By: William D. Dar, PhD
Secretary

2020 has officially become the most challenging year for the Philippine agriculture sector. Massive stresses faced the country’s farmers and fishers—from volcanic eruption, infectious animal diseases, crop pest infestations, a viral pandemic that resulted in a health crisis, to falling prices of staples, and then finally a series of typhoons in the last quarter.

But it was also the year when the agriculture sector rose to the occasion and kept the country’s economy afloat with steady and affordable food supply for the population, amid what is possibly the worst economic crisis since World War II.

While many considered 2019 as a particularly challenging year for the sector, mainly because of the birth pains of the implementation of Republic Act 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law” (RTL) and the initial outbreak of African swine fever, nobody saw things would take a turn for the worst in 2020.

It was a promising reboot for the Department of Agriculture (DA) at the start of 2020 as it was supposed hoped to be a “rebound year” as farm growth was initially projected to hit 2% to 3%, from the dismal 0.6% and 0.7% growth performance in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The year opened with rice prices at stable levels, inflation in check, and the full implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), a component under RTL, in full swing. The ASF outbreaks were also manageable through heightened quarantine measures nationwide.

However, a series of unfortunate events erupted–quite literally–beyond the control of man.

Starting the year with a ‘bang’

Taal Volcano erupted in January, exacting some P3.06 billion worth of damage and affecting some 15,970 hectares of coffee, cacao, pineapple, rice, coconut, and other high value agricultural crops. The fisheries sector around Taal Lake sustained the biggest hit with P1.6 billion in losses.

Your Department was able to offset these losses through the immediate delivery of assistance and services to those affected by the eruption. The DA initially awarded P2.708 million worth of assistance including crop insurance, livelihood, seeds and seedlings, and farm machinery, among other donations to the affected farmers and fisherfolk of Talisay, Tanauan, and Sto. Tomas. This was on top of the P160 million worth of interventions awarded to the agricultural communities surrounding Taal.

Avian influenza: Prevention is better than cure

In February, the Philippines reported the second case of bird flu in the municipality of Jaen, Nueva Ecija. But compared to the same episode three years ago, the DA leadership was more prepared in containing its spread with targeted quarantine measures and policies now in place.

Upon confirmation, authorities were able to immediately stomp out and dispose of all birds from the infected farm in Nueva Ecija. The “1:7 protocol” – or a one-kilometer control zone and a seven-kilometer surveillance zone – was also implemented, while checkpoints were put up to control the trade of poultry animals.

The DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) also conducted regular surveillance in high-risk areas and traditional destinations of migratory birds, in addition to conducting regular tests on poultry intended for local transport and trade. Personnel were deployed in 65 areas near wetlands and migratory bird sanctuaries to conduct routine inspections and prevent another contagious virus outbreak.

Moreover, the temporary ban remains in place on imports of domestic and wild birds, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and poultry products from countries with positive cases of highly pathogenic AI.

Beating the African swine fever

As of December 2019, the occurrence of African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in the country was reportedly tapering down thanks to the elevated quarantine measures, as well as through enhanced interagency and interdepartmental collaboration.

However, despite the efforts by your Department and local government units, the dreaded hog disease penetrated Mindanao in February 2020. This prompted the Department to take on a multi-pronged approach, highlighting prevention and control of the disease, as well as the recovery of the industry. Efforts include beefing up quarantine procedures, monitoring of movements, inspection, testing, and education.

In testing, specifically, the government is making significant headway with the soon-to-be-launched locally developed test kit which has greater detection rate, and our recent opening of a modern animal disease diagnostic facility in Tarlac City.

In all, the local hog industry has so far lost a total of P56 billion to ASF. But the country is slowly beginning to see better days with the Visayas, Mindanao, and MIMAROPA regions still ASF-free.

To date, 25 out of the 81 provinces were affected by ASF with almost 350,000 pigs culled since the ASF outbreak in the country in September 2019.

