April 22, 2016

The rehabilitation and improvement of the Pistola to Tablon Road with 3 units bridges will usher equal growth opportunities for farmers and residents in Oas, Albay. The P196 million-worth infrastructure development (I-BUILD) sub-project is expected to usher progress for 9,718 direct and indirect beneficiaries of the FMR sub-project particularly the 4,482 farmers in Oas who depend on coconut as their main source of livelihood. It will also benefit 70 percent of the municipality’s population who are engaged in rice, corn, banana, and vegetable farming.

“Kaulay na talaga kading panahon na pigaiparapangaturugan… Dati panahon nin krisis, napapanahon naman ki pag-asenso (It’s been a long time that we’ve been dreaming for this (road). We’ve been through a crisis, it’s time that we progress),” said 69-year-old vegetable and copra farmer Senencio Warde of Brgy. Banao Oas, Albay.

Located in the third district of Albay, Oas has a total land area of 27,130 hectares, 7,834 hectares of which are coconut areas. The municipality ranks first in the province in terms of coconut production. Oas registered the lowest road density and because of the poor accessibility of the municipality’s coconut areas, its agriculture potentials are not maximized resulting to low farmers’ income and high poverty incidence.

The sub-project will boost agricultural production through convenient access to basic farm inputs and development of potential agricultural areas. It will minimize the transport cost for agricultural produce by 50 percent and cut farm inputs’ transport cost by 35 percent. With the cultivation of new agricultural land area and reduced post-harvest losses, the sub-project will help increase family income by 25 percent. It will also link agricultural areas to major markets and open up areas for economic opportunities such as tourism, trade and industry and commerce.

“Ining pigagibo na proyekto ku’ kan para sa mayaman, ku’ kan para sa barangay captain, para kan sa ordinaryong taw, tangani patas kan tsansa sa saton pong progreso (This project is not for the rich nor for the barangay captain but for the ordinary people in order for them to have equal opportunities to progress),” Governor José María Clemente “Joey” Salceda said during the I-BUILD Site Visit in line with the World Bank 2^nd Implementation Support Mission to South Luzon held last April 12, 2016.

Package 1 of the sub-project is the rehabilitation and improvement of the 15,030.20 linear meter  Pistola to Tablon road while package 2 consists of the construction of the 90-linear meter three units prestressed concrete girder (PSCG) bridges in Tobgon, Ramay, and Badbad.

“The road by itself is only a first step into hopefully, something much more that will help you improve your lives and your economy,” Lead Agriculture Economist and WB Task Team Leader Frauke Jungbluth said. She also urged the PRDP-Bicol to actively monitor necessary progress in the construction of infrastructure development sub-projects to avoid slippages.

The Pistola to Tablon Road with 3 units bridges is the first approved I-BUILD sub-project in Albay that will complement the Albay Coco Geonets Manufacturing Enterprise, the province’s enterprise development sub-project that will serve as a source of additional livelihood in coconut-producing communities.

As of March 31, 2016, Bicol has the biggest share of I-BUILD sub-projects in the South Luzon cluster with 16 approved sub-projects amounting to P1,347 million equivalent to 46 percent. The region also has 90 percent success rate of bidding for I-BUILD sub-projects.

PRDP is a six-year development project being implemented by the DA designed to establish an inclusive, market-oriented and climate-resilient agri-fishery sector. (Annielyn L. Baleza, I-SUPPORT InfoACE Unit, DA-RAFIS 5)  

Photo taken during the site visit of the WB team to evaluate the construction of the infrastructure development (I-BUILD) sub-project in Oas, Albay.