LEGAZPI CITY - The intensified seaborn operations by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Bicol had borne fruit with the apprehension of commercial vessels fishing in the municipal waters of two provinces in the region. In an interview, Nonie Enolva, BFAR-Bicol spokesperson, said the team successfully apprehended a commercial fishing vessel at Burias pass in Masbate province last Wednesday, and another in Balatan town in Camarines Sur province. "An actual fishing operation in the municipal waters of Claveria, Masbate was apprehended, administrative cases will be filed with the adjudication committee in violation of sections 86 (a) and 113 of RA 8550 as amended by RA 10654. While in Camarines Sur, the team apprehended a medium-scale commercial fishing vessel (131.5GT) operating a purse seine (pangulong) within the municipal waters of Balatan, Camarines Sur for violating RA 10654 Section 86(a) (Unauthorized Fishing) and Section
LEGAZPI CITY - The Department of Agrarian Reform in Bicol (DA-5) is expecting farmers' productivity to improve with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s plan to provide debt relief to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) by condoning payments on loans and providing a one-year moratorium on the payment of amortization. In a statement on Monday, Rodrigo O. Realubit, officer-in-charge of DAR-Bicol, expressed support for Secretary Condrado Estrella III's initiative in pushing for the President's plan. "We are behind our secretary in pushing for the initiatives of the President for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). We have readied all documents and statistics needed should the Congress and the Senate ask for them," Realubit said. He praised the loan condonation program as a "good strategic move", saying it will provide the much-needed relief to the ARBs as they can now use the money supposedly for land amortization, to invest in farm production instead. D
LEGAZPI CITY-The Department of Agrarian Reform in Bicol (DAR-5) has conducted a validation and cleansing of its database on land acquisition and distribution to evaluate and identify deductible and unworkable landholdings. Gerard Buensalida, DAR Bicol spokesperson, in an interview on Friday, said the region still has 71,726 hectares of "undistributed" agricultural lands. Based on record, Camarines Sur has 25,391 hectares; Masbate 19,064 hectares; Sorsogon 11,198 hectares; Albay 9,702 hectares; Camarines Norte 6,298 hectares; and Catanduanes with 72.75 hectares. Buensalida said the validation was to ensure that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) balance is correct since some of the undistributed agricultural lands are within the forestry area, exempted within the timberland areas, or some are retention rates. "We want to make sure that the efforts of our workers will not be wasted upon verification of the said lands," he said. Romulo A. Britanico, DAR B
LIVELIHOOD AID. 'Sugbu' or tiger grass (shown in photo) is a primary material used in soft broom making. Some 30 agrarian reform beneficiaries belonging to a cooperative in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, received 6,000 sugbu sprouts and 30 sickles early November as livelihood aid from the Department of Agrarian Reform in Bicol. (Photo courtesy of DAR-5) LEGAZPI CITY - Some 30 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) belonging to the Cagnipa Guijalo Beneficiaries Organization (CaGuiBO) in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, have received 6,000 "sugbu" (tiger grass) sprouts and 30 sickles early this month from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Bicol. In an interview on Tuesday, Geri Buensalida, DAR-Bicol spokesperson, said the distribution of planting materials is part of the Sustainable Livelihood Support for Disaster-Affected Areas (SLSDAA) program that aims to develop alternative livelihood or restoration and rehabilitation of the existing livelihood that were affected by the im