When I was a child, I used to look forward to waking up at 5 in the morning to accompany my grandparents to our little sampaguita farm. Nothing beats the fresh and chilly morning breeze hitting our faces as we ride on my grandfather’s tricycle and the fragrant smell of morning dew mixed with the scent of sampaguita blossoms waiting to be picked.
We would then start harvesting the new flowers, carefully selecting the mature flower buds called “buko” in the dialect and the fully-blossomed ones we call “bulaklak”.
I usually get reprimanded by my grandparents when I accidentally, sometimes intentionally, plucked tiny buds, scolding me like there’s no tomorrow for the waste I caused saying, “every bud, every flower from these sampaguita plants is precious”.But being the child that I was, I would just let it pass and continue to pick the fragrant flowers.
I remember seeing mountains of harvested sampaguita during peak season and I loved watching my grandfather as he eagerly counted the plucked buds using his tabo and filled sack after sack with the yield.
For more than 20 years, this has been the routine of my grandparents – sampaguita growing, picking, and selling had been a significant part of our family’s life.
The same could be said for the residents of Lubao, particularly in the villages of Sto. Domingo; San Roque, Dau 1st; and San Roque, Dau 2nd.
Just like my grandparents, the people of Lubao had benefitted from the sampaguita industry for decades now and continue to be a primary source of livelihood for the families in this town.
Apparently, the sampaguita industry in this town started in San Roque, Dau 1st when Ricardo Lalic, more known as “Apu Lalic” by the locals here, and Pedro Pamintuan brought some sampaguita plants from Laguna upon seeing its productivity.
Governor Lilia “Nanay” G. Pineda also realized the potential of sampaguita as a lucrative source of income, even when she was still the mayor of the town.
Governor Lilia “Nanay” G. Pineda also realized the potential of sampaguita as a lucrative source of income, even when she was still the mayor of the town.
Due to Nanay Gov’s commitment to promote and improve the sampaguita industry, thereby providing a lucrative source of income for the Kapampangans, various government agencies had also pledged support for the provincial government’s livelihood program.
The Department of Labor and Employment-Central Luzon, led by Regional Director Raymundo Agravante, already allotted P200,000 for the farm equipment used by sampaguita growers in Sto. Domingo village.
Mary Michelle Quiambao of the Department of Science and Technology also commended the support shown by the Capitol and the municipal government headed by Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab. Quiambao even offered technical assistance for the development of sampaguita perfume as an additional source of income for sampaguita growers.
Furthermore, the Bureau of Plant Industry said in a conference, Nanay Gov’s support to farmer-constituents, particularly sampaguita growers in this town, is very inspiring.
Rea Inocencio of BPI even enlisted the bureau’s support, by conducting various sampaguita production trainings to ensure the growth of Pampanga’s sampaguita industry.
With the collaborative efforts from the provincial government led by Nanay Gov, government agencies, and local government units, the growing sampaguita industry in Pampanga looks promising and hopefully will continue to bloom in the coming years—decades –just the way it did for my grandparents and other sampaguita growers who were able to raise their families through this blossoming livelihood.
(Angelique DC. Tuazon, PIO – Pampanga)
