Caraga wins big at Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP) Awards
BUTUAN CITY -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Caraga, along with its institutional partners, made waves at the Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP) Awards Ceremony for having received 19 plaques of recognitions for its exemplary achievements and contributions for fiscal year 2023 which was held at Sequoia Hotel, Quezon City on June 27.
The PAHP project which started way back in 2013, is under the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development and Sustainability Program (ARBDSP). It aims to comprehensively address the key challenges attached with food security, hunger mitigation, and reduce poverty incidence in the country.
This is mostly achieved by taking advantage of the opportunities to do business with institutional markets, i.e., private businesses, hospitals, and feeding programs of government agencies (Department of Health-National Nutrition Council, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, etc.)
Duly recognized by the DAR Central Office, the Caraga Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) was able to collectively earn an estimated gross sales of P149 million, which is ranked 2nd nationwide. Composing the bulk of that amount was through the Agusan del Sur ARBOs which was also awarded as the province with having the most sales earned nationwide worth P 129 million.
DAR Caraga personnel, who are no strangers for being lauded for such, has consistently maintained its position at the top of the PAHP rankings, among other equally important distinctions when it comes to its support services functions.
As such, both regional and provincial focal persons for PAHP were also given the spotlight for their invaluable dedication to linking the ARBOs all the way down from identifying suitable organizations to executing the memoranda of agreement. They are the Regional Office’s Hazel Hope V. Bautista, Agusan del Sur’s Chessa P. Ocay, Surigao del Norte’s Grace D. Manubag, and Surigao del Sur’s Cyrene Flor B. Tajonera.
Acknowledging the pride and empowerment the awards bring to the field personnel of DAR Caraga to continue its service excellence, Regional Director Merlita S. Capinpuyan also emphasized that the goal was never to be awarded and recognized, but has always been just simply to serve the farmer beneficiaries of the ARBOs.
She continued that, “It was only fortuitous that along with the hard work, commitment, and grit displayed by both the field implementers and the ARBOs that we were given these awards.”
As part of the awarding ceremony’s large audience, representatives from the ARBOs and institutional markets throughout the country showed their support to DAR’s initiatives.
The guest list included the Lumad sa Adgawan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LAMPUFACO) of La Paz, Agusan del Sur which raised P84.4 million of PAHP sales in 2023, the most an ARBO raised for that year.
LAMPUFACO’s Chairperson Ronel G. LaspiΓ±as, gave an inspirational speech after they received their plaque. He started his message by thanking one-by-one all the DAR officials and employees, and their institutional buyers which has bolstered the status of LAMPUFACO into what it has become now.
He added, “All these achievements were largely part due to the continuous support given by DAR, most especially by the PAHP program. And now that LAMPUFACO has been established as a reliable supplier for the market for years now, I believe that we will only go higher.”
For LAMPUFACO’s milestones, the Mayor Michael D. Lim of La Paz, Agusan del Sur was also awarded for his exceptional contributions toward his support their ARBO.
Other representatives present under Caraga were Surigao City Jail Acting Jail Warded, Reinzon S. Roullo, Andres Soriano Memorial Hospital Cooperative’s Medical Director Angelo L. Dimaano, Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center’s Chief II Janice V. Pagaran-Alcordo, and Philippine National Police (PNP) Commanding Officer Felix P. Gonzales Jr. of the Surigao del Sur 1st Mobile Force Company.
With high hopes to sustain the momentum of Caraga in PAHP, and in all of its flagship programs for the farmer beneficiaries, DAR is all the more renewed to fulfill its promise of true agrarian reform. (DAR-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
