Photo of the model house of the Kalawit Woodridge Village (Photo from Sec. Manny Piñol's FB page)
DAVAO CITY – The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) announced over the weekend that a model of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) resettlement area in Mindanao will soon rise in the middle of a forested area in the town of Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte.
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said agencies involved in the BP2 project led by MinDA will participate in the Oct. 14 groundbreaking ceremonies to mark the establishment of the Woodridge Village, a 200-hectare farm carved out of a reservation for the ‘Palayan ng Bayan Program’ of the previous governments.
He added that the 200-hectare farm will include a subdivision with 200 individual housing units which will be funded by the National Housing Authority with other agencies doing their share.
“Zamboanga del Norte Governor Alberto Uy and Kalawit Mayor Salvador Antojado will lead the local officials while MinDA will lead other national agencies in the groundbreaking ceremonies. When completed, the communal farm will accommodate 200 families coming home from Metro Manila who will be involved in farming activities with a pre-identified market,” Piñol said.
The MinDA chair added that the Kalawit Woodridge Village is the second model of the BP2 resettlement area in Mindanao.
The other model is the Kauswagan Green Village in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte where another 200 families will be resettled in a 6.3-hectare property, he said.
“Kauswagan Mayor Rommel Arnado, an organic farming advocate, said the resettlement area has been named Green Village because the resettled families will be involved in growing organic vegetables and raising organic chicken. Just like in Kalawit, MinDA has already pre-identified the buyer of the produce of Kauwagan’s Green Village,” Piñol said. (PNA)
