MAYOR PALANGDAN’S 1ST 100 DAYS – Municipality of Itogon

In the land of golden opportunities, lo and behold the first elected Kankanaey mayor of Itogon Atty. VictorioPalangdan reported his first 100 days.

It is an opportunity and privilege to present his good service through the media reports of Maria Aprila Cruz of Cordillera today and Jimmy Laking of Midland Courier.

Itogon dad pushes for organic farming

ITOGON, Benguet – Mayor Victor Palangdan spelled out his plans and programs on the agriculture industry of this mining town centered on organic farming as he marked his first 100 days of service last October 14 at sitio Ayosip, barangay Poblacion here.

In this 100 Days Report, Palangdan said his base for focusing on organic farming is Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 that “aims to promote, propagate, develop further and implement the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines that will cumulatively condition and enrich the fertility of the soil, increase farm productivity, reduce pollution and destruction of the environment, prevent the depletion of natural resources, further protect the health of farmers, consumers and the general public, and save on imported farm inputs.”

“Let us convince ourselves that indeed we can go organic. By doing so we can best protect our health, we can protect the environment and we will have also our contribution from the ill effects of global warming,” he stressed.

Part of his One Hundred Days report program is the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Municipality of Itogon and Benguet State University on organic farming, and ground breaking ceremony of the proposed Agricultural High School to be built in Ayosep, Pobalacin, Itogon.

According to Palangdan, their agricultural plans and programs are not a matter of frustration but more a matter of need and there has to be a practice to begin with – a practice becomes habit, the habit becomes routine until it becomes a culture and that culture becomes a history.

He said along the process there will surely be changes in the mentality, personality and behavior of our people.

Meanwhile, Palangdan reported that based on the activities per office and per department, the department heads and employees have fared good in the delivery of basic services.

The better and the best hopefully will come in the days ahead as we continue addressing the various concerns of our municipality and our barangays, he said. – Maria Aprila W. Cruz CORDILLERA TODAY October 20-26, 2013

Itogon goes organic in bid to produce healthy agri stocks

Itogon Mayor VictorioPalangdan last week declared the municipality is going organic in agriculture with an eye to eventually producing food and animals that are “ fit for consumption and not harmful to health. “

“This is a break from the past but it is not difficult to go organic, “said the former assistant province prosecutor who is convinced Itogon’s agricultural and livestock industries can be saved and enhanced only by adopting organic farming.

He said as envisioned by the Municipal Agricultural Office under Dr. Prudencio Pedro, the town should be able to produce its vegetables, rice, fruits and animals (swine and cattle) that are planted or raised through organic means in the near future.

Itogon has two barangays, Tinongdan and Dalupirip, that are primarily rice producers. The village of Domolpos, six hours away foot from Poblacion, is known for raising native swine.

“It is our dream not only to raise organic vegetables but also organic meat and milk,” he said. “Itogon itself is wide market for meat, vegetables, fruits, root crops and processed food.”

He said the town should take cue from Japanese and Israel technologies that made every square inch of land productive. “But while we cannot be Israelis or Japanese, we can start small with limited resources.”

Maximo Ligat, the town’s consultant on organic agriculture, said a plan has been mapped out to ensure that every barangay and sitios should be able to set up their vermiculture beds to produce their own composts. Vermiculture makes use of African crawlers (earthworms) to produce compost.

“From the compost, we can also produce organic tea in spraying plants,”

Former Benguet State University president Rogelio Colting defined organic agriculture as a system that entails soil and planting of crops using compost that conform to standards. – Jimmy K. LakingMIDLAND COURIER October 20, 2013