Traveling from Davao City at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday (June 11), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director-General Sec. Isidro Lapeña pushed his way to the Municipality of Talaingod to visit two Ata-Manobo villages where he eyed livelihood projects he wanted to serve as models.
He traveled 105 kilometers and made his first stop in Brgy Sto. Nino particularly at the 56th Infantry Battalion Headquarters where he huddled with agency heads of the Poverty Reduction, Livelihood and Economic Cluster (PRLEC) of Regional Task Force ELCAC (Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict) together with Provincial Governor Edwin I. Jubahib and 56th IB commander Lt. Col Norman Valdez.
With Governor Jubahib and regional heads of PRLEC, he then proceeded about 40 kilometers further, traversing a rugged single track road towards Sitio Kaylawan (meaning forest) still in Brgy Sto Nino, to visit the Organic Vegetable and Organic Chicken-Raising Farm that was launched on May 25.
Organic Farms
The training for this Organic Vegetable-raising benefits 30 male Sitio Kaylawan residents who are members of Sitio Kaylawan Farmers’ Association People’s Organization while some 30 female resident-members of Sitio Kaylawan Women’s Association People’s Organization are into oganic chicken-raising.
TESDA is providing the training through virtual smart concept of actually meeting the beneficiaries only once a week for 12 weeks while delivering instructions and other training modules through showing of videos.
The Provincial Government of Davao del Norte, the Municipal Government of Talaingod, the 56th IB and Leadtech Philippines are backing up the TESDA training as well as beefing up resources in running the organic farming and chicken-raising.
Lapeña and his entourage of national, provincial, regional and municipal visitors were welcomed by the village residents who, during that moment, saw for the first time such huge number of visitors representing the national and local governments.
TESDA Dir-Gen. Sec. Isidro Lapeña in Talaingod
“Nagpasalamat kami kay karon lang nga panahona nga natabangan mi diri, sa niaging panahon walay nagtabang sa amoa diri. (We are greatful that we are now receiving assistance which has not been given us before), Sitio Kaylawan tribal leader Datu Macky Dada told the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in an interview.
Lt Col Valdez of 56th IB revealed Kaylawan as an area of influence for the New People’s Army (NPA) which recruited some of the village folks who are now withdrawing allegiance from the armed rebels when the military pushes its community support program (CSP) to the area together with the local governments and national line agencies.
