Congressman-elect Bernardo Piñol of the second district said he would allocate this year alone 10 percent each from his P70 million Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) for agriculture and infrastructure projects of the provincial government, and for health insurance for the poor constituents.
Piñol made the promise as he also assured he would support the provincial government’s thrust and priority programs. “Support to these programs is necessary in order to help our constituents “out of the quagmire of poverty,” he said.
The neophyte lawmaker said he would set aside some P21 million every year in order to sustain these projects in his district.
In agriculture, the province has focused on four major cash crops: rubber, oil palm, coconut and banana, in addition to the traditional grain crops, rice and corn, and high value fruits.
Piñol said he wants all villages in his district to utilize idle lands for these four major crops, adding he believes agriculture activities would help combat poverty.
“I will allocate P7 million every year to this program to help our farmers and interested individuals avail of the “plant-now-pay-later” scheme of the provincial government,” he said.
For infrastructure, he would also shell out another P7 million for the asphalting of Kidapawan-Magpet road, and to rehabilitate some roads in interior villages. He said farmers should be linked to the markets. He said the existing asphalting plant in Barangay Pag-asa in Mlang town would be tapped for the road improvement.
An important program that Pinol also vowed to support is to popularize the Cotabato Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which began three years ago. He said he would also allocate another P7 million for the program.
“I will make this as my commitment every year so that poor constituents in Cotabato will also feel that the government really cares for their medical needs,” The solon said.
“I believe that all these endeavors can only be achieve by a pool of strong and credible leaders whose commitments are dedicated to service to Cotabateños,” Piñol concluded. (Williamor A. Magbanua / MindaNews)