To lessen the trading of live animals in the country, the DA- National Meat Inspection Service (DA-NMIS) plans to establish cold storage warehouses complete with meat-cutting facilities, initially in four areas, located in three provinces. With a total budget of P280 million, the facilities will be put up in Magalang, Pampanga; in Tanauan and San Jose, Batangas; and in Malagos, Davao.

Once operational, these facilities are expected to help support the recovery of the hog and poultry sub-sectors which were adversely affected by ASF and economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively.

Record-high rice production

Despite the unprecedented challenges, from logistical nightmare brought about by the pandemic to the series of typhoons that hit major production areas in the country, our rice sector continued to post the highest record growth so far.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) projected that the country’s palay production for 2020 would reach 19.44 million metric tons (MMT), comprised of the actual production of 11.9 MMT, from January to September, and projected harvest of 7.54 MMT for the fourth quarter, based on standing crop as of November 1, 2020.

We believe that this record achievement proves the correctness of our policies as Filipino rice farmers are starting to reap the benefits from the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), particularly from the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Fund (RCEF), including our regular rice program and rice resiliency project.

The projected 2020 record yield of 19.44 MMT is 3.3% more than last year’s output of 18.81 MMT and surpasses the previous production record of 19.27 MMT attained in 2017.

In spite of the pandemic, the series of strong typhoons and low farmgate prices, rice production even increased by 0.6% to 7.54 million metric tons in the fourth quarter compared with last year’s output of 7.49 million metric tons.

Around 322,041 metric tons of palay (unmilled rice) were lost due to the typhoons, equivalent to eight days of rice consumption. Yield per hectare went up by 1.48% to 4.13 metric tons from 4.07 metric tons.

Rice production would have been higher at 19.86 MMT were it not for the loss of 419,560 MT of palay due to the typhoons that hit the country.

For 2021, we are targeting a conservative production of 20.48 MMT to a high of 20.66 MMT.

Corn production, likewise, increased by 1.2% to 1.68 million metric tons from 1.66 MMT recorded last year. Yield per hectare went up 0.67% to 2.99 MT from 2.97 MT.

Gross Value Added of the agriculture sector went up 4.1 % to P404.6 billion during the fourth quarter.

Filipino consumers reaping benefits of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL)

Filipino families are also reaping the initial benefits of the RTL as more rice grades of lower priced rice become available and affordable to different segments of the society. The rice market segmentation is a very important outcome of the RTL regarding rice prices. It only means that consumers have a choice depending on their preference and what they can afford.

As of November 4, both wholesale and retail prices of well milled rice remain stable with the average wholesale price of well milled rice at P37.64/kg. At the retail trade, the average price of well milled rice was pegged at P41.29/kg.

RTL has also tempered the inflation rate, preventing seasonal rice shortages, thus, taming rice price increases during the lean palay harvest season. After the passage of the RTL, inflation dropped from its peak of 6% in the third quarter of 2018. Thus, prices of other commodities remained stable even during the height of the pandemic.

As consumers enjoyed affordable rice, DA continued to pursue the efficient implementation of the four component programs of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as called for under the RTL.

The four RCEF major components are now in full swing, which include the provision of farm machinery, quality seeds, credit, package of technology and training–backed by assured funding of P10 billion yearly for the next six years.

While it was expected that palay farmers would temporarily suffer from lower prices under the RTL, the implementation of the productivity-enhancing assistance of the government will lower production costs and increase farmers’ productivity, thus maintaining a healthy profit margin for the tillers.

For the coming years, as a result of RCEF, the DA aims to effectively reduce the average production cost of palay by P4/kg, from the current P12/kg, increase the average yield by at least two tons per hectare from the current four metric tons per hectare, and double the income of rice farmers.

More importantly, local supply has remained steady amid the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the ending rice stock of 2.675 million MT in 2019, due to the liberalization of rice trading, is the main reason rice prices and supply are stable.

As for palay prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that dry palay was selling above P19 per kilo during the last week of May. In other words, the drop in the palay prices experienced during the second half of 2019 was a temporary phenomenon.

