Bohol Sunday Post | April 19, 2009

MABINI– There is no stopping for food sufficiency and stability as officials of this town have given an impetus to this quest by passing a number of legislative measures on food production and implement them, said Mayor Stephen Rances.

He said in an exclusive interview last week that he is very much concerned about food production so that his constituents may have food on the table, saying that vegetable growing could very well augment other crops grown here such as rice and others to satisfy the food requirements of every household.

Sangguniang Bayan here led by Vice-Mayor Esther Tabigue as presiding officer has passed Municipal Ordinance No. 2008-11 that mandates the planting and cultivation of malunggay vegetable in the entire town as sponsored by Kagawad Allan Legaspi, who is a lawyer by profession.

The said measure aims to achieve and maintain such levels of quality and good health, to arrest hunger and malnutrition and to augment the income of the family. Every household who failed to plant and grow this most nutritious leafy vegetable will be slapped with non-issuance of barangay clearance, Rances told Vice-Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera during the latter’s recent visit here.

Under this measure, all barangay chieftains are mandated “to implement and monitor” the compliance by every household. They are also directed to desist and refrain from issuing the said clearance until such household complies with the planting of the malunggay in their backyard.

To complement this thrust, said Rances, an Ordinance No. 2008-09 was also enacted by the SB that compels every applicant for marriage license to plant at least five fruit-bearing trees in his barangay. No license shall be issued to an applicant unless he causes the planting of such trees, the Ordinance stresses.

This town also has already implemented and still is enforcing the compulsory sowing of at least five trees by every graduating student in every elementary and secondary in both public and secondary schools based on Ordinance No. 04 series of 1999. Failure to do so shall mean non-release of the Form 137 of the graduating student concerned, the Ordinance provides.

Corollary to this, the town also cares for the environment as the SB enacted Municipal Ordinance No. 2008-10 that declares July 22 every year as municipal tree planting day of this town. The measures intends to instill to every citizen here the values of responsibility and love of Mother Earth and to promote green and healthy community to live in. As this developed, Herrera expressed support for this program and committed to extend financial assistance to the mayor’s plan to launch the Clean and Green competition this year. The vice-governor also provided coconut seedlings and vegetable seeds to the people here for his signature backyard gardening through the barangay green revolution program. (RVO)