NABUA, CAMARINES SUR – President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. led the launch of Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair at the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges here on September 23, 2023.
Over a hundred thousand Bicolanos participated in the 2-day caravan cum festival of services where over 40 government agencies brought their programs and social services. President Marcos was welcomed by the leaders of the host province: Camarines Sur Governor Luigi Villafuerte, 5th district Representative Miguel Luis Villafuerte and 2nd district Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte.
“Ang Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair ay isa lamang sa mga unang hakbangin ng pamahalaan upang magkaroon ng bagong pag-asa at bagong simula para sa Pilipinas. Tinipon namin ang iba’t-ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan upang sama-samang maghatid ng mga benepisyong magpapagaan sa inyong kalagayan. Alam po namin na marami tayong iniindang hirap sa panahong ito kung kaya’t sana ay makatulong ito sainyo nang lubos,” Pres. Marcos said.
President Marcos turned over various interventions of the different government agencies to various beneficiary associations and individuals.
From the Department of Agriculture RFO 5 banner programs, he turned over 5 units hauling trucks worth P9.3M; 5 units 4-Wheel Drive Tractor worth P15.2M; and 1 unit lifting machine worth P2.4M. Also from DA 5, five packages of Community Based Swine Production (INSPIRE) for Cam. Sur worth P50M and three packages for Albay worth P30M were turned over to eight farmers associations.
President Marcos also awarded three P300,000-worth checks as financial grant assistance to the three regional winners of the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC). Meanwhile, P1,120,000 financial grant was also given to 14 YFC – Upscale regional qualifiers.
In another venue, at the Nabua National High School, 3,155 farmers received 1 bag of hybrid rice seed and also 1 bag of Urea fertilizer from China and 684 farmers were given fertilizer subsidy through discount vouchers totaling over P1.5 M. DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban and DA Bicol Regional Executive Director Rodel Tornilla led the distribution.
Some of the DA 5 line agencies also turned over big projects: PhilRice distributed inbred rice seeds worth P7,696,520.00; Philmech turned over 6 units combine harvester worth P13.1M and 28 units 4-wheel drive tractor worth P61.6M; the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR) turned over 2 units marine fish cage complete package with fingerlings and feeds worth P2M to 2 fishefolk’s associations and 10 units boat with engine worth P732,000 to 10 individual fishers; the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) turned over 20,047 hybrid coconut seedlings worth over P2M, 1 set Coco Sap Products Shared Processing Facility worth P14M and P305,000-worth checks as incentives to coconut farmers; and the National Dairy Authority (NDA) turned over 17 dairy cattle worth P2.5 M.
The DA Bicol banner programs and its attached agencies turned over P568 M worth of interventions to 10,345 Bicolanos during the 2-day serbisyo fair.
At the DA booth in CSPC, 650 RSBSA-registered walk in clients were validated, 700 were provided with IEC materials and approximately 5,000 clients were provided with vegetable seeds and grafted mango, cacao, coffee, pili, and calamansi planting materials.
Some 68 exhibitors participated in the Kadiwa ng Pangulo and garnered P1,575,539.48 sales during the 2-day caravan. The DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) sponsored 29 farmers cooperatives and Rural Improvement Clubs that earned P930,132.00 sales; five fisherfolk associations were invited by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and earned P33,938; 18 exhibitors were sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry with P422,029.48 sales; and 15 exhibitors by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) earned P64,400.00 sales. The National Food Authority also sold 5,000 kilos NFA rice at P25.00 per kilo with P125,000 total sales.
P325,927 worth of agri products were bought by Rep. Migz Villafuerte which were given to the service providers’ personnel as incentive during the closing of the caravan on Sunday.
President Marcos also proceeded to the University of Saint Anthony in Iriga City, Cam. Sur where he led the distribution of 25 kilos rice worth P2.5M to 2,000 indigent families and indigenous peoples of Camarines Sur.
The president and concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) was accompanied by his cabinet members: Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma of DOLE; Secretary Alfredo Pascual of DTI; Sec. Benjamin Abalos, Jr. of DILG; Sec. Jaime Bautista of Dept. of Transportation; BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui, Jr.; and PNP Chief Benjamin Acorda, Jr. (Lovella P. Guarin – DA RAFIS 5)
Photos by RAFIS 5