TRENDS (04 June 2010)

Gov. Dimaporo to focus on agriculture in second term

Tubod, Lanao del Norte – Governor-Elect Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo triumphantly returns to the provincial capitol for his second term of office after receiving another convincing mandate from the people of Lanao del Norte.

On his second term, the youngest Governor in the country has set his focus on Agriculture.

“Agriculture will be the legacy that I will leave for the second term of my administration,” declared Gov. Dimaporo.

For the last three years, the Dimaporo administration has been focusing on steadily improving the healthcare system in the province.

“We started with three hospitals, now we have five fully-functional hospitals in Lanao del Norte,” Dimaporo noted.

Local patronage of these government hospitals has also increased significantly as improvements in the medical facilities and hospital supplies result in faster and effective delivery of health services.

“In the three years that passed, we were able to achieve phenomenal progress in healthcare, we will now do the same in agriculture and rural livelihood,” said Dimaporo.

To maximize the agricultural output of Lanao del Norte, the provincial government is planning to put up a post-harvest processing center for rice in the town of Kapatagan. Another processing center for corn is now being studied for possible funding and construction in the coastal town of Linamon.

The formulation of a development plan for the local coconut industry is also underway to address the issues affecting the coconut farmers.

“From the very start, I made it very clear to the department heads that I want to be closer to the people to effectively address their concerns and needs. This time, its agriculture that we will focus on,” concluded Gov. Dimaporo. (PIO)


Special elections in Lanao Sur towns peaceful--PNP

Marawi City (04 June)—Elections in the seven towns in Lanao del Sur appeared to be generally peaceful although there were some isolated incidents that did not disrupt the election process.

“The elections now is the most peaceful and orderly elections that happened in the province,” said Police Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, Regional Director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

There was harassment in Sultan Dumalondong where an unknown armed group using M60 machine gun, 40mm grenade launcher and other high powered firearms hounding government troops, Latag disclosed.

However, joint troops from Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and PNP reinforced the engaged troops and safely secured the polling places, election paraphernalia and voters of the said town, he added.

Legal Network for the Truthful Elections (LENTE) commended the AFP and PNP for their efforts in maintaining peace and order.

Atty. Carlos Medina Jr., LENTE co-convenor, said the polls is abnormally peaceful and they are thankful for the presence of both troops.

Based on our own observations, the special polls now is generally and peaceful, however, we are not prepared to say that the results is 100% truthful, he added. (Apipa P. Bagumbaran / PIA 10)