TACLOBAN CITY—The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) regional advisory board endorsed a total of P57 million worth of projects, including the rehabilitation of a marine-protected area that was destroyed by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013.
The endorsement of PRDP’s Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) in Eastern Visayas to three projects gave relief and better assurance to fisherfolk and farmers who have been asking for funding from the government.
“We feel excited to see how these proposed subprojects will eventually get implemented. These are big investments that will hopefully raise the income levels of our fisherfolk, and farmers, especially in the province of Eastern Samar,” OIC Executive Director U-Nichols A. Manalo of the Department of Agriculture Regional Office said.
“The enterprise subprojects were found viable by the board and beneficial in terms of raising the income levels of our farmers and fisherfolk and in opening up employment opportunities,” Manalo said. “The proposed subprojects in our marine-protected areas in Guiuan coast will surely help boost overall effort in promoting marine biodiversity conservation.”
Among the projects endorsed for funding is the rehabilitation of marine sanctuaries in six municipalities along the coast of Guiuan in Eastern Samar with a total project cost of P27.7 million.
Up for rehabilitation are Bolusao and Can Usod Fish Sanctuaries in Lawaan; Panoloytoyon Fish Sanctuary in Quinapondan; Minonbonan Reef and Sanctuary, and the Binabasalan Marine Sanctuary in Salcedo; Canigaran Fish Sanctuary, Mercedes; Manapag Reef Marine Sanctuary, and the Lupakon–Bilang Bilang Fish Sanctuary, in Guiuan.
Funding for the rehabilitation of these sanctuaries will come from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which is part of the package under PRDP aimed at protecting coastal and marine resource base in the targeted priority areas in the country. The project aims to preserve marine biodiversity and promote fisheries-resource management.
The GEF is backed by a financial grant from the World Bank in the amount of $7 million, or around P300 million.
The RPAB also pushed for funding support the coco-geonets and banana-enterprise subprojects with a total cost of P29 million.
The Regular Enterprise subprojects endorsed for funding support under the PRDP by the RPAB are the Leyte Banana Production and Trading Enterprise by the Tinaguban Famers Association of Barangay Tinaguban, Carigara, Leyte, amounting to P15. 3 million and the Coco Geonets Production and Trading Enterprise of Eastern Samar by the San Eduardo Agrarian Reform Cooperative of Barangay Dao, Oras, Eastern Samar, with a cost of P 13.7 million.
In 2016 the RPAB also endorsed for funding support the Coco Geonet Processing and Trading Enterprise proposed by Aksyon Kalinga para sa Masa of San Jose, Northern Samar, which is now being implemented after no objection was made.
The said subproject cost P8.7 million covering infrastructure facility, transport vehicles and machineries/equipment.
The approval of two new enterprise projects brought to three the number of regular enterprise subprojects lined up under the PRDP in Eastern Visayas.