Agriculture council urged for revalidation of beneficiaries for El Niño Victims in Makato

KALIBO, Aklan- The Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Council (PAFC) has urged both the Department of Agriculture—Western Visayas, the Aklan Provincial Government, the