AGYU TAMU - Headline Gitnang Luzon

FEATUREVOLUME I • NO. 166 • MAY 8, 2013 • WEDNESDAYGov helps Sampaguita industry bloom(First of two parts)By Joey Pavia & Photos by Ric GonzalesGov. Lilia Pineda (left) andBoard Member Fritzie David-Dizon (right) happily join theearly morning harvest ofSampaguita flowers in Sto.Domingo, Lubao, Pampanga.With them are ProvincialCooperatives and EntrepreneurialDevelopment OfficerMamerto Gatus and CrispinGuintu of the Office of theProvincial Agriculturist.As the first rays of the sun were about to come out onFriday, 49-year-old Conchita Manuel was already inher Sampaguita plantation at Purok 1, Barangay Sto.Domingo, Lubao town, Pampanga.Manuel was early doing her daily routineand that had been the case for the past 15years except when weather disallowed her toget the flowers.“Even when it rains as long as it’s not toostrong, I still work on my Sampaguitas,” saidManuel in the dialect.She added that Sampaguita farmersmust get the white-colored flowers “between6 to 9 in the morning.”“And you pick up only those which areabout to bloom,” she added.Manuel said she earned as much asP5,600 per day during peak seasons fromSeptember to February. She has two Sampaguitaplantations in the same purok and theircombined area is about 700 square meters.“We are earning way less this May andin a few more months. But it’s okay becausewe earn daily and what I will get today is justenough to buy us food,” said Manuel.The prices of Sampaguita – also knownas Jasmine flowers – are dictated by the demandin the market. Most of the yield in Sto.Domingo are brought to Metro Manila.Manuel said an empty four-litre purifiedwater container filled with Sampaguitas costas much as P350 each. In low season, it costsas low as P10 per container.“But today, I think I will be lucky if theyget for P50 per container,” she said.Manuel is one of the many parents inSto. Domingo that had been able to sendtheir children to premiere colleges anduniversities.Her daughter Alma Manuel, who washelping her mother at their farm on May 3, isa taking up Bachelor of Science (BS) in Educationat the Don Honorio Ventura TechnicalState University (DHVTSU).Alma’s two sisters Monica and Jennytook up Information Technology and ComputerProgramming, respectively. The eldestChristine took up a one-year course and isinto retail business.Sto. Domingo Village Councilor ElmerManansala said there were Sampaguitagrowers that had been able to support theeducation of their children who are nowmedical doctors and professionals.“Sampaguita growing can indeed supportthe needs of a family,” he said.THEN AND NOWManuel and her fellow Sampaguitagrowers were about to fill up the plastic containerswith flowers when they noticed twofamiliar faces approaching them.They were Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pinedaand her frequent companion, Second DistrictBoard Member Olga Frances “Fritzie”David-Dizon.Pineda was mayor of Lubao for 9 yearsstarting in 1992. She was then largelycredited for helping transform the industryinto a reliable source of income for residentsof Sto. Domingo and at least three other villages– San Francisco, Don Ignacio Dimsonand SanRoque,Dau 1st.Pinedasupportedthe Sampaguitaindustrywhichis alsobenefittingeightvillages inFloridablanca and Guaguatowns.“It’s her,” said Sto. DomingoBarangay CaptainElizabeth Belleza, pointingto Pineda who arrived at6:20 a.m. in the morning intheir village. “The formerLubao mayor and nowgovernor gave most of theSampaguitas you see in ourvillage.”The woman villagechief described as timelythe visit of Pineda whichsurprised Manuel andother Sampaguita growers.She said “we can show to the governorthat we need help to replace some of the oldSampaguitas.”Belleza said Pineda gave the seedlingsmore than 15 years ago and had supportedthe Sampaguita industry in her nine-yearrule as mayor.“We still rely on the old Sampaguitas,”said Belleza.She said the Sampaguitas are “goodproducers when they are between 2 to 10years old.”David-Dizon said Pineda had asked theprovincial board led by Vice Gov. JosellerGuiao to allot a “big chunk” of the some P1.7billion 2013 budget for agriculture.“The governor will really boostagriculture and food production aftertaking care of the health, educationand infrastructure development inPampanga,” she said.Pineda assisted theSampaguita growersin Lubao, Guaguaand Floridablancatowns since she assumedher post in2010, said David-Dizon.(To be continued )A boy showsfreshly pickedSampaguitas.Gov. Pineda (left) is assisted by Sto.Domingo Barangay Captain ElizabethBelleza (right) in harvesting Sampaguitaflowers on Friday. Joining them is BoardMember David-Dizon (center).