DAR distributes vegetables to urban poor

“Our first mandate is to take care of the farmers, but the farmers want to help the people, they are not rich, they are just poor, but for the love to Filipino people, they want to share and give away vegetables,” thus uttered Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John R. Castriciones during the distribution of vegetables in San Nicolas de Tolentino Chapel, Gawad Kalinga, Barangay 649, Zone 68, Baseco Compound.

Castriciones said the vegetables are from the various agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs) in Nueva Ecija.

He said the food they produce from their farms is vital not only for sustenance but also for revitalizing the immune systems and helping the body withstand the ill-effects of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 19.

“Sana po ay ipagdasal natin ang mga magsasaka, sila po ang mga tunay na bayani ng ating bansa, sila po ang nag po-produce ng mga gulay na makakain nating lahat,” Castriciones emphasized.

He disclosed that the distribution is in coordination with Caritas Manila and the vegetables were distributed to the volunteers of fourteen (14) chapels in Baseco Compound.

Undersecretary for Support Services Office Atty. Emily O. Padilla said that every fruit of the plants, beans, eggplants, ampalaya, and squash, comes from the blood and sweat of the farmers.

“Let us help the farmers. When the farmers get rich, our country will also get rich,” she added.

Caritas Manila representative Fr. Reynante Balilo expressed his gratefulness to the farmers of Nueva Ecija for helping the poor people cope with food scarcity and hunger.