LUCENA CITY, QUEZON – The biggest enterprise subproject in South Luzon will soon see its processing plant rise up as the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) conducted a preconstruction conference in January 21.

Present during the conference are speakers and representatives from PRDP CALABARZON and South Luzon offices, provincial government of Quezon as partner local government unit, and the directors and staff of the Quezon Federation and Union of Cooperatives (QFUC) as the proponent group.

This P23-million infrastructure component of the Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) processing and marketing subproject will house state-of-the-art equipment to product export-quality products; currently, QFUC is producing their products via tolling to other companies. To be constructed in Pagbilao, Quezon, the factory will allow QFUC to create new jobs for the people of Quezon and buy more coconuts from farmer-members of different cooperatives in the province. The whole subproject costs P55.9 million.

“We are very thankful for this assistance as we have waited for us to have our own processing facility. Now we can directly help more cooperative-members in Quezon. It is really true that diligence and perseverance makes good results,” Samuel Sardua, Chair of QFUC, said.

Speakers during the preconstruction conference from PRDP CALABARZON included Fatima Mikaela Remoquillo, procurement officer, for the procurement process while Engr. Isagani Reyes, rural infrastructure engineer, for I-BUILD processes and monitoring. The speakers for finance and social and environmental safeguards were from PRDP South Luzon. Other representatives from the region were Juneliza Chiara Pandela, business development officer and Engr. Nicelyn Lacasandile, rural infrastructure engineer.

Puregreen Solutions Inc., the winning contractor, also discussed their construction methodology. This allows the proponent group, the provincial government and PRDP to understand better how the contractor plans to construct the facility.

The target completion of the processing facility is within 2020. – Lawrence Albert A. Bariring, DA-PRDP CALABARZON RPCO InfoACE Unit