(An Open Letter by Cecile Maquirang,
a graduate of Agriculture)
a graduate of Agriculture)
Of late, I am surprised with what I read in the papers on the pending status of CARP, its imminent end and how people perceived its implementation.
I am a granddaughter of an agrarian reform beneficiary from Unat, Ibajay, Aklan, 23 years old, single. I graduated Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Agricultural Economics from Aklan State University in 2007. I finished my degree through a scholarship of the Department of Agrarian Reform under the President Diosdado Macapagal Agrarian Scholarship Program (PDMASP). Last year, through hard work, perseverance and God’s grace, I passed the Licensure Examination for Agriculture. Hence, I am a full-pledged agriculturist.
For the last six months, I worked as Enterprise Development Officer of an NGO in Aklan that enables me to enjoy the challenges related to the job. It also gave me more opportunities to see and directly work with the farmers in various communities of Aklan. I truly aspire to have a fulltime job as agriculturist and entrepreneur in the future. Hopefully, I can apply what I have learned especially as a direct beneficiary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in Aklan. What CARP bestowed upon us PDMASP scholars is like what our mentors kept saying that goes: “You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.”
To anyone who reads this, I feel the need to share what CARP has brought to my family’s life. Coming from peasant roots, my father Felicito (62) and mother Nancita (59) are farmers. They are tilling the land (1,186 sq.m.) awarded to their mother for agricultural production specifically vegetables and rice. My hardworking parents also raise Mallard ducks for eggs production as additional farm income. My three siblings, John (18), Amie (28), and Norberto (13) learned from my parents the dignity of farming as farmers feed the people. The potentials of providing food for the people is the most inspiring and practical job one can find.
I believed what CARP has brought for me, as a direct beneficiary, and to my family who are tillers of the land they own can also be felt by my community as our municipality had been recipient of various infrastructure projects that aid in improving farm efficiency and increasing the productivity of our farms. The Ibajay Upland Agrarian Reform Community which is next to our barangay is now a new community having opened its “doors” to the entire world. A once remote upland village where insurgency bred is now traversed by paved six kms of roads being utilized by motorcycles and jeepneys.
Before, these remote barangays can only be reached by hiking. It was next to impossible to build roads as mountains and boulders abound. In one part of the ARC, a potable water system is provided. Today, households enjoy safe drinking water in the area. The residents are also trained to provide technical services in plumbing through the TESDA. I learned from DAR-Aklan that the total institutional and agricultural support to the ARC alone in the form of roads, irrigation, post harvest facilities and the Level II water supply including the trainings sum up to more than P48 million. Hence, with CARP, nothing is impossible.
Our community in Ibajay is not without sceptics. I laughed out loud when I recalled an incident where during a community consultation, and while people were raising their concerns on proposed projects, a man challenged the facilitator and swore to have his head cut off if the proposed irrigation project can be fully implemented. Today, one of the best irrigation projects in the province runs through our community, and we have yet to see the head of that cynic chop.
When we graduated from College last year, the 17 (PDMASP scholars) of us were so inspired, raring to do our share, to pass on the benefits to others we received from the DAR Aklan. We are the lucky ones from among the 18,000 beneficiaries of CARP in the province. Indeed, I agree we are among the privileged….we had the best scholarship program in the college in terms of benefits and support from the DAR personnel.
Today, I truly feel disheartened. Like the man who offered to be beheaded saying the project can never be realized, sceptics in our country are one in saying that CARP was no good, it’s “palpak” as one landlord Senator said.
What about us? Don’t we deserve to be heard? Are our families and communities not concrete manifestations that indeed, CARP touched our lives? For this one ordinary girl, CARP had changed her life and she is truly grateful for this opportunity. She might be a single voice in this call but for her family and the rest of the beneficiaries, she needs to extend CARP only to sustain and defend the gains which families and other beneficiaries enjoy. /MP
I am a granddaughter of an agrarian reform beneficiary from Unat, Ibajay, Aklan, 23 years old, single. I graduated Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Agricultural Economics from Aklan State University in 2007. I finished my degree through a scholarship of the Department of Agrarian Reform under the President Diosdado Macapagal Agrarian Scholarship Program (PDMASP). Last year, through hard work, perseverance and God’s grace, I passed the Licensure Examination for Agriculture. Hence, I am a full-pledged agriculturist.
For the last six months, I worked as Enterprise Development Officer of an NGO in Aklan that enables me to enjoy the challenges related to the job. It also gave me more opportunities to see and directly work with the farmers in various communities of Aklan. I truly aspire to have a fulltime job as agriculturist and entrepreneur in the future. Hopefully, I can apply what I have learned especially as a direct beneficiary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in Aklan. What CARP bestowed upon us PDMASP scholars is like what our mentors kept saying that goes: “You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.”
To anyone who reads this, I feel the need to share what CARP has brought to my family’s life. Coming from peasant roots, my father Felicito (62) and mother Nancita (59) are farmers. They are tilling the land (1,186 sq.m.) awarded to their mother for agricultural production specifically vegetables and rice. My hardworking parents also raise Mallard ducks for eggs production as additional farm income. My three siblings, John (18), Amie (28), and Norberto (13) learned from my parents the dignity of farming as farmers feed the people. The potentials of providing food for the people is the most inspiring and practical job one can find.
I believed what CARP has brought for me, as a direct beneficiary, and to my family who are tillers of the land they own can also be felt by my community as our municipality had been recipient of various infrastructure projects that aid in improving farm efficiency and increasing the productivity of our farms. The Ibajay Upland Agrarian Reform Community which is next to our barangay is now a new community having opened its “doors” to the entire world. A once remote upland village where insurgency bred is now traversed by paved six kms of roads being utilized by motorcycles and jeepneys.
Before, these remote barangays can only be reached by hiking. It was next to impossible to build roads as mountains and boulders abound. In one part of the ARC, a potable water system is provided. Today, households enjoy safe drinking water in the area. The residents are also trained to provide technical services in plumbing through the TESDA. I learned from DAR-Aklan that the total institutional and agricultural support to the ARC alone in the form of roads, irrigation, post harvest facilities and the Level II water supply including the trainings sum up to more than P48 million. Hence, with CARP, nothing is impossible.
Our community in Ibajay is not without sceptics. I laughed out loud when I recalled an incident where during a community consultation, and while people were raising their concerns on proposed projects, a man challenged the facilitator and swore to have his head cut off if the proposed irrigation project can be fully implemented. Today, one of the best irrigation projects in the province runs through our community, and we have yet to see the head of that cynic chop.
When we graduated from College last year, the 17 (PDMASP scholars) of us were so inspired, raring to do our share, to pass on the benefits to others we received from the DAR Aklan. We are the lucky ones from among the 18,000 beneficiaries of CARP in the province. Indeed, I agree we are among the privileged….we had the best scholarship program in the college in terms of benefits and support from the DAR personnel.
Today, I truly feel disheartened. Like the man who offered to be beheaded saying the project can never be realized, sceptics in our country are one in saying that CARP was no good, it’s “palpak” as one landlord Senator said.
What about us? Don’t we deserve to be heard? Are our families and communities not concrete manifestations that indeed, CARP touched our lives? For this one ordinary girl, CARP had changed her life and she is truly grateful for this opportunity. She might be a single voice in this call but for her family and the rest of the beneficiaries, she needs to extend CARP only to sustain and defend the gains which families and other beneficiaries enjoy. /MP
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