DA, LGUs craft rehab plan post Ompong

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to meet today with local government units (LGUs) affected by the recent Typhoon Ompong to craft a rehabilitation masterplan for the immediate repair and recovery of damaged farm and fisheries sectors.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he would preside a meeting with at least 20 LGU officials, including Imee Marcos of Ilocos Norte, Manuel Mamba of Cagayan, Joy Bernos of Abra and Susan Yap of Tarlac, and provincial agriculturists to lay out a masterplan for rehabilitation for the agriculture sector.

This, as damage to the sector has soared to P17 billion affecting rice, corn, high value crops, fisheries and livestock covering a total of 636,908 hectares with an estimated volume of production loss at 731,294 metric tons.

“The planning will include projections on the food requirements of the typhoon-affected areas, especially rice, so that the NFA (National Food Authority) could allocate the needed supply until the next harvest season,” Piñol said.

“We expect the governors to present the actual damage report in their provinces, including the list of needed interventions so that their provinces could immediately recover from the devastation,” he added.

Apart from the NFA, other agencies part of the rehab plan include the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., Agricultural Credit Policy Council, and the National Irrigation Administration.

The agri chief said he was directed by President Duterte to immediately prepare the accurate damage report of Typhoon Ompong to ensure that the national government could provide the needed funding for rehabilitation.

“He said he does not like a repeat of the Typhoon Yolanda rehabilitation program where funds were only downloaded after three years. In fact, some housing projects have not even been completed five years after Typhoon Yolanda,” Piñol said.

Meanwhile, the DA plans to continue bringing in vegetables, fruits, fish and other commodities to Metro Manila from other provinces amid the continued high prices which were exacerbated by the onslaught of Ompong.

Following the farmers outlet established over the weekend, Piñol said DA would stage its second part next week where commodities will be sold at much lower prices compared with Metro Manila markets.

By October, DA will be opening Malasakit Stores in populated areas of Metro Manila like Payatas, Baseco and other housing subdivisions.

“The stores will sell not only vegetables and fruits straight from the farms but also rice, sugar and other basic household food items. We will handle the shipping and distribution of the commodities to be sold in Malasakit Stores which will be operated by women’s groups supported by the local government units,” Piñol said.