GMA visits Samar livelihood center

President Arroyo yesterday visited a showcase project in Hernani, Eastern Samar intended to create jobs and increase the income of coconut farmers in the province.

Arriving by helicopter, Mrs. Arroyo had a firsthand look at the Hernani Integrated Coconut Processing Plant and Agribusiness Center.

Described as the biggest livelihood and employment project in Eastern Samar, the processing plant is owned and operated by the municipal government of Hernani.

The facility, which has started commercial operation, had a dry run last Feb. 1.

The project is the beneficiary of a P10-million grant from the Office of the President, Hernani Mayor Cesar Tagon said.

Tagon believes the project will help improve the economic conditions of coconut farmers in Hernani and nearby towns by providing them with a more profitable market for their products.

Coconut farmers in Eastern Samar traditionally sell their produce to copra traders.

Copra is the dried meat of the coconut used in the production of coconut oil.

The facility will allow the coconut to be processed onsite into finished products such as virgin coconut oil, refined cooking oil, charcoal, vinegar, soy sauce and laundry soap.

Situated in barangay Padang, two kilometers from the town proper, the plant has a rated processing capacity of 10,000 nuts a day.

Mrs. Arroyo was accompanied in her visit by Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone, Tourism secretary Joseph Ace Durano, Agriculture secretary Arthur Yap and Rep. Marcelino Libanan.

Aside from the grant from the Office of the President, the Hernani Integrated Coconut Processing Plant also received funding and technical support from the Department of Land Reform, the Department of Science and Technology, the Technology and Livelihood Research Center, the Philippine Coconut Authority, the National Electrification Administration and the Eastern Samar State College.

Mrs. Arroyo and her party had flown in from Guian, also in Eastern Samar, where she was the guest speaker at the 2005 Visayas Area Business Conference.

At the conference, the President said the passage of new tax laws by Congress would help finance projects to improve the quality of life of the poor.

"With more revenue, we can invest more in the vital social needs to lift our poorest citizens out of poverty. I will invest in a pro-poor agenda that includes job creation, better education, improved health care, electrification, roads, transportation and infrastructure," she said. — Aurea Calica