The DA goes full blast in the implementation of the RCEF, now on its second year, toward making rice farmers productive, cost-efficient, and competitive amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The worst crisis since WWII

Following the implementation of the nationwide community quarantine by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in March 2020, your Department immediately implemented the “Food Resiliency Action Plan” to ensure that there will be stable supply of affordable food for Metro Manila and other urban areas.

Food supplies, including rice, were strategically prepositioned to ensure food sufficiency should the COVID-19 outbreak disrupt supply in Metro Manila. Aside from rice, other basic commodities including vegetables, fruits, eggs, fish, pork, among others were also pre-positioned to ensure availability and accessibility by the consuming public.

The Department also imposed an expanded list of suggested retail price (SRP) for agri-fishery commodities that will be covered by a price freeze. The action helped prevent spikes in prices of basic farm commodities during the protracted community quarantine. The agency also strengthened its Bantay Presyo Task Force to monitor prices of basic agricultural commodities, enforce the SRP policy, and go against cartels, hoarders, and profiteers,

With the three-pronged objectives of food productivity and availability, food accessibility and mobility, and food price stability, the DA proactively crafted programs, projects, and activities that were implemented in a crisis-oriented environment and ensure food security throughout the year.

In coordination with various private groups and local government units, the DA was able to successfully launch the “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” program, which provided more options for the public to access affordable agri products during the pandemic.

Kadiwa, which stands for “Katuwang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masanang Ani at Mataas na Kita”, is a marketing strategy of the DA which directly connects the food producers to the consumers, thereby lessening the cost of the products. It links the local government units (LGU) in urban centers to farmer-producers in the different parts of the country to ease the delivery and distribution of food supply.

Bilateral commitments with Vietnam to ensure that the Philippines will have the much-needed rice requirement during the pandemic were also cemented.

The Department also implemented nationwide the Duterte administration’s “Plant Plant Plant Program” or “Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) Laban sa COVID-19” program to benefit farmers, fishers and consumers.

The other projects that will be funded under the Plant Plant Plant Program are:

• Additional palay procurement fund of the National Food Authority;
• Expanded SURE Aid and recovery project;
• Expanded agriculture insurance project;
• Social amelioration for farmers and farm workers;
• Upscaling of KADIWA ni Ani at Kita direct marketing program;
• Integrated livestock and corn resiliency project;
• Expanded small ruminants and poultry project;
• Coconut-based diversification project;
• Fisheries resiliency project;
• Revitalized urban agriculture and gulayan project;
• Corn for food project; and
• Strategic communications project.

Credit as lifeline to farmers and fishers

For 2020, the Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC) vigorously responded to the financing needs of small farmers and fishers (SFFs) and agri and fishery-based micro and small enterprises (MSEs) adversely affected by various calamities such as typhoons, eruption of the Taal Volcano, African Swine Fever (ASF), and the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In view of the challenges brought by these calamities, adjustments on how activities are undertaken and refocusing of budgets were done to facilitate the delivery of credit support services to the target sub-sectors.

Early this year, the ACPC launched two (2) new credit programs, namely, the Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs (KAYA) and the AgriNegosyo (ANYO) Loan Program. KAYA aims to engage the youth in agriculture by providing the capital requirements of their start-up or existing agri-based projects.

ANYO, likewise, provided loans for the capital requirements of agri and fishery based MSEs for production, processing, marketing of farm products, working capital and fixed asset acquisition.

By April 2020, ACPC started implementing the Expanded SURE Aid and Recovery Project (SURE COVID-19) for SFFs and MSEs whose livelihoods, agribusiness operations, and incomes were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SURE COVID-19 is a component of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan I) and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II).

Under these three new programs, ACPC’s 104 partner lending conduits released a total of P2.03 billion to 48,375 SFFs and 148 MSEs. In addition, P444.30 million loans were granted to 28,259 SFFs affected by the ASF, Taal Volcano eruption and typhoons; P151.21 million loans to 5,468 SFF under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) using program collections as revolving credit funds (reflows); and P19.50 million loans to four MSEs/Farmers & Fisherfolk Organizations (FFOs) under Capital Loan Easy Access (CLEA) and Agricultural Machineries and Equipment (AFME) Loan Programs which remained operational until subsumed under ANYO.

Potential food production areas

To help increase the country’s food supply amid the government’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the DA is eyeing portions of vast ancestral lands nationwide to be transformed into food production areas.

According to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), in terms of territories, about 7.7 million hectares are owned by our brethren Indigenous Peoples (IP), or about 26% of the country’s total land area of 30 million hectares total. As of 2019, the NCIP has issued 243 certificates of ancestral domain titles, with a total land area of 5.7 million hectares and a total of 1.3 million IPs as rights holders.

Aside from profitable types of vegetables — like onion, string beans, potato, carrots, pineapple, garlic, cauliflower, and watermelon — our IPs can grow cacao, coffee, abaca or black pepper, or they may go into raising native pigs and free-range chicken. Other crops include bitter melon, asparagus, cabbage, cassava, garlic, ginger, mungbean, papaya, peanut, sweet potato, and tomato.

Fall armyworm on corn

The fall armyworm (FAW) was first reported in June 2019, in Piat, Cagayan, affecting corn plants. Now, infestation has been monitored in 208 municipalities and 47 provinces affecting some 8,000-hectares.

To date, the DA has provided P150-million worth of assistance to help farmers control FAW damage. Inputs include 63,017 packs of Pheromone lures, 86,983 liters of pesticides, biological control agents to control FAW eggs and earwigs and Metharhizium species against FAW larva.

The DA-BPI and DA-RFOs also conduct farmers’ seminars on integrated pest management and pest control techniques, and good agricultural practices.

Coco levy fund

One of the welcoming news this year was Congress’ passage on third and final reading the House Bill No. 8136, the proposed Coconut Farmers and Development Trust Fund Act

The Department is optimistic the bicameral conference committee will swiftly approve the measure seeking to create a trust fund for the country’s coconut farmers before both chambers of Congress go on holiday recess this Christmas season.

Digital agriculture

To ensure unhampered distribution of food supplies across the nation, the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have set in motion a digital platform, which enables an efficient and transparent end-to-end market-based system.

The Deliver-E, produced through a strong DA-DTI partnership, is a modernized marketing process connecting food producers to consumers sans the unnecessary trading layers.

The initiative allows buyers to directly access agricultural products and other basic food items. As the system eliminates middlemen, products are sold fresh at low prices.

Officially launched on December 14, the system was conceived under the collaboration with private sector partners, farmer cooperatives, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

To help farmers recover, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) released about P347 million to help rebuild the lives and livelihoods of insured farmers and fisherfolk who have been heavily affected by extreme weather disturbances that hit the country recently.

The payment represents the initial payment on the P1.5-billion worth of estimated damages reported by PCIC’s clients in PCIC’s seven administrative regions. These include the Taal Volcano eruption in January and the series of typhoons in the past few months, namely Pepito, Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses, that came with either extraordinary wind strength or unusual volume of rain that have caused severe flooding.

Prospects for 2021

The Department expresses its appreciation to Congress for extending the Bayanihan concept and called on lawmakers to consider the level of funding support for the agri-fisheries sector at P50 billion.

Despite the challenges and the pandemic, the Department—with the Lord’s guidance—remains bullish on the prospects of the country’s agriculture and fishery sector, highlighting its relative strength and resiliency.

This year, we expect a positive modest growth of 1%. For 2021, we target to attain a conservative 2.5% growth.

The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global and national economy. But no matter what happens, people must eat.

For this reason alone, agriculture registered positive contributions to the economy compared to the other movers of the economy such as construction, real estate, and manufacturing.

The Philippine Statistical Authority reported that the Philippines recorded a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate of -11.5% in the third quarter of 2020, compared with the previous quarter’s -16.9%.

The industries that contributed the least to the GDP were Construction, -39.8%; Real estate and ownership of dwellings, -22.5 %; and Manufacturing, -9.7%.

On the other hand, the top three industries that posted positive rates were: Financial and insurance activities, 6.2%; Public administration and defense, compulsory social activities, 4.5%; and Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, at 1.2%.

It was the same picture in the second and first quarters of 2020. GDP dropped by 16. % in the second quarter of 2020, the lowest recorded quarterly growth, from the 1981 base year.

The main contributors to the decline were: Manufacturing, -21.3%; Construction, -33.5%; and Transportation and Storage, -59.2%. Among the major economic sectors, only Agriculture, forestry, and fishing increased with 1.6% growth. Industry and Services both decreased during the period by 22.9% and 15.8%, respectively.

For the entire 2020, the Asian Development Bank forecasts Philippine economic growth at minus 7.3%

The International Monetary Fund projected that the Philippines' GDP will contract by 8.3% in 2020, possibly the worst in the Southeast Asia region.

But whatever the forecast is, your Department sees the Philippine agriculture sector to remain as a robust contributor to the economy.

Recognition and support

The sector, however, could do more if it gets the recognition it truly deserves. Compared with its ASEAN neighbors, the Philippines continues to lag in terms of agriculture sector’s share to the national budget.

This year, agriculture’s share in general appropriations stood at a minimal 1.7%-- compared to Indonesia’s 3.4%, Thailand’s 3.6%, and Vietnam’s 6.5%. A miniscule share of the budget pie, considering that the sector contributes about 10% to the country’s GDP and employs around one-third of the Filipino labor force.

The ongoing pandemic and effects of recent calamities gives us more reason to act swiftly to overcome such adversities. These have also signaled the urgent need to transform agri-food systems and build sustainable agriculture and to reverse decades of underinvestment in the sector.

The pandemic only proved that our farmers and fisherfolk are essential to our economy, come hell or high water and they should be given the recognition and support that they deserved.

Your Department urges our legislators to provide more support to the agriculture sector by providing resources for better inputs for farm and fishery production, irrigation, post-harvest facilities (drying and milling), transport, and the use of newer technologies such as digital agriculture and drones, among others.

We believe that with better guidance and support, overall productivity in the sector can be significantly raised to enhance the country’s food security and at the same time increase the incomes of our farmers and fishers."

Bilateral and multilateral partners

Philippine agriculture could not have achieved this positive contribution last year without the contributions of our bilateral and multilateral partners.

Recognition and appreciation are extended to the United States, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, the ASEAN, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development— which have all extended technical and financial assistance to the Philippine agriculture sector.

The year 2021 will be another opportunity in the global community to heighten the appreciation and reinforce the role of agriculture.

In September or October 2021, the UN Secretary-General will convene a Food Systems Summit with the aim of maximizing the co-benefits of a food systems approach across the entire 2030 Agenda and meeting the challenges of climate change.

The Summit aims to provide a platform for ambitious new actions, innovative solutions, and plans to transform food systems and leverage these shifts to deliver progress across all of the SDGs. It is envisioned that the Summit will have objectives and outcomes including to:

• Raise awareness of food systems' centrality to the entire sustainable development agenda, and the urgency of transforming food systems, particularly in the wake of a global pandemic;
• Align stakeholders around a common understanding and narrative of a food system framework as a foundation for concerted action, making food and food systems a more widespread issue for advocacy and action to achieve the 2030 Agenda;
• Recognize the need for inclusivity and innovation in food systems governance and action;
• Motivate and empower stakeholders who support food systems transformation through the development of improved tools, measurement, and analysis; and
• Catalyze, accelerate, and enlarge bold action for the transformation of food systems by all communities, including countries, cities, companies, civil society, citizens, and food producers.

The UN General Assembly has also designated 2021 the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (IYFV).

The IYFV 2021 is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the important role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, food security and health and as well in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Key strategies to ‘grow’ agriculture

As the year 2021 transforms into a new normal, we should remain steadfast in lessons learned during the past year and continue to build a food secure and resilient Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk.

Finally, we see the coming year as particularly auspicious, especially as 2021 is the Year of the Metal Ox in Chinese horoscope.

Is it said that in order to increase one’s luck, one must wear metal accessories or ornaments. The Department believes that this translates into mechanization and industrialization—two critical paradigms to level up Philippine agriculture.

The DA will implement key strategies to “grow” and fuel the transformation of the Philippine agriculture and fishery sector into a modernized and industrialized economic powerhouse.

At the core of this strategy is farm clustering and consolidation, dubbed as “Bayanihan Agri Cluster” (BAC) that aims to converge and integrate government interventions such as provision of loans, farm mechanization, free seeds and fertilizers, and market support.

The DA will also vigorously implement systematic, inclusive approaches at the farm level next year and until the term of the Duterte administration.

We must empower our farmers and fishers through collective action so they will have the opportunity to partner with the different actors in the industry. Leaving them alone will not accelerate the development of the sector.

The DA will also implement social protection and safety-net measures to benefit resource-poor farmers — as embodied in the department’s flagship Plant Plant Plant program — in the form of cash assistance, subsidized credit, and crop insurance.

Further, the Department will also accelerate the completion of the national farmers’ and fishers’ registry to improve the delivery of support services and other forms of interventions to eligible and deserving small farmers and fishers.

The establishment of “agri-industrial business corridors” (ABCs) will also be actively pursued in 2021. These hubs will serve as processing and marketing centers of agriculture and fishery products in identified production areas.

The ABCs will house agribusiness and multipurpose facilities that will be key to managing and integrating the food supply chain, as well as introducing innovative agricultural technology to farmers.

One of the first projects to be established at the Clark ABC is the National Seed Technology Park (NSTP), which aims to develop high-yield seed varieties to help farmers improve the level and quality of their harvests.

The NSTP will serve as a one-stop hub for the seed value chain, including research and development facilities, a model seed farm and processing facility, infrastructures for skills training, experimental and commercial plots, demonstration plots, and an exhibition and farmers’ convention center.

The DA will also intensify infrastructure investments in major agri-fishery production areas, which include construction of farm-to-market roads, trading posts, fish ports and processing plants.

Agro-industrialization entails leveraging public investments with local and foreign private investors through incentives and regulations to develop the sector’s value chain.

For this reason, DA will actively pursue the implementation of the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System (PAFES). This will be guided by the provincial commodity investment plan (PCIP), a three-year rolling plan developed by the DA-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP), that seeks to rationalize government interventions in the commodity value chains.

The PCIP also serves as the basis for identifying needed infrastructure and enterprise development sub-projects that can be funded by DA-PRDP, with counterparts from LGUs. The project was jumpstarted by Ilocos Norte in September this year. Other pilot provinces will follow suit in 2021.

The DA will also work on upscaling the implementation of “Agriculture 4.0,” or the so-called fourth agricultural revolution, which seeks the use of smart farming technologies.

Your Department is working on the use of satellite technology to expand coverage of crop insurance and estimation of crop damages and losses due to typhoons and other natural disturbances. One offshoot of the Covid-19 pandemic is the acceleration of the digitalization of the country’s agriculture and fishery sector.

The e-Kadiwa—the digital platform of the DA’s “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” marketing program—highlighted the cost-reducing power of digital technology that directly links farmers with consumers, as well as with small and medium enterprises involved in food processing.

The DA will upscale e-Kadiwa, not only by linking farmers to buyers and consumers, but also by looking into logistics like renting out Kadiwa trucks and refrigerated vans to transport perishable agricultural items from the farms to urban markets.

There is no single formula for success. But it has been observed that some attributes of leadership are often about finding ways to encourage people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm, and their inspiration to work together.

I believe the DA family—together with the other stakeholders and partners—will endeavor to work together this coming 2021 so that the agri-fishery sector can “survive, reboot, and grow” under the “new normal” and enhance its contribution to nation building.

Reference:
Noel Ocampo Reyes
DA Spokesperson & A/Sec for Strategic Communications
Contact Nos.: 0920-4889686/0956-6694611/(02)8892-9818