On May 17, DA-NorMin meets with farmer-leaders to activate the SUCBEM cluster of the RTF-ELCAC in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

 

MALAYBALAY CITY, BUKIDNON – The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) convened with the farmer-leaders to activate the Sectoral Unification, Capacity-Building Empowerment and Mobilization (SUCBEM) cluster of the Regional Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) on May 17.

DA-RFO 10 Regional Executive Director (RED) Carlene C. Collado discussed with the farmer-leaders, who are the municipal agri-fishery council (MAFC) chairs of of the region to identify and discuss issues and concerns in their respective areas.

SUCBEM is one of the 12 clusters of RTF-ELCAC which was created under Executive Order (EO) No. 70. It recognizes insurgency and local communist armed conflict as not only a military and security concern but also the National and local government agencies working as one.

Nick P. Campomanes, Mindanao head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission said, SUCBEM’s first step is to detail policy gaps at the local level to process an output that can be streamlined to form part of the peace and development agenda of the sector.

The output of SUCBEM consultation was presented to the Department of Interior and Local Government, thru the Regional Conference for Peace and Development (RCPD) consultation with other line agencies and sectors to come up with SUCBEM cluster State of the Nation Address (SONA) Campaign Plan, which will be part of the President’s legislative agenda.

RED Collado remarked that peace and development is hard to achieve without promoting agricultural development and the help of extension workers and farmer-leaders, especially in the far-flung areas.

“With the support of the attached agencies thru ‘One DA approach’ and the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, various agri-interventions were brought in to remote communities, changing the lives of indigenous peoples and the former rebels in said areas,” he said.

Attending the RCPD to represent the region’s agri-fishery sector were the MAFC chairs Marcelino M. Patindol (Claveria), Rosauro M. Suazo (Balingasag), Richard Olmilla (Damulog), and Raul S. Ybañez (Maramag).

MAFC chair Marcelino M. Patindol of Claveria, Misamis Oriental shared, “The government has provided the farmers with various agri-fishery interventions and livelihood. It is our obligation to look out and preserve the projects for them to sustain longer, while we live harmoniously in our community.”

The MAFC chairs were joined by DA-RFO 10 Provincial Operations Center Chief for Bukidnon Dr. Janet D. Lopez and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division Project Evaluation Officer III Lana May S. Racines as they inked the Northern Mindanao Peace and Development Manifesto to attest their commitment to President Rodrigo Duterte.

SUCBEM-RCPD was attended by the youth, women and other sectors of the region, which was held at Central Mindanao University, Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon on May 18.# (EMBentulan)