TANGUB CITY, Misamis Occidental (PIA)–Some 128 coconut farmers of Tangub City received cash assistance and rice subsidy from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) under the program of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to help the farmers amid coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic.
Held at Sinanduloy Cultural Center, PCA gave P3,000 cash assistance and 25-kilogram sack of rice to each farmer-beneficiary.
The distribution was also part of PCA’s Participatory Coconut Planting/Replanting Program (PCPP) in the city.
PCA Officer Lito Palangan said the agency identified the qualified beneficiaries-farmers who were not able to receive the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) worth P5,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“Kini nga programa response kini sa atong panghitabo karon para suporta sa atong mga coconut farmers. Naghatag ta nila ug ayuda nga bugas ug cash. Naa unta ta’y manok ug itlog apan sa kakulangon sa supply wala makaabot. Imbes chicken ug eggs amo lang ni i-work out nga cash nalang among ihatag,” Palangan said.
(This program is a response to our situation right now in order to help and support our coconut farmers. We have dressed chicken and eggs but supply is not enough. Instead of providing them chicken and eggs, we worked on providing them cash assistance)
For her part, Mayor Jennifer Wee Tan is thankful to President Duterte and PCA for the assistance to the Tagubanons.
“Daghan nakahuman sa kolehiyo tungod anang sa coconut maski ginagmay ang income pero naa gihapon nakahuman (There are a lot of farmers’ children who were able to complete their college education despite their families’ meager income),” Tan said.
With the help of government programs especially the PCA, Tan said she does not believe that the coconut industry is dying “but rather it will be further developed.” (SMRN/PIA Misamis Occidental)
