• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Upland communities in Cadiz City and its neighboring areas in Negros Occidental that were once associated with insurgency are gaining better access to markets and economic opportunities through infrastructure projects worth P78.9 million funded by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
With this development, Second District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III said he hopes to link the all the upland areas of Cadiz and Sagay cities as well as Manapla to open more opportunities for residents and farmers.
The project package was turned over on Friday, Oct. 9, by OPAPRU Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento to Kapatiran members led by its chair Maria Veronica “Ka Inca” Tabara.
It includes newly concreted roads and a multi-purpose center intended to support former rebels who have returned to mainstream society and residents of underserved communities.
The projects are expected to benefit 73 former members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawang Pilipino/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade-Tabara Paduano Group (RPMP/RPA/ABB-TPG), now organized under Kapatiran, as well as more than 5,000 residents of Barangays Celestino Villacin and V.F. Gustilo.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said the city government started investing in road concreting in the area during the Covid-19 pandemic, but limited resources prevented them from completing all the planned infrastructure.
He said OPAPRU’s continued support is helping the city complete the projects it could not finish on its own, bringing renewed hope not only to Kapatiran members but also to other communities in the uplands.
Escalante cited the growing economic potential of the area, noting that a major bus company had visited to assess the possibility of opening routes connecting Don Salvador Benedicto and San Carlos City.
The mayor said the improved roads are also making remote communities, including indigenous peoples’ settlements, more accessible.
Marañon pushed for the completion of a diversionary road, which will connect Sagay City to the Bacolod-Silay Airport access road, bypassing the Second District coastal road.
He also pledged his support to the growing coffee industry of Cadiz, which gained a lot attention during the recent Negros Trade Fair.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the completed roads and multi-purpose center represent more than infrastructure, providing better mobility, easier transport of farm products and greater opportunities to improve livelihoods.
He emphasized the importance of the multi-purpose center as a venue for community programs that promote cooperation and unity.
Lacson credited the collaboration among OPAPRU, the provincial government, and the Cadiz City government for making the projects possible, urging beneficiaries to maintain the facilities and use them to improve their communities.
The infrastructure initiative forms part of continuing efforts to support former insurgents’ reintegration and help upland communities build sustainable livelihoods through improved access, services and economic activity. | GPB
