VICE GOVERNOR Dennis “Delta” Pineda came to the rescue of 400 farmers in Mexico town in Pampanga after strong rains last week destroyed an earth dike they built to divert irrigation to some 600 hectares of rice lands.
At the approval of Governor Lilia Pineda as chair of the Pampanga Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), the vice governor immediately sent 5,000 sacks, the capitol's backhoe and diesel last Saturday for sandbagging operations to be able to restore 50 meters of the damaged earth dike along the Abacan River in Barangay Laput. The vice governor is the vice chair of the PDRRMC.
The earth dike directs water to Barangays Laput, Concepcion, Balas, San Carlos and Sto. Rosario where there are standing palay. These are at risk of dying up without irrigation.
“Vice Governor Delta and Provincial Board Member Jun Canlas quietly joined our meeting last Saturday. The vice governor asked us what needs to be done to prevent another incident,” said Roland Gonzales, a farmer-leader. “We thank Vice Governor Pineda for quickly responding to this form of local disaster. He is a friend to us farmers.”
Pineda is Kambilan's candidate for governor in the May 13, 2019 midterm elections. “Ang mabilis na pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng mga tao ay marka ng administrasyong Pineda (The swift response to needs of people is the mark of the Pineda administration),” the vice governor said.
Third District Representative Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. is using congressional funds to build two concrete irrigation dams in Mexico.
Pampanga was named the best PDRRM council in the entire Philippines in 2018 by the Department of Defense, Office of the Civil Defense and NDRRMC.