TARBAMC Holds 18th Anniversary

The Tairan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperative (TARBAMC) celebrates its eighteenth (18) year anniversary in Tairan, Lantawan municipality, February 8. 

The Alano clan in Basilan formerly owned the vast agricultural land of 1,434 hectares in Tairan under the J.S. Alano Group of Companies. When the CARP Law took effect in 1988, the previous landowner proposed the stock distribution option (SDO) which the farm workers also ratified.  Few years thereafter, the landowner revoked the SDO scheme and voluntarily offered the property to the government under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.  And in 1995, certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) were generated and distributed in the name of the ARB cooperative, TARBAMC, who took over the management of the plantation.

This thriving community of close to 4,000 residents came to life with a series of fun-filled activities that started with an early morning mass for the Christian and later a duwa’a for its Muslim members. Relay and baseball games followed after the rites.

 

Highlighting the visit was the presence of the DAR-ARMM Secretary Atty. Aquino S. Sajili and the supportive Basilan governor, Jum J. Akbar, Lantawan municipal mayor, Rustam Ismael, together with officials from the Department of Agrarian Reform and local government.

In a meeting with the visiting officials, TARBAMC manager, Carlito Suela, and chairman of the board of directors, Silvestre Ambasa, welcomed proposed developmental projects into this thriving agrarian reform community which the local government is grooming to be a model community of the municipality.

  (TARBAMC Chairman of the Board, Silvestre Ambasa and Manager, Carlito Suela)

The lady governor was thankful for the presence of the DAR-ARMM Secretary and his entourage. She affirmed that the Secretary is showing the sincerity of DAR with its commitment to assist the ARC movement. She enjoined everyone to raise the DAR program to a higher level and assured her entire support to whatever DAR project is implemented. With all the good things happening around the ARCs, she expected the best results for TARBAMC, not only in service to the village of Tairan, but to the entire province of Basilan as well. She urged the Secretary to continue DAR’s noble goals for Basilan. Stressing that the Basilan has its good sides as well, she asked for additional support for the province in terms of developmental projects and hoped that DAR will help usher in more projects into the province.

 (Basilan Provincial Governor Jum Akbar, Basilan PARO Suwaib Ismael and 

DAR-ARMM Secretary Aquino Sajili)

TARBAMC has been applied for inclusion under the Second Agrarian Reform Communities Project (ARCP 2) for ARCs that will stand to benefit projects with USD 30 million funding or roughly  PhP 1.2 billion along with selected agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations in Tipo-tipo, Sumisip, Ungkaya Pukan and Maluso.

Possible projects eyed to be implemented in the area are the construction of irrigation system for a potential 150-hectare rice production area, rehabilitation of the wharf, and concreting of five-kilometer whart-to-plantation road.

 

 (From the Special Management Team of the ARCP 2, Engr. Al Sapie, Lantawan mayor Rustam Ismael, and former Lantawan mayor and current Basilan provincial administrator, Tahira Ismael)

The TARBAMC manager thanked the visiting officials for coming to Tairan. Together with the coop officials, he was glad that the visitors are willing to assist their community. He also acknowledged the support of the mayor who helped them plant crops.

The visit capped with a brief tour to the wharf that served the ARC in the transport of their produce to traders in Isabela City.

DAR-ARMM Secretary Visits LARBECO Grants support to expand its table egg production

DAR-ARMM Secretary Atty. Aquino Sajili talked about the convergence strategy that was launched the day before his visit to this ARC and bared that LARBECO is included in the convergence livelihood cluster. The concept of the convergence is cooperation from all agencies of the autonomous region to bring assistance together to a certain community. 

(Seated from left to right: LARBECO Manager, Jose Bernadas, DAR-ARMM Secretary Atty. Aquino Sajili, RBOI Chairman Sakiran Hajan, and DARPO Basilan PARO Suwaib Ismael)

With the table egg expansion project of LARBECO worth PhP 8 million included in the convergence, the regional governor has instructed the department secretary to help or concentrate on the agrarian reform communities of Basilan.

LARBECO manager, Mr. Jose Bernadas was thankful for the projects that the DAR poured into the community. The LARBECO boasts of successful members’ savings and operations program, which expanded from a capitalization of PhP 200,000 to an eight-figure asset.

Secretary Sajili also noted of the cooperative’s good facilities and recommended that the cooperative improve or expand their function halls as he was toying with the idea of holding Basulta meetings in LARBECO.

Coming along with the party was the chairman of the Regional Board of Investments, Sakiran Hajan who informed the body that the convergence strategy of the autonomous region focuses on the acronym HELPS which stands for health, education, livelihood, peace and governance, and synergy. The DAR, RBOI and the DENR fell into the livelihood bracket. The program could be sustained through cooperation of all government agencies. He explained to the body how the Board of Investments functions and the benefits the farmers could derive from it. He revealed that RBOI is eyeing on Basilan for rubber and palm oil development. He hoped that this announcement will reach to the knowledge of the ARBs.

After the meeting, the party went to tour the rubber plantation, warehouse, post harvest facilities for cacao and coconut, egg project (poultry), and office.

DAR Inks MOA with SCARBIDC

The Department of Agrarian Reform signed into agreement a memorandum with the Sta. Clara Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative, Inc. (SCARBIDCI) for two units of hauling trucks worth PhP 3 million.

The memorandum is in line with the DAR’s implementation of the Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS) which aims to improve farm productivity and net income of agrarian reform beneficiaries in a sustainable manner through their organization. The memorandum provided that in order to achieve these objectives, the DAR shall provide professional service providers which will deliver the necessary range of services to improve the performance of the agrarian reform beneficiaries organization’s (ARBO) agri-enterprise and its ability access and compete in the market.  The project shall also provide the ARBOs with common service facilities in the form of equipment and machinery which shall be considered business assets.

The grant shall include professional services in the form of training and provision of common service facility.

Witnessing the signing were ARMM OIC Regional Governor Mujiv S. Hataman and Basilan provincial governor, Jum J. Akbar. Also present in the ceremony were Lamitan city mayor Roderick Furigay, CDA Chairman, and DAR provincial and municipal officials.

(In picture seated from left to right: SCARBIDC Manager, Dr. Macainag, ARMM OIC-Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman, DAR Basilan PARO Suwaib Ismael, SCARBIDC Chairman Abdulla Panglias, Basilan Provincial Governor Jum J. Akbar, DAR-ARMM Secretary Atty. Aquino Sajili)

DAR-ARMM Secretary Visits Basilan Tours the ARCs, Meets with DAR Employees

(DARPO Basilan PARO Suwaib Ismael (standing) welcomes the Secretary (right) as CARPO for Operations, Engr. Ronald Gadaingan, looks on.)

DAR-ARMM Secretary Atty. Aquino J. Sajili spent three days in Basilan and got the feel of what is being in a vibrant and functional agrarian reform communities. Awed about what he has seen around, he revealed that he will boast of the province’s ARCs because it is only in Basilan where there is real agrarian reform. With the launching of the convergence initiative in the ARMM, he stated that DAR should not be left behind in implementing programs and that there should be no need for food security to be threatened.  

The Secretary hailed the leadership of PARO Suwaib S. Ismael where he showed his all-out praises for the provincial office which the Secretary claimed to be number one in terms of quality service. He disclosed that there are no fake CLOAs or ghost agrarian reform beneficiaries in Basilan. By this, he was committed to do everything for Basilan.

Atty. Aquino also held audience with the DAR employees where he discussed some administrative, financial and operational issues concerning the agency.

NADA in SCARBIDC

The Department of Agrarian Reform has commissioned the Mindanao State of University of General Santos City to conduct a Needs Assessment and Design Assessment (NADA) in various agrarian reform communities that are covered under the Second Agrarian Reform Community Projects (ARCP2).  This design assessment is a three-year program that seeks to determine the social capital and needs of the cooperative and aims to help develop capacities in an agricultural enterprise development.  This is a means of intervention to increase the income of a community and works under two components which are the provision of common service facilities and provision of professional services.

 Ms. Czarina Kailul and Prof. Wilfred Bidad, the NADA team of MSU-General Santos

Headed by Prof. Wilfred Bidad, the team visited the Sta. Clara Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative (SCARBIDC) and met its members of the board of directors and key management officers to present the missions and rationale of the program. The team also validated cooperative data pertaining to the organization’s profile and operation of the plantation.

SCARBIDC Board of Directors

Also present in the assessment were DAR personnel representing the municipal office and beneficiaries development and coordination division.

The SCARBIDC board of directors together with DAR personnel and the visiting team from MSU-GenSan