AROROY, MASBATE MAINTAINS STABLE LOCAL ECONOMY, GOV’T EXTENDS HELP FOR AGRI DEV'T
MANILA – The situation of the local economy of Aroroy town in Masbate is keeping pace with the current health crisis as it remains stable backed by the assistance of the national government in agricultural development.
He cited that the local economy scene in his gold-rich town is being sustained as the Department of Agriculture puts up rice field development for local farmers, while the national and provincial government allocated funds for the construction of dams and other infrastructures.
“Pinadalhan kami ng Department of Agriculture ng maraming traktura, iyong mga nagbubungkal ng bukid namin. Tinutulungan din kami [ng pamahalaan] na gumawa ng mga dams para maconvert namin ang mga kabundukan namin into rice fields. [The Department of Agriculture sent us a lot of tractors, which cultivate our fields. The [government] also helps us build dams so we can convert our mountains into rice fields],” he said.
As part of its five-year agricultural development plan, the local government also procured some seeds of high-value fruits in a bid to develop the town as an agricultural site for fruit plantations.
“In case na mawala na iyong mina, mayroon kaming lifetime renewable source of income which is ito yung pagtatanim ng mga high-value fruit. [In case mining will be gone, we have a lifetime renewable source of income which is the [plantation] of high-value fruits],” he said.
Supplying fishes in Metro Manila, more vaccine allotment
Aside from being one of the country’s largest gold mine sites, the municipality of Aroroy is also a supplier of varieties of fish not only in Masbate but also for the Manila City and Malabon City in the National Capital Region, according to Mayor Virtucio.
“Mayroon kaming center na bilihan ng isda, at kapag sumobra sa buong Masbate, sinusuplay namin, pinapadala namin sa Maynila, sa Malabon. Mayaman ang lugar namin sa isda. We have a fish market center, and when there is excess from all of Masbate, we supply it, we also send it to Manila, to Malabon. Our area is rich in fish],” he said.
Mayor Virtucio appealed to the national government for more COVID-19 vaccine allocations as he believes these will serve as protection for the people of Aroroy so that they can sustain the decreasing trend of COVID-19 cases in the town.
“Sa national government, humihingi kami ng mas marami pang vaccines ang makarating sa amin para maprotektahan ko ang mga tao dito sa aming bayan. [To the national government, we are asking for more vaccines to be sent to us so that I can protect the people here in our town],” he concluded.
