P100-M loan earmarked for pilot solar water works system in Lanao Sur
Published Mar 9, 2020 12:00 am
By Ali Macabalang
TARAKA, Lanao del Sur – The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) will be providing a P100-million soft-loan being sought by incumbent officials here for the construction of a pilot solar-powered waterworks system in a “bold step to reduce poverty” in their midst, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) announced on Monday.
Sec. Manny Piñol briefing Taraka lady Mayor Rashida and her husband-vice mayor Amiroding Sumagayan on some agribusiness ventures when he visited the couple last Jan. 20 to agree in principle the town government’s quest for P100-million loan for a pilot solar-powered waterworks system in Mindanao (Photo courtesy of MinDA via Ali Macabalang / MANILA BULLETIN)
Taraka town Mayor Nashida Sumagayan, with the backing of the Sangguniang Bayan that is presided by her husband-Vice Mayor Amidoning Sumagayan, will sign the loan enabling document with the DBP and MinDA leaderships in a ceremony set here on March 21, according to host officials and Sec. Manny Piñol.
By then, Taraka will officially become the “first town in Mindanao to enroll in the Mindanao Water Program (MWP), a joint project of MinDA, DBP and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and DBP, Piñol said.
The project “aims to provide water to every village in Mindanao through solar-powered module for advanced irrigation system both for drinking and agriculture,” Piñol said.
The Sumagayan couple and their technical people were among delegates from Lanao del Sur and other provinces in Mindanao who manifested interest to enroll in the MWP during an orientation forum hosted by MinDA in Davao City on December 6 last year.
Last January 14, on request of the Sumagayans, Piñol and his staff visited this town, and agreed in principle with the host officials on their quest to avail of the MWP project and the corresponding loan.
Piñol also briefed the Taraka people on development ventures coming along with the MWP, such as modern rice farming with complete value chain, corn and sorghum production complete with marketing agreement, a dairy goat multiplier farm, duck raising for egg production, and tilapia fish cage farming, said MinDA communications and media relations Director Adrian Tamayo.
The Sumagayans and their staff reciprocated the visit a week later by touring sites in Mlang, North Cotabato. Mlang, Pinol’s hometown, had earlier implemented agribusiness ventures, which are now serving as templates for prospect enrollees in the WMP, Tamayo said.
In his latest Facebook post, Pinol said the MWP has initially registered six participating local government units in Mindanao with “Taraka taking the lead.”
The loan agreement between Taraka and DBP and the start of construction of six units of solar-powered waterworks system, along with the other projects, have been scheduled within this month, the MinDA chief said.
He said two of the units will have filtration facilities to provide drinking water to the 27,000 residents here and irrigate least 1,200 hectares of rice farms.
He said the Taraka projects are part of the New Hope Learning Center program of MinDA which will be undertaken in coordination with private partners and State Universities and Colleges in Mindanao to entice other areas in the island region including those in the Bagsamoro autonomous region.
DBP President Emmanuel Herbosa had assured to consider a socialized interest rate for the Taraka loan to support President Rody Duterte's program to reduce poverty, improving productivity and promoting peace in Mindanao, Sec. Pinol said
Taraka is one of 39 mostly Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA)- dependent towns in this province, which the government has tagged as one of the “10 poorest provinces” in the country.
Sources said the reign of the Sumagayans starting in late 1090s has gradually made the difference among residents here, with the construction of a modern permanent municipal hall and other buildings for health and socio-economic services.
The lady mayor is a former university professor while her husband-vice mayor is a lawyer and a former three-term mayor and assemblyman of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Sec. Manny Piñol briefing Taraka lady Mayor Rashida and her husband-vice mayor Amiroding Sumagayan on some agribusiness ventures when he visited the couple last Jan. 20 to agree in principle the town government’s quest for P100-million loan for a pilot solar-powered waterworks system in Mindanao (Photo courtesy of MinDA via Ali Macabalang / MANILA BULLETIN)
Taraka town Mayor Nashida Sumagayan, with the backing of the Sangguniang Bayan that is presided by her husband-Vice Mayor Amidoning Sumagayan, will sign the loan enabling document with the DBP and MinDA leaderships in a ceremony set here on March 21, according to host officials and Sec. Manny Piñol.
By then, Taraka will officially become the “first town in Mindanao to enroll in the Mindanao Water Program (MWP), a joint project of MinDA, DBP and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and DBP, Piñol said.
The project “aims to provide water to every village in Mindanao through solar-powered module for advanced irrigation system both for drinking and agriculture,” Piñol said.
The Sumagayan couple and their technical people were among delegates from Lanao del Sur and other provinces in Mindanao who manifested interest to enroll in the MWP during an orientation forum hosted by MinDA in Davao City on December 6 last year.
Last January 14, on request of the Sumagayans, Piñol and his staff visited this town, and agreed in principle with the host officials on their quest to avail of the MWP project and the corresponding loan.
Piñol also briefed the Taraka people on development ventures coming along with the MWP, such as modern rice farming with complete value chain, corn and sorghum production complete with marketing agreement, a dairy goat multiplier farm, duck raising for egg production, and tilapia fish cage farming, said MinDA communications and media relations Director Adrian Tamayo.
The Sumagayans and their staff reciprocated the visit a week later by touring sites in Mlang, North Cotabato. Mlang, Pinol’s hometown, had earlier implemented agribusiness ventures, which are now serving as templates for prospect enrollees in the WMP, Tamayo said.
In his latest Facebook post, Pinol said the MWP has initially registered six participating local government units in Mindanao with “Taraka taking the lead.”
The loan agreement between Taraka and DBP and the start of construction of six units of solar-powered waterworks system, along with the other projects, have been scheduled within this month, the MinDA chief said.
He said two of the units will have filtration facilities to provide drinking water to the 27,000 residents here and irrigate least 1,200 hectares of rice farms.
He said the Taraka projects are part of the New Hope Learning Center program of MinDA which will be undertaken in coordination with private partners and State Universities and Colleges in Mindanao to entice other areas in the island region including those in the Bagsamoro autonomous region.
DBP President Emmanuel Herbosa had assured to consider a socialized interest rate for the Taraka loan to support President Rody Duterte's program to reduce poverty, improving productivity and promoting peace in Mindanao, Sec. Pinol said
Taraka is one of 39 mostly Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA)- dependent towns in this province, which the government has tagged as one of the “10 poorest provinces” in the country.
Sources said the reign of the Sumagayans starting in late 1090s has gradually made the difference among residents here, with the construction of a modern permanent municipal hall and other buildings for health and socio-economic services.
The lady mayor is a former university professor while her husband-vice mayor is a lawyer and a former three-term mayor and assemblyman of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.