38. NCI-SRD AT VILLA FERNANDINA

NCI-SRD AT VILLA FERNANDINA

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

20 June 2017

In behalf of Isabela Governor Faustino G. Dy III, I received this morning the Award of Recognition for Sustainable Rural Development from the DA-DENR-DAR-DILG Secretaries during the 2017 National Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development (NCI-SRD) Summit at Vigan Convention Center, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. This is my last official function as OIC Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator of Isabela. As I report back to the Capitol, I will assume my duties as a full-fledged department head – Provincial Tourism Officer under the Isabela Tourism Office. Aside from the task of receiving the award, the Governor, through the Provincial Administrator instructed me to attend this summit to witness the launching of a national convergent program for strengthening the institutionalization of the agri-tourism industry.

Senator Cynthia Villar graced the launch of the program with the presence of Representative Deogracias Victor B. Savellano (1st District, Ilocos Sur); Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Luis V. Singson, the president of League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP); and Vigan City Mayor Juan Carlo S. Medina, the chairperson of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 01.

Also present during the event were Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, Tourism Undersecretary Silvino Q. Tejada, Agriculture Undersecretary Evelyn Lavina, ranking officials and employees from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and a former colleague when I was in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones, local officials and stakeholders all over the country.

Dubbed as the “Institutionalization of District-Wide Agro-Industrialization, Innovation and Tourism (IDAIT) Convergence Site,” the convergent program was conceptualized by Rep. DV Savellano to promote an agri-tourism industry in the country to further solve the problems on hunger and poverty; and to sustain food security. The convergent initiative is in line with Republic Act 10816 otherwise known as the Farm Tourism Development Act authored by Villar.

Manila Bulletin’s Freddie Lazaro reports that Villar also stated that “The goal of the National Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development (NCI-SRD) of the departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Environment and Natural Resources, and Interior and Local Government, is to reduce poverty and ensure sustainable countryside development through farming and fishing among others in which this is aligned with my own goals and advocacies; and I am confident that the collaboration of the four government departments will create a positive impact on the lives of many Filipinos in the countryside.”

She cited that the key essence of the Farm Tourism Development Law is for the government to recognize that tourism, coupled with agriculture extension services, could disseminate the value of agriculture in the economic and cultural development of the country, serve as a catalyst for the development of agriculture and fishery communities, and provide additional income for farmers, farm workers, and fisherfolk.

“The important provision of Farm Tourism Development Law is the encouragement of the Departments of Tourism and Agriculture to establish at least one farm tourism camp or site in every province in the country,” said Villar. “This initiative has great help for the rural development because almost all farm tourism sites are located in the rural areas; and I’m aiming for not only one tourist farm/farm school in every province but in every town in the Philippines should teach the farmers and fisherfolk to overcome the barriers to profitability and competitiveness,” she added.

According to Villar, it is very necessary to give support to the small farmers and family farms in rural areas because there would be a time when we would not source our foods from corporate farms but we source it from small farmers. “Thus, I’m appealing to our farming families not stop tilling the soil as there would be a time when we lack food to eat,” she added.

I always get thrilled whenever I enter the arc of Vigan City in Ilocos Sur. I feel that I am being transported back to the Spanish period in our history. Vigan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in that it is one of the few towns left in the Philippines whose old structures have mostly remained intact, and it is well known for its cobblestone streets and a unique architecture of the Philippine colonial era which fuses Native Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial Spanish architecture. In May 2015, Vigan City was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Beirut, Doha, Durban, Havana, Kuala Lumpur and La Paz.

Wikipedia reveals that the area of Vigan was originally a settlement of traders coming from the Fujian Province, China. At the time of Spanish colonization, the Chinese settlers, whose language was Southern Fujianese (Min Nan, often referred to as "Hokkien" by most Filipinos), referred to the area as “Bee Gan” which means "beautiful shore." Since the Spanish conquistadors interchanged “V” and the “B” to refer to the “B” sound, they spelled the Hokkien Chinese name "Bee Gan" as Vigan, which is now used.

Another etymology came from the name of the bigaa plant, which once grew abundantly along the banks of the Mestizo River. Spanish Captain Juan de Salcedo registered the plant’s name as the name of the locality after a misunderstanding with the natives due to language barrier. The Spaniard later rechristened the locality as “Villa Fernandina” or "Town of Ferdinand", in honor of Prince Ferdinand, the firstborn son of King Philip II of Spain.

My new task as tourism czar gave me a fresh start as I toured around Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan for the n^th time. The new tourism field, agri-tourism, is very timely since the province is the corn and munggo capital of the country and the No.1 surplus rice producer in the Philippines. Giving tourists a glimpse on how their staple day to day food is produced would surely be appreciated by travellers, adventurers and explorers specially those coming from the metropolis.