Moratorium sought on dues of storm-hit farmers in C. Luzon

MASANTOL, Pampanga – Gov. Lilia G. Pineda said Tuesday that she has requested the national government for a moratorium on the collection of dues and contribution from farmers in Central Luzon, who suffered financial reverses due to recent typhoons and calamities.

Pineda said she urged National Irrigation Authority Administrator Antonio Nangel to exempt the farmers, particularly those in the Pampanga’s 4th District, from paying their obligation until next planting season to help them recover their losses.

Pampanga’s 4th District includes this small town, Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe, Minalin, San Luis, San Simon, and Santo Tomas, which were severely devastated by back-to-back typhoons “Pedring” and “Quiel.”

“I am asking NIA administrator Nangel to exempt from paying irrigation service fees our farmers whose crops were almost totally washed out,” Pineda said.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported that Pampanga incurred P1.3 billion of loss in rice with 31,135 hectares of farmland battered and P760 million damages in fisheries with 4,514.81 hectares of fishpond bruised by typhoons “Pedring” and “Quiel.”

Earlier, NIA said that would allot around P18 million for the rehabilitation of communal irrigations in Pampanga with the municipalities of Candaba and San Luis to be allocated the highest at P4 million each.

On the other hand, some 10 million tilapia fingerlings, 18 million bangus (milkfish) fingerlings, and 500 gill nets will be handed out to typhoon-hit fisher folks.

Nangel, who also recently attended the farmers' forum in San Luis town together with Pineda and other mayors, assured the farmers of equitable collections based on the validated reports by the respective local government units (LGUs).

He said that for those farmers who were totally deprived of earnings as the ready-to-harvest palay were destroyed by floodwaters, they will be given exemption.

However, those farmers who still harvest up to the extent of 60 percent, they still need to pay 50 percent of their total obligation, he added.