By Governor Carlito S. Marquez
AKLAN’S TOURISM CONTINUES TO RISE
Along with agriculture, tourism remains one of the anchor industries of the province of Aklan.
By year end, the number of visitors in the resort island of Boracay surpassed the half a million mark registering 558,084 tourist arrivals. About 33 percent of which, or 183,385, are foreigners, 61 percent, or 342,052, are domestic tourists, and the rest, 30,197 are overseas Filipinos.
The total tourist arrivals for 2006 translate to a money value circulating in the province of Aklan of P10.2 billion in terms of tourism receipts, P4.9 billion contributed by local tourists and P6.3 billion by foreigners.
The 2006 arrivals increased by ten percent over that of 2005 which registered 499,487 visitors.
We continue to support tourism promotion and development activities of the different local government units, the likes of the western Visayas tourism councils assembly in October where LGU Kalibo romped off with several major awards.
Thank you Ms. Karina Rossel Ruiz and staff of the Provincial Tourism office for continuously creating market for tourists.
MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS
IN AGRICULTURE
In my first term, we have introduced major innovations in agriculture. In crops production particularly rice, livestock production and in the establishment of commercial plantations for abaca and carabao mango.
Started last year with the initial 66 hectares planted to hybrid rice in the town of New Washington, Aklan’s rice granary, we have expanded hectarage of rice farms devoted to hybrid rice production to 863 hectares to include project locations in Kalibo, Numancia and Makato. Rice hybridization resulted in the average rice production of not less than 150 cavans per hectare but some farmers realized yields of 210 cavans per hectare particularly in barangay Cayangwan, Makato.
The rice hybridization program has trained a total of 39 farmers and at one time has produced a total of 1,746 bags of F1 hybrid rice seeds which were distributed not only to local farmers but also to farmers of Negros Occidental, Antique, Iloilo and Guimaras. Now, we are known in Western Visayas as the hybrid rice capital. To further strengthen this group of farmers engaged in hybrid rice seed production, we were able to access them to a bridge financing with the Land Bank of the Philippines for two million pesos.
In livestock production, we are fairly successful in our artificial insemination of large animals. This project covers six municipalities where large animal population such as cattle and carabaos are quite high in number, also covering fifty barngays. Last year, we have artificially inseminated a total of 357 cattle and 110 carabaos. From it, we produced calf drops or offsprings of 110 cattle and 25 carabaos. Still, in the pregnancy stage, are 48 cattle and 12 carabaos. We will be buying these offsprings for our livestock production at the 8-hectare animal breeding center in Cayangwan-Tina, Makato, Aklan aimed to increase livestock production for commercial meat or for dispersal to our livestock raisers. We are going to establish our own cattle fattening project to be included in the economic enterprise department aimed to supply the requirement of our province with high quality meat or beef.
Thank you Dr. Gervase Radislao and staff of the office of the provincial veterinarian.
Officially launched late last year was our upland crops development program where we opted to maximize productivity through the establishment of plantations for commercial high value crops like carabao mangoes.
Out of the 37.5 hectares planted in 2005, we added another 16 hectares last year of mango plantations spread in seven municipalities with 44 farmer beneficiaries thereby generating employment for about 130 mango plantation workers.
The provincial government provided free quality planting materials, the grafted carabao mango seedlings, and technical assistance.
It is now time to make interventions in our abaca industry so that we could maximize add-on value to the traditional shipment of abaca fibers for export in bales.
But we must expand our abaca plantations first before we could even plan for an abaca pulp factory intended to export abaca products in semi-processed and processed form to maximize income for our abaca farmers and traders.
For this reason, last year, we established more abaca plantations in four barangays in Libacao, the abaca capital of Aklan, two barangays in Madalag, one in Banga, and one in Ibajay with a total area of 113 hectares with 110 abaca farmer-beneficiaries.
We had already provided the beneficiaries with suckers to be able to start planting. We appropriated funds in our 2007 budget for this purpose out of our 20 percent IRA Development Fund, P2 million for the overall abaca development project, P0.4 million for abaca tissue culture and production project and another P0.4 million for abaca pulp enterprises. We hope to establish an abaca pulp factory in the town of Banga in the very near future.
Thank you PDO staff, FIDA, OPA and ASU for the coordinated efforts for the success of the abaca program.
Our fishery sector already initiated the establishment of seaweeds demonstration farms and nursery projects in recognition that this marine algae has various uses, and has big market demand commanding high price in the international market. These are located in both western and eastern parts of the province to determine viability because of the differing weather conditions in each of the location in Aklan. These will be in barangay Tambac, Poblacion, Polo, Cawayan, Ochando and Fatima in the municipality of New Washington with a total area of 760 square meters, barangays Santander, Bel-is and Alegria in Buruanga with a total area of 1800 square meters, and in Poblacion, Malay with a total area of 500 square meters.
As part of our fishery resource development through the coastal resource management, we installed last year 637 units of concrete artificial reefs in barangay Polo and Tambac in New Washington, in Navitas and Camanci Norte in Numancia, Barangay Bel-is and Santander in Buruanga, in Baybay, Makato and Barangay Mabilo in Kalibo. We also established marine stock enhancement project, also in Barangay Bel-is, Buruanga with 6000 pieces of abalone.
Inspired by the Kalibo Bakhawan Eco Park, Mangrove Reforestation Projects had been established in Guinbaliwan, New Washington and in Barangay Odiong and Cabugao, Altavas.
We continue to maintain our freshwater hatchery and demonstration farm in barangay Nalook, Kalibo where tilapia fries and fingerlings are being dispersed to beneficiaries engaging in fresh water aqua-culture while at the same time serving as demonstration field for aqua-culture technologies. Last year, we dispersed 8000 pieces of catfish and hito fingerlings in project sites in New Washington, Tangalan, Numancia, and Buruanga. Some 16,130 pieces of get excel tilapia fingerlings had been dispersed to 15 farmers in various barangays engaged in tilapia raising.
Another project that would interest you all is Cutflower plantation in Libacao, Aklan. We are doubling our effort to increase the plantation this year.
Thank you Mr. Delano T. Tefora, Ms. Salome P. David, Mr. William Castillo, Mr. Edwin Rome, Mr. Uldarico Las Piñas and staff of the provincial agriculturist office.
Our mines and geo-sciences division tasked to safeguard and regulate extraction of our natural wealth hidden beneath the bowels of the earth, under the EEDD, is closely monitoring the activities of our permitees not only to maximize collection of fees but also to prevent destructive extraction activities endangering our environment, most especially the erosion effect of the wild river along the river banks.
We have a total of 21 quarry permitees as of the end of last year, 17 for commercial sand and gravel, two (2) for industrial sand and gravel, one (1) for clay extraction and another one for small-scale mining of manganese. Permit holders are allowed to operate in the towns of Banga, Buruanga, Ibajay, Kalibo, Lezo, Madalag, Malinao, Nabas and Numancia. This chamber had laid down rules and regulations including the imposition of fees for quarry permitees. Last year, we collected about two million pesos from the fees imposed by our provincial ordinance.
Thank you Mr. Bernardo Rodriguez, Jr. and Engr. Valentin Teodosio of EEDD mines and geo-sciences.
INVESTMENTS AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
Per annual report of the Department of Trade and Industry, Aklan Provincial Office, incremental employment for directly and indirectly impacted agency activities registered 5001, 54 percent higher than targeted for last year. Industry sectors which absorbed the highest employment are the food processing and the loomweaving.
Total investments poured in the province of Aklan amounted to P958.534 million or an increase of more than 157 percent than 2005 performance, P933.4 million of which came from some 1400 new businesses registered with the DTI. The great bulk of the investment figures came from new resorts and hotels in the resort island of Boracay.
Small and medium enterprises in the priority list of DTI realized sales income of P172.9 million, an increase of 14 percent over that of 2005’s P151.7 million. The loomweaving, food processing and the gifts and housewares sectors surpassed sales targets.
The quality of our products was further recognized when our loomwoven products acquired the quality seal from the intellectual property office, the first for indigenous fabrics. The Kalibo one-town-one product in loomweaving was chosen as the regional model for Western Visayas, also as the top seller in Region VI and the 2nd top seller in the 1st Visayas OTOP fair at SM-Cebu Trade Hall.
Thank you very much Director Ermelinda Pollentes and DTI Staff, Local SME Producers, Hugod Aklan, and Exhibitors.
Our provincial employment service office is in the forefront finding employment and income opportunities for our people in the labor force.
Our peso served a total of 4,596 clients last year, either applying for jobs, both local and abroad, or as applicants for NBI clearance and passports or pose queries on immigration and visa requirements. It also entertained complaints from clients for accessing to the Department of Labor, overseas workers welfare administration and other matters involving overseas Filipino workers.
Fifteen duly licensed recruitment agencies conducted recruitment activities in the province for job vacancies abroad particularly in the Caribbean countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Kuwait and elsewhere. Out of the 585 applicants, 194 were successfully deployed for jobs in the said countries majority of whom where deployed in the Caribbean country, remitting millions of dollars to our dear province, and pump priming our local economy.
We were able to launch the Filipino migrant workers desk for the province, the first in Region VI, courtesy of a memorandum of agreement entered into by and between the OWWA represented by administrator Marianito D. Roque and the province of Aklan represented by your governor.
TESDA in its community based training programs turned out a total of 1301 graduates in food processing, tourism trades, health and entrepreneurship programs. Its school-based programs monitored a total of 1330 enrollees in 14 technical and vocational schools of which 509 had already graduated.
Thank you Ms. Vivian R. Solano and staff of the Provincial Employment Service Office and TESDA Provincial staff.(to be continued next issue) /MP
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