TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines (PIA) - Non-government organizations (NGOs) in Bohol want the administration to take a closer look at the onset of globalization as a convenient vehicle for the province's communities to hitch ride out of poverty. At least this was one personal view of a veteran organizer involved in community development work here. Admitting he is not as familiar with the new administration's development directions compared to the Aumentado administration, Vicente Loquellano said he wished communities could engage the government in regaining the bid for Bohol to supply the global market with its products.
As executive director for People's Fair Trade and Assistance Center (PFTAC), Loquellano has his NGO assisting small banana planters and in exporting their produce to Japan, a marketing strategy that they still could not fully maximize due to limited production. "There is a big market of local bananas for chips," Loquellano reminds Boholanos during the recent Kapihan sa PIA, which was aired live over dyTR over the weekend. He said there is still an open market in Leslie Foods Corporation which demands around 15,000 kilograms of bananas every other day, "one that we have seen but could not really supply because of the few number of banana producers." Loquellano hints that a provincial government support in this area could formally boost production and spur more jobs in the sector. Loquellano was with Emiia Roslinda and Maithe Palo of the network of organizations under the Bohol Alliance of Non-Government Organizations (Bangon) to discuss prospects of community development for Boholanos.
