DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment regional director Lawyer Roy Buenafe has challenged the newly elected officers of Project HOPE Agricultural Cooperative (PHAC) to improve on the project’s current status, especially that government agencies have poured a great deal of resources.
Buenafe made the challenged as he administered the oath of office of the newly elected officers of PHAC Wednesday, April 6, 2022, in a simple ceremony at San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Talisayan village.
Engineer Julius Daniel of Nancy Fishing Corporation, has been elected as the new PHAC president by the 48-member cooperative during the General Assembly on April 1, 2022.
The other newly elected officers are: Ma. Lourdes Losaria, Vice Chairperson (Internal); Nelly Suan, Vice Chairperson (External); Ramon Elumbre, Jr., Christina Ancheta, Angel Banoza Jr., Mary Jean Gonzaga, Lorena Garcia, Jimmy Longno, Estelita Quijano, Christorey Fernandez, Demetrio Lendio, Donald Circulado, and Rosana Recana as members of the Board.
Engineer Jaydrick Johnson Yap, outgoing PHAC president, turned-over the key of responsibility to Daniel in the presence of partner government agencies.
Daniel thanked the cooperative partners for entrusting him with the position and expressed his commitment to lead the organization to the best of his abilities.
During the ceremony, Buenafe also talked about the recent partnership with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) through a signing of Memorandum of Agreement held last March 18, 2022.
“This is the first engagement of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and BuCor nationwide. The rationale being that Project HOPE alone cannot produce the volume of vegetables required by the canning companies. With BuCor’s farming project participated in by PDLs (persons deprived of liberty), PHAC will be able to increase vegetable supply. This will also help the PDLs secure income from the project,” Buenafe said.
Project HOPE is an interagency intervention led by DOLE regional office which began in 2017.
It aims to address the displacement of workers in the fishing and canning industry during the annual Closed Fishing Season in Zamboanga Peninsula by providing alternative and sustainable sources of income to the affected workers and their families through agricultural farming.
(SunStar Zamboanga)