STO. TOMAS, Davao del Norte— The three contested provincial roads situated inside the banana plantation of Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) in the property of Davao Prison and Penal Farm were officially re-opened on Thursday morning (October 24, 2019) .
This, after the provincial government, TADECO management and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), signed the memorandum of agreement on Biosecurity and opening of roads.
The MOA signing was brokered by Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Manny Piñol, upon the instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte to come up with a “win-win” solution.
Governor Edwin Jubahib, led the re-opening along with Tadeco Vice President Zeuss Vadil and ANFLO Industrial Group President Anton Lagdameo.
In an interview, Jubahib is thankful to the effort of MinDA for stepping in and help resolve issue, which is beneficial not only to the people of Davao del Norte but also to every stakeholder of peace.
The governor said with the opening, residents of the said areas will now save their money from the hefty fare in Habal-Habal.
With this development, Jubahib said, a passenger will only spend P30 to traverse the highway instead of P100. The travel time is shortened and convenient.
“Usa kini, nga ma ingon nga kadaugan sa katawhan sa Davao del Norte tungod atong gipakita nga dunay pantay nga paghatod sa serbisyo (We can consider this as victory for the people of Davao del Norte since we just showed that we have a fair delivery of service in the province), ” he said.
But, Jubahib clarified, everyone has to follow the Biosecurity protocol to protect the industry. The plantation must always be protected as it provides multi-billion revenue not just to the province but the entire nation.
Piñol, on the other hand, lauded the signing of the compromise agreement , saying everyone agreed to protect the economy and the labor sector.
He said there is really a need to protect the banana plantations since it faces a lot problems such as the fusarium wilt.
Tadeco, according to Vadil is also happy that every shared for the solution of the problem-Armando B. Fenequito Jr.
