A week into the administration of Governor Lilia G. Pineda, the Provincial Agricultural and Fishery Council (PAFC) conducted a meeting to reorganize and elect a new set of officers.
This was learned from Crispin Guintu, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), who said that matters pertaining to the meeting were supervised by Ricardo Laxamana, coordinator based in the local government unit (LGU).
Guintu said that the meeting was timely because as the rainy season starts, there is a stronger need for stakeholders in the agri-aqua culture industry to prepare and do necessary measures to secure their sector.
According to Marietta Ocampo of the OPA, invited to the meeting were chairpersons and representatives from the municipal and city AFCs, those from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and attached agencies and other stakeholders.
Ocampo also mentioned that the AFC Manual of Regulations provides that the Council’s composition be 40% from the government and 60% from the private sector. After determining the members present who were qualified to vote, Ocampo announced that the following were elected the new set of officers of the PAFC: Nestor Macapagal of the MAFC San Simon chairman; Nestor Garcia, MAFC Guagua -vice chairman ‘from the private sector; Crispin S. Guintu, OPA OIC, automatically the vice chairman from the government; Susan D. Lansangan, agricultural technologist -secretary; Jesus M. Gavino, MAFC Lubao -treasurer; Rodel Palma, president, Pampanga Mango Growers Association -auditor; Ricardo L. Laxamana, LGU-based coordinator, also automatically the coordinator.
Officers of the sectoral committees are lfiaki Saenz, MAFC Apalit, chair for food crops, with Joven Mariano, MAFC Mexico and Paulita Lingat, provincial seed coordinator OPA as members; Rodolfo Gatchalian, MAFC Arayat, chair for livestock and feed crops, with Claudio Manalo, MAFC Mabalacat and Agerico Nicdao, Provincial Veterinary Office (PVet), as members; Domingo E. Torno, MAFC Porac, chair for agricultural mechanization, with Abelardo Dizon, Organic Farmers MPC and Regidor de Guzman, Farm Support Services, OPA, as members; Antonio Laquindanum, MAFC Macabebe, chair for fisheries and aquatic resources, with Modesto Lapaz, chair FARMC and Jimmy Manliclic, prOVincial fishery officer, as members; Aldrin Baul, Mafc Floridablanca, chair for commercial crops, with Jose Paguinto, MAFC Candaba and Danilo Cunanan, provincial High Value Commercial Crops (HVCC) coordinator, as members. The newly elected officers shall serve for two years with a right to re-election.
Especially in view of the Governor’s desire to strengthen the agriculture sector in the province, the new officers all pledged their commitment to serve the PAFC to the best of their abilities as the welfare of its members and the progress of the agri-fishery sector will mean progress for them as well.
(Pampanga PIO)
