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Aquino visits flood victims in Pampanga, 3 provinces

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO โ€” President Benigno Aquino Jr. visited on Sunday Barangay Sto. Niรฑo here to check on flood victims, after his visit in Tarlac and Bataan.
Aquino was welcomed by City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, 3rd district Representative Aurelio Gonzales, Butil Representative Agapito Guanlao and Govenor Lilia Pineda at the Barangay Sto. Nino Elementary School here.
The President was accompanied by Cabinet secretaries and National Government officials during the less than 30-minute visit.
โ€œWe have enough funds for quick response. Rest assured that you will receive help,โ€ Aquino said in Filipino.
Aquino distributed relief goods to the flood victims. The goods came from the funds of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) national office.
The President, however, left promptly after distributing a few relief packs. The distribution was continued by City Hall officials.
The City of San Fernando is among hardest hit areas in Pampanga.
According to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, some families already went back to their homes as flooding in 10 barangays subsided.
Some 22 barangays out of the 35 barangays of the capital city have been affected by the flooding.
Some 18,025 families or 7,761 individuals were directly affected by the flooding.
City Mayor Oscar Rodriguez has led the relief operations for 1,414 families or 5,428 individuals with donations also coming from the Provincial Government of Pampanga.
The numbers of evacuation centers have been reduced from 33 to 11 as of August 11.
The city has recorded four casualties during the flooding.
Rescue operations are still ongoing in two barangays, as of this posting.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2012/08/12/aquino-visits-flood-victims-pampanga-3-provinces-237151

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO โ€” Governor Lilia Pineda announced Wednesday that she has set programs to help farmers reduce their expenses on agricultural inputs and help them earn more from the proper marketing and selling of their livestock and agricultural produce.
Pineda, in an exclusive interview said that rather than direct financial subsidies in cash or seeds, the Provincial Government has set programs that would improve the overall farming conditions in the province.
Get updates on President Benigno Aquino III’s address to nation.
The governor added that this move will benefit more farmers in the province in the long run.
โ€œWe have not totally put away the seed subsidy, but what we are prioritizing now are partnership programs with farmer cooperatives and the Department of Agriculture (DA) on providing post-harvest and pre-harvest facilities that will reduce their farms costs,โ€ Pineda said.
Pineda said she is set to help farmers with a P650 seed assistance that would have to be met by a counterpart funding from farmers who would like to avail of the program.
But Pineda said her administrationโ€™s priority now is to partner with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) DA on a 50 percent partnership funding of programs and projects for farmers.
Pineda said the Provincial Government is ready for a 50-50 partnership funding on assistance programs for farmers like farm inputs and machineries.
Such move, she said, will be beneficial in meeting the needs of local farmers and cut the otherwise long government process of funding programs and projects for farmers.
โ€œFarmers spend a lot on farm inputs but earn so little. We at the Provincial Government are ready for counterpart funding projects for government programs for farmers,โ€ Pineda said.
Pineda added that the DA and DAR can work on mutual areas of concern for farmers.
Earlier, the DA said millions of agricultural infrastructure projects and support services are set to be implemented for Central Luzon, as it now awaits the bidding and approval of the designated projects for 2012.
DA Regional Director Andrew Villacorta told Sun.Star Pampanga some P30 million in irrigation support services and P360 million in post-harvest facilities are now doing the bidding procedures, and will soon be subjected for approval for proper implementation.
โ€œThe availability of farm machineries is essential in helping farmers earn more and save on farm cost. We are also setting plans for a trading post for farmers so that they can sell their produce directly into the market and enjoy better revenues,โ€ Pineda said.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2012/07/19/guv-sets-program-reducing-farm-cost-farmers-232782

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