Maguindanao farmers get P10.1M worth of assistance

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Hundreds of marginalized peasants received on Tuesday rice and corn seeds and fertilizers under a joint program of Malacañang, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Anak Mindanao (Amin) party-list.

The initial P10.1 million worth assistance package includes a mechanized combined rice harvester, knapsack sprayers, and fertilizers.

The ARMM’s agriculture secretary, Makmod Mending Jr., personally turned over the agricultural supplies and machinery to Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu during a simple program at a public gymnasium in Buluan town.

The package was procured with an initial tranche from the P51.7 million “Agri-Pinoy Fund” of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for 2013 for Maguindanao, channeled through the executive department of ARMM.

“More agricultural packages will be handed out by us to farmers in Maguindanao through the office of Gov. Mangudadatu in the coming months,” Mending said.

Mending said the national government allocated P300 million for agricultural support to Maguindanao’s Moro, Christian and lumad farmers.

“We ought to thank the central office of DA and Malacañang for these programs,” Mending said.

He said the Amin Partylist has been helping bankroll the ARMM government’s supply and equipment grants for peasants in the region’s five provinces, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“Amin is a staunch benefactor of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the autonomous region,” Mending said.

Mangudadatu received the agricultural supplies and machinery in the presence of hundreds of representatives from different Moro, Christian and lumad peasant groups in the first and second districts of Maguindanao.

“We are thankful to the national government and to the ARMM’s present administration for this program,” Mangudadatu told reporters.

He said the continuing socio-economic interventions for the local communities of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman complements the provincial government’s normalization efforts for Maguindanao towns now gradually rising from devastation wrought by armed conflicts in 2000 until 2008.

“We in Maguindanao also want to thank Malacañang for its never ending support to the effort of my office to restore normalcy and foster sustainable development in the province,” Mangudadatu said. 

Maguindanao, which has 36 towns, is host to more than 50 enclaves of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose members are also beneficiaries of socio-economic projects of the provincial government and Hataman's office.