DA CAR inducts SWISA president

BAGUIO CITY -- Adolfo Bravo, 51, of Tabuk City was inducted as Cordillera’s first Small Water Irrigation Systems Association (SWISA) president to aggressively push for the wider coordination and cooperation of the association to support the vision of the Department of Agriculture for food sufficiency and sustainable agriculture in the country on April 10 in the summer capital during the regional SWISA convention.

Bravo said being the first president he urges members of SWISA to attend regular meetings and assess each other’s performance and see the gaps of the association to know remedial measures. Another move is the attendance to trainings, seminars and workshops to further build up their knowledge.

He added considering there are a lot of participants in the said event, it manifests members in every province are really interested in reliving the association in the region.

Bravo garnered 50% votes of the election board consisting of the SWISA president per province, including himself. Pedro Dulawan from Ifugao was elected as the vice president; Anita Madarang (Benguet) as secretary; Janette Luya (MP)’ treasurer; Rolly Alliang ( Apayao), auditor and Mario Turqueza (Abra), PRO.

While Blesida Concepcion, SWISA Luzon cluster coordinator, said that within five years that SWISA has been operating, the region remained inactive during national meetings and trainings. She urged the new president to have the will and passion to take responsibility of his title that even without the pay, he should be willing to sacrifice his time and effort for the unification of all members in each province. “Ako ay positibo na muling babangon ang CAR,” she added.

On the other hand, the convention established links among officers and members of SWISA in the region as it intends to provide an avenue for participants to discuss issues and concerns, share and acquire knowledge and skills that will enhance their connections.

Officers and members were also updated on new projects and programs and its implementation of the department’s interventions and the Philippine Crop insurance Council.-- JMD