VICE-GOV. Dionisio Victor A. Balite has been and still is reminding residents in the province to always be frugal in eating food, particularly cooked rice, so to prepare them the impact of the El Nino, expected to last until early of next year.
This has always been the pious call of the vice-governor in almost every social engagement he is in in the barangays. He said that instead of consuming two cups of rice, may be one cup would do in their next or succeeding meals.
This way, he said, residents following this call would help the farmers who may be facing a bleak harvest when the heat phenomenon hit the province in the coming months.
As this developed, the amount of P13.6 million has been okayed for seeds and fertilizers of corn and cassava subsidy, Committee on Agriculture of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan chaired by Vice-Balite, who also chaired the said committee, bared recently.
Provincial Budget officer Peter Retutal told the committee in its recent meeting that the “Provincial Government has already allocated P14,650,000, all of which have already been earmarked for the procurement of the needed seeds and fertilizers.”
Retutal said that “whether the subsidy is made in half or full has no bearing budget-wise since the said procurement is already approved by the governor.”
This came after Provincial Board Member Nathaniel Binlod brought to the attention of his colleagues relative to the Provincial Corn and Cassava Program Intervention for 2023 – in preparation for the El Niño Phenomenon forecast by PAGASA, whereby stakeholders are requesting to fully subsidize the fertilizer support to farmer beneficiaries.
Based on the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecast, there is a potential for El Niño to occur beginning the months of May to July 2023 with an 82% to 93% probability in December 2023 to February 2024, Binlod told his colleagues.
El Niño is expected to hit Southeast Asia, where the Philippines is geographically located, and the hardest hit regions in the Philippines are the Visayas and Mindanao regions, he said.
The provincial government under Gov. Aris Aumentado administration launched the Corn and Cassava Program Intervention “by providing free corn seeds and in-organic fertilizers (complete 14-14-14 and urea 46-0-0) to corn and cassava farmers through subsidy in the amount of P1,250.00 per bag to the farmers Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.”
Balite, committee member Binlod, Rex Romani Tocmo representing Finance committee vice-chair Dr. Romulo G. Cepedoza, Faith Rose L. Lomantas representing committee member Tita V. Baja, Daryl A. Damalerio representing committee member Aldner R. Damalerio, and Atty. Nick Aranilla, representing committee member Atty. Jiselle Rae Aumentado Villamor attended the said meeting.
Also present were: Atty. John Rey B. Rodriguez, representing Provincial Legal Office (PLO); Provincial Agriculturist Liza M.Quirog; Retutal; Leon M. Parac, Jr. of OPA and the Committee Secretariat. (rvo)
