DAR turns over schools, health centers worth P122M in Bukidnon

by Elaine O. Ratunil

Cagayan de Oro City (15 July) — Bukidnon—The Department of Agrarian Reform turned over some P122,718,725.60-worth of completed health stations, school buildings, farm-to-market roads and bridges to the settlement areas in the towns of Kalilangan and Pangantucan, thru its Mindanao Sustainable Settlement Areas Development (MINSSAD) Project, on July 6-7, 2006.

Also known as PH-P222, the P 3.1-billion project is funded under the 24th Yen Loan Package of the Government of Japan (GOJ) through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), MINSSAD is jointly implemented by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as the lead agency, with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Local Government Units (LGU), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Education (DepEd) as cooperating agencies.

In the municipality of Kalilangan, P38,032,285.40-worth of projects were turned over, consisting of Rehabilitation and Improvement of public road, Rehabilitation of Ninoy Aquino Community Irrigation System, Construction of Kalahi Multi-Purpose building, Construction of Barangay Health Station, and Construction of School Buildings while in Pangantucan consisted of Construction of School buildings with a total cost of P7,744,011.18.

Meanwhile, projects launched in Kalilangan consisted of Farm to Market Road worth P17,821,890, bridges worth of P19,456,835.37 and school buildings amounted to 4,685,732.44 while in Pangantucan consisted of Farm to Market Road worth of P15,867,530, bridges in the amount of P5,228,298.12 and school buildings worth of P13,882,143.09.

Newly installed DAR-10 Regional Director John M. Maruhom said these projects were part of the department’s support services program for the farmer-beneficiaries thru MINSSAD where the three municipalities of Bukidnon, including Maramag, are among of the eight settlement areas in Mindanao chosen to be covered by the project.

He said that MINSSAD is designed as a program-type wherein actual subprojects are determined during implementation and implemented based on the principle of participatory approach where the beneficiaries themselves identify and prioritize their needs. Selection of project sub-components depend on (i) settlement community’s basic minimum needs; (ii) a provincial/municipal priority program; (iii) not too large in scope and cost with minimum of 2 year implementation period; (iv) community’s willingness to implement the project; (v) availability of LGU counterpart support and (vi) beneficiaries willingness to shoulder Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost. The project has six (6) major components: 1) Community and Cooperative Development 2) Agriculture Enhancement and Livelihood 3) Crop Development and Soil Conservation 4) Marketing support 5) Infrastructure and Social Services 6) Project Management.

It covers not only the provinces of Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte but also the province of Bukidnon—The Bukidnon Settlement Area. The projects sites are approximately 158 kilometers southeast of Cagayan de Oro City or 154 kilometers from Davao City. In the province, the municipalities covered are Maramag, Pangantucan and Kalilangan and there are 36 number of settlement barangays covered in which total declared area is 38,400 ha.

Maruhom said the projects benefit the rural folks through improved mobility and accessibility in transporting their farm products, improved quality of education, abundant farm produce and good health condition.

He added that the support services that were extended to the settlement areas were in line with the 10-point development agenda of the Arroyo administration, prioritizing education for indigent families and access to quality health services and to boost Mindanao’s agrarian development and peace and development program.

Thus, the project is primarily designed to alleviate poverty, institute agrarian change and spur economic growth in the Settlement Areas in Mindanao and ensure viable and sustainable development of the rural area and the people.

For his part, Mayor Antonio C. Garces of Pangantucan called on the people to support the program because millions of infrastructure projects have already been poured that will benefit the people. He expressed his appreciation to the support extended by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to them. (PIA-10)