The three provincial roads situated at the banana plantation of Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm were officially opened in Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte on Thursday morning, October 24, 2019.
This after the Davao del Norte provincial government, TADECO management and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) signed the memorandum of agreement on biosecurity and opening of roads. The settlement was brokered by Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Manny Piñol.
The ceremonial opening was led by Piñol, Governor Edwin Jubahib, Tadeco Vice President Zeuss Vadil and ANFLO Industrial Group President Anton Lagdameo.
In an interview, Jubahib is thankful to the effort of MinDA to resolve the issue because the constituents of the province will benefit the compromise.
The governor said with the opening, residents of the said areas will now save their money from the hefty fare of Habal-Habal (motorcycle transport). Residents will be paying up to P30 instead of P100 per trip since the distance of the travel will be now shortened.
“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.
However, Jubahib clarified that even if the roads are already opened, the people and vehicles passing there still need to undergo the Biosecurity Protocol so that the diseases will not infect the bananas.
He said the plantation should be protected since this gives multi-billion revenue not just to the province but also to the country.
Piñol, on the other hand, lauded the compromise agreement since both parties did it for the economy of Mindanao.
“Nalipay ko nga na-resolve nato ni nga problema tungod dako nig impact sa atong ekonomiya (I am happy that we resolved this issue since this gives a hug impact to our economy),” he said.
He said there is really a need to protect the banana plantations since it faces a lot problems such as the fusarium wilt.
