Cadiz City is set to receive P78.9 million worth of infrastructure and community projects from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) to support former rebels and improve access in rural and upland communities.
The projects will be formally turned over on Friday, Oct. 9, with OPAPRU Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento expected to attend the ceremony at the Cadiz Arena.
The package includes a P26-million concrete road, grouted riprap and storm drainage project from Brgy. Celestino Villacin proper to Sitio 19A.
Another P30-million road will connect Brgy. V.F. Gustilo, particularly Sewahon 3, to Sitio Alimatoc in Brgy. Celestino Villacin.
A separate P20-million concrete road will link Sitio Tangili to Sitio Huebesan, also in Brgy. Celestino Villacin.
The package also includes a P2.9-million Kapatiran Para sa Progreso ng Panlipunan Multi-Purpose Center in Sitio Huebesan.
Seventy-three former rebels are expected to benefit directly from the projects.
They were former members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawang Pilipino/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade-Tabara Paduano Group who later joined Kapatiran.
Cadiz will become the second local government in northern Negros Occidental to host a Kapatiran Multi-Purpose Center after San Carlos City.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said the projects will also benefit more than 5,000 residents of Barangays Celestino Villacin and V.F. Gustilo.
He thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and OPAPRU for selecting Cadiz as one of the beneficiaries of projects aimed at promoting sustainable peace and development.
Escalante said the road projects are expected to improve access for farmers and support the city’s expanding upland agriculture program.
Cadiz has allocated 2,500 hectares of Nakar Estate in Barangay V.F. Gustilo for coffee production.
The city currently has about 600,000 full-grown coffee trees being maintained by around 700 farmers from the barangays of V.F. Gustilo, Jerusalem, Luna, Caduha-an, Magsaysay, Mabini and Celestino Villacin.
The local government aims to increase the number of coffee trees to one million over the next eight years.
A P12-million coffee processing plant is also planned in Brgy. V.F. Gustilo.
Cadiz is likewise expanding into coconut and pineapple production as part of its agricultural diversification efforts.
Escalante said improved roads will make it easier for farmers to transport their produce while also supporting the reintegration of former rebels through livelihood and community development.
He said the projects are intended to combine peace-building initiatives with economic opportunities in the city’s rural and upland areas.*
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