Thousands of farmers and fisherfolk in Negros Oriental and Siquijor are up for a fresh start from the El Niño onslaught with financial assistance from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The President breezed in briefly at this provincial capital late Thursday afternoon to lead the ceremonial distribution of the Presidential Assistance to Farmers, Fisherfolk and their Families (PAFFF) at Macias Sports Center.
He handed over checks of PHP50 million and PHP20 million to Negros Oriental Governor Manuel Sagarbarria and Siquijor Governor Jake Vincent Villa, respectively.
Under the PAFFF, each beneficiary will receive PHP10,000 to help them recoup losses and damage to their livelihood caused by the El Niño-triggered drought.
In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, beneficiaries thanked President Marcos for attending to the plight of the agricultural sector, the hardest hit by the phenomenon, saying the financial assistance has brought new hope for them.
Roldan Banalo, 47, married, of Barangay Naiba, San Jose, Negros Oriental, said he lost his income from vegetables like string beans and okra, for six months after the drought dried up his almost one-hectare farm.
“Thank you, President Marcos, for the PHP10,000 assistance that I will use as a startup in planting vegetables again during the rainy season,” Banalo said in Cebuano.
Gemma Tomaquin, a farmer from Barangay Pisong in La Libertad, Negros Oriental, said she is happy that she now has the money to use as capital for replanting bananas and other crops that the El Niño destroyed.
She said they do not own the land they are tilling and she and her family are living on a property owned by another, free of rent.
A 71-year-old fisher from Sitio Canday-ong, Barangay Calindagan in Dumaguete City, Demetrio Ariola, said life was difficult for him whose subsistence comes from the sea.
Daily catch is dependent on various conditions, such as the weather.
Ariola, who has relied on fishing since he was 15, said the money he received from the President would be used to buy fishing nets, plywood, nails and paint so he could have a new banca.
“I am thankful to President Marcos for giving us marginalized sectors financial assistance so that we can improve our daily living conditions,” Ariola said, noting this is the first time he has received aid from the country’s top leader.
For Milbert Canton, a farmer in Larena, Siquijor, the financial assistance from the Office of the President and other national agencies will propel him and other farmers to begin planting for this year’s first cropping season.
Canton incurred production losses in rice, corn and vegetables.
He said he will use the PAFFF money to buy food and necessities as he begins planting again with seeds provided by the Department of Agriculture.
“Even though the assistance may not be enough for expensive fertilizer costs, I am still grateful to the President for the assistance,” Canton said.
Rolly Militante, 56, of Enrique Villanueva, also in the island province, lost all his crops planted in about 3,600 square meters of land as the river that irrigated his farm dried up.
Since he was just a farm tenant, Militante would alternate between fishing and farming.
Fishing did not bring in much income either because of rough seas, owing to his hometown facing the eastern seaboard that is usually hit by the southerly winds, he said.
“I cannot thank the President enough for helping us bounce back from the ill effects of the El Niño and the PHP10,000 cash assistance will assure us that we can somehow start all over again,” Militante said.
Both provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor are still consolidating their lists of beneficiaries of the PAFFF to be validated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to avoid duplication with those that already received assistance from other national government offices. (PNA)
