The Philippine Rural Development Project of the Department of Agriculture (DA-PRDP) is known by its quality projects that abides by the standards set by the World Bank.  But behind their commendable performances are the intricacies in producing the needed documents for the approval of the subprojects.  That’s the reason why most proponents and local government units give up on their desire of owning such project after failing to comply with these documents.

Despite all of these difficulties, there is one municipality in Northern Mindanao, who has gained approval of five (5) PRDP subprojects.

This is Malitbog, a land-locked 2nd class municipality located in the north eastern part of Bukidnon. It has vast tracks of land allocated to rice, corn, and coconut, making agriculture one of the residents’ main source of livelihood. The volume of production in the area demands accessible road networks for all types of transportation to convey the produce of the farmers from the farm to the market.

Looking back in the 50’s, farmers suffered a lot due to the poor conditions of the roads which in turn caused difficulties in transportation. One of the farmers, Ale Bandielan, recalled his unforgettable experience .“Before, there was no decent road, we need to hike 8 hours; from 5 am until we reached the next town’s market by 3 pm, and then we go back,” Bandielan said. “Sometimes, our products were not sold out, so we have to sleep there and stay for 2-3 days. It was such a painful situation and yet we gain very little from what we sold. With no other available transport, we use carabaos, cows, or horses as our carriage for our products.”

The government also realized that it’s not only the farmers who suffered, but also students who also needed transportation in going to school every day. Leonila Senagonia, a mother of six, finds the situation hard for her children. “The road before was so bad that it is impossible for someone to arrive in school without mud stains,” Senagonia relates. “This has been the situation for the longest time. I pity my children and the other children as well who needs to go through that kind of condition for them to go to school.”

The urgent need of road access for farmers, students, and residents alike has prompted the LGU of Malitbog to seek approval for the first project proposal for Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) subproject for  DA-PRDP funding back in 2015.  The construction on the Rehabilitation and Concreting of San Luis –Tubod – Omagling FMR was then started on the 17th of April of the same year.  As expected, seeking approval for the said project was not easy. Engr. Albert Jabonga, Malitbog MPMIU Head, was able to experience it from the very beginning.

“At first, we admit that we really had difficulties in complying with the requirements. There were problems occurring then. We tried to solve it by conducting a series of consultations with the affected parties and met halfway for the solution. We also did a series of monitoring to ensure that residents were not having problems with the construction.  Proper guidelines of the Grievance Redress Mechanisms were being followed at all times until we all got used to it,” said Engr. Jabonga

In addition to the good practices employed by the LGU, job opportunities also opened to the affected residents. “Aside from relocating the families affected by the construction, one of our ways of helping them further is getting them involved in the said project by employing them. In all of our FMRs, almost all of the workers are from those families affected by the relocation. This will serve as livelihood for those who have no jobs and an additional income for those who already have jobs. This way, everyone is happy with the construction” said Engr. Boyd Piloton, Malitbog Project Engineer for DA-PRDP subprojects.

Because the LGU’s strategies were effective and working smoothly, Malitbog was able to finish five (5) FMR’s under DA-PRDP through the leadership of their Mayor, Osmundo N. Dela Rosa within the span of five (5) years. “This is something that I am really proud of,” said Dela Rosa. “It first started when we applied for MRDP, then we were given an all-weather road. As a small municipality, we always wanted to give assistance to our people, like our farmers, we applied for that reason. After the project was given to us, it gave such huge difference to our farmers; transportation costs less and the families’ income increased.” He continued, “But the thing that struck me the most was due to the roads’ presence, the farmers had the enthusiasm to plant more. With the new road, new hopes were also seen by our farmers, that they were being supported and given importance by the LGU.” He added, “Just like other people’s American Dream, I have my own Malitbog Dream, and that is to give the people, especially the farmers a life they deserve and part of that dream is to have better road access which is one of the ingredients of development. Farmers will not experience a better life if there is no better road. The road helps in reducing post-harvest losses and maintaining the quality of their produce that can demand a better price and can be sold faster. Which is I am very thankful to DA-PRDP for giving us these road projects.”

The positive results of the DA-PRDP practices in its project implementation were also adopted by the LGU Malitbog.  “PRDP has a very tedious process, and we now understand why it has to be that way because we have seen its results already. Thus, we are planning to adopt some of its practices, especially the geotagging. Through this technology, we are assured of the project implementation being strictly complied,” Engr. Boyd Piloton said .

As of this writing, Malitbog has already gained five (5)  IBUILD subprojects  namely, San Luis – Tubod – Omagling FMR, San Migara – Tingag – Tagmaray FMR, Junction Tomigbong – Larapan FMR Phase 1, Junction Tomigbong – Larapan FMR Phase 2, and Junction San Luis/Siloo – Mabuhay – Bagyangon FMR.  The combined subprojects’ length totaled to 16.80 km. amounting to Php 207,804,305.21. The LGU Malitbog also contributed 10% of the project cost totaling to Php 20,780,430.50.  Yet, this is not the end but the beginning of more projects for the municipality as two proposals were already submitted by the LGU which is now undergoing evaluation.

The perseverance and dedication of the LGU, coupled with the cooperation of the residents, made the Municipality of Malitbog a record breaker for having the most number of approved PRDP subprojects in the region.  The tedious process in complying with the needed requirements served not as a burden but an inspiration to achieve their goal of giving a better life to their farmers and constituents. Together, they soar high and continue living the Malitbog Dream. (Cyrus Seraspe | InfoACE-RPCO 10)