Expected to bring positive outcomes in terms of livelihood and accessibility to markets and other important establishments to the farmers, fishers, and residents of Altavas and Batan, the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Rehabilitation and Improvement of Cabangila-Angas-Palay-Camanci Road under the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) was held at Barangay Angas, Batan, Aklan on June 21, 2022.

The PhP 80,869,220.15-worth subproject has a total length of 4.61 kilometers. It traverses the four barangays of Cabangila, Angas, Palay, and Camanci. The road improvement is expected to increase the annual farm incomes of PRDP household beneficiaries and the number of farmers who have improved access to the support and services of various institutions and agencies.

“We commend the efforts of the provincial government of Aklan because out of the 6 provinces in Western Visayas, it ranks third from Iloilo and Negros Occidental in terms of the submission of proposals to avail various projects from the DA-PRDP. Hopefully, within the next few months, the pipelined subprojects could be started,” Recoter said in her speech.

“Out of the 17 municipalities in the province of Aklan, all of these projects granted are based on the VCA of the commodities like abaca, oyster, coconut, swine, native chicken, and goat. All of these are seen to give positive economic development in the province,” said RED Recoter.

She also emphasized that these projects were framed by utilizing one of the planning tools of the DA-PRDP which is the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) and further encouraged the beneficiaries to take part in monitoring when the construction of the project begins.

“Out of the 17 municipalities in the province of Aklan, all of these projects granted are based on the VCA of the commodities like abaca, oyster, coconut, swine, native chicken, and goat. All of these are seen to give positive economic development in the province. Likewise, I encourage you all to monitor the status of the construction of the subproject to promote transparency and accountability,” she added.

Meanwhile, Provincial Governor Florencio T. Miraflores shared the struggles they encountered alongside the values they developed through the course of working on the documentary requirements of the DA-PRDP.

“This has been a dream that we long aspired of, though, it follows a very difficult process. But we strived, took a lot of patience to comply the documents needed, and now we are here. Thus, we must do what is needed and we must not lose hope,” said Miraflores.

He also underscored the benefits that the people would acquire once the project will soon be implemented, especially among the farmers and fishers.

“This has been a dream that we long aspired of, though, it follows a very difficult process. But we strived, took a lot of patience to comply the documents needed, and now we are here. Thus, we must do what is needed and we must not lose hope,” said Governor Miraflores.

“This road will be used in transporting your products and will serve as your access to markets in barrios, municipalities, and other places. I have long seen the situation of the people here because of the poor road condition and this had been a long-time problem that needs to be resolved. Also, our Magpag-ong Fish Port is on its way as well which will allow easier access to your products to the provincial center of Kalibo. Hopefully, you will take good care of these projects so we could optimize their use in the years to come,” Miraflores added.

Aside from Director Recoter and Governor Miraflores, the groundbreaking ceremony was also attended by Provincial Project Management and Implementing Unit Head of Aklan, Engr. Roger M. Esto; I-BUILD Component Head Engr. Edelzon T. Magalit; Regional Project Coordination Office 6 Deputy Project Director Engr. Moises D. Mana-ay; Provincial Vice Governor Reynaldo M. Quimpo; barangay chiefs, Altavas and Batan key officials, PPMIU staff, and project beneficiaries. (April Grace Padilla, RPCO 6, Writer)