Why wasn’t this done before?’ Sen. Lacson commends MinDA Fruit Fest Program

Pasay City – Senator Panfilo Lacson commended the initial gains of the MinDA Fruits Festival in Thursday’s Senate Committee Hearing on Mindanao Development Authority’s budget for fiscal year 2020.

“We commend this initiative of Secretary Piñol for providing a direct link of Mindanao’s agri-producers to key markets in Luzon,” said Senator Lacson who chairs the sub-committee on finance.

Senator Lacson also supported the plans to further expand the initiative to other parts of the country.

MinDA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has previously announced that after the four successful staging of the fruits festival in Northern Luzon, the festival will go to Cebu on September 28 to 29.

“Secretary Michael Dino, Presidential Assistant for Visayas, will host the Cebu staging of the MinDA Fruits Festival to give Cebuanos access to fresh fruits from Mindanao at lower prices,” Piñol said.

The sub-committee has likewise approved and endorsed for Senate Plenary deliberation the agency’s proposed budget which includes activities to pursue inclusive agribusiness program in Mindanao.

MinDA is also set to highlight Mindanao’s agri products and tourism destinations under a program dubbed as “The Treasures and Beauty of the Bangsamoro” expo.

The expo, scheduled to take place in October, will feature five provinces of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to promote the peaceful and progressive image of the region.

(Photos by Samuel Ponsica, MinDA and Isidro Albano.)