An abaca stripper locally known as "paraha'got"in the province of Catanduanes.(Photo by Jorge Hallare) LEGAZPI CITY - Stakeholders in the abaca industry are optimistic that the newly signed law declaring Catanduanes as "Abaca Capital of the Philippines" will further boost this industry and improve the livelihood of abaca planters. Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua, in an interview on Wednesday, said the new law would provide regular funding from the national government that will help abaca farmers in the province and rehabilitate the abaca industry. "Aside from the rehabilitation, more programs like farm-to-market roads will also benefit the abaca planters," Cua said. Nikko Franco Templonuevo, provincial information officer, in a separate interview, said the funding will sustain the medication, and disease mitigation programs for abaca. "We will continue with skills development programs for the farmers; introduce new technologies in terms of qualiti
SMART GREENHOUSE. Agriculture Secretary William Dar and Republic of Korea Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) Education Promotion and Information Services (EPIS) President Dr. Lee Jong Soon (second and third from left) lead the inauguration of the smart greenhouse and capability building project at the Western Visayas Agricultural Research Center in Barangay Buntatala, Jaro on Thursday (March 31, 2022). The PHP200 million project is a grant from the Republic of Korea aimed at enhancing the production competitiveness of small and mid-sized farmers.(Photo courtesy of Alan Jay Jacalan/Department of Agriculture) ILOILO CITY - The Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas is a recipient of a PHP200 million smart greenhouse and capability-building project to encourage farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors to produce high-value vegetables. The project established at the Western Visayas Agricultural Research Center in Barangay Buntatala, Jaro in this city is a grant f
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Antique head William Centina (3rd from right), turns over a PHP300,000 check to Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer (PSWDO) Lazaro Petinglay (5th from left), for the use of the Pagsapupo Center in San Jose de Buenavista on Thursday (March 24, 2022). The assistance is under the Institutional Partnership Program of the PCSO aimed to assist displaced elderlies and children meet their basic needs.(PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay) SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique -The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Thursday turned over PHP300,000 as financial support to the center for victims of violence against women and children (VAW-C) in the province of Antique. The assistance is under the Institutional Partnership Program (IPP) of the PCSO that intends to assist displaced elderlies and children meet their basic needs, said PCSO Antique head William Centina in an interview during the turnover cerem
ROOFING MATERIALS. The Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) delivers galvanized iron (GI) sheets and plywood as shelter materials to a family in Barangay Boroc-boroc, Belison on Tuesday (March 1, 2022). PDRRMO chief Broderick Train said on Wednesday said PHP8 million was allocated from their Quick Response Fund this year to assist families whose houses were destroyed due to Typhoon Odette last December.(Photo courtesy of PIO Antique) SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique - The provincial government of Antique on Tuesday started to distribute shelter materials to families whose houses were destroyed by Typhoon Odette last December. The materials were purchased using the PHP8 million quick response fund (QRF) of the province's Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF). The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has recorded 2,392 families with totally damaged houses. The first recipient was a family from Baran
GROUNDBREAKING.San Remigio Municipal Mayor Margarito Mission, Jr. (left) and Antique Board Member Fernando Corvera, Sr.(right) grace the groundbreaking of the road funded by the Local Government Support Fund-Support to Barangay Development Project (LGSF-SBDP) on December 15, 2021. Antique Provincial Engineer Inocencio Dajao said on Friday (Jan. 21, 2022) that the local access road projects in San Remigio and Sibalom towns, which had been identified as National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict priority areas, would be finished by April 2022.(Photo courtesy of San Remigio LGU) SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique -The construction of local access road projects funded under the Barangay Development Program (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in two municipalities of Antique is underway. The BDP is a flagship program of the NTF-ELCAC with the end goal of bringing development to former conflict-prone communities. Antique Provincial E