Samar ARC gets early Christmas gifts from House AR Committee

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 7, 2011

CALBAYOG CITY, Samar  –  Agrarian reform beneficiaries at Panoypoy Agrarian Reform Community got an early Christmas treat from House Committee on Agrarian Reform members Representatives Pryde Henry Teves and Nasser Pangandaman.

The two congressmen visited Panoypoy agrarian reform community (ARC) during their recent trip to Samar province for the congressional hearing on House Bill 374 (Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill) held in Calbayog City.

Former Agrarian Reform Secretary now “AA KASOSYO” Party List Representative Pangandaman pledged P100,000 assistance to a cooperative composed of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as he and Representative Teves (3rd District, Negros Oriental) side-tripped to Panoypoy ARC prior to the start of the  hearing in the afternoon of November 17 with the Bill author “Anak Pawis” Rep. Rafael Mariano.

The amount will be utilized for the Panoypoy Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Inc.’s livelihood activities particularly on vegetable production to raise the income of every ARB household here, Mr. Jose Alsmith Soria, DAR-8 Information Officer said.

The cooperative was required to submit a proposal before the amount will be released, Mr. Soria added.

At present, Development Facilitator Raul Monforte disclosed that the average annual household income in this ARC is at P58,000 which is below the poverty threshold.

For his part, Rep. Teves, chairman of the committee on agrarian reform in the Lower House, called on the members of the cooperative to submit resolutions requesting funding for projects that would help improve the lives of the farmers particularly the 62 ARBs in this area.

Teves instructed the ARBs to submit all these documents to his office in the House of Representatives as soon as possible to be included in the agenda of the committee’s next session and eventually get funded under the current fiscal year.

Among the problems presented by the cooperative and prayed that these get funded are road opening in the interior-most part of Barangay Panoypoy to hasten the transportation of the farmer’s products for trading; and the upgrading of water supply facility in the area from level-1 to level-2.

From Barangay Panoypoy one has to take two rides with a total fare of P40 in reaching the city proper, which is 24 kilometers away.

Regional Director Eliasem Castillo of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), who accompanied Teves and Pangandaman, was happy with the latter’s visit to the ARC as it turned out to be beneficial to the ARBs.

Castillo directed Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Gregorio Fiel Jr. to provide the necessary assistance to the ARBs in coming up with the required proposals and resolutions before the deadline set by the congressmen.

According to him, these are opportunities that we must grab in improving the quality of life of the CARP beneficiaries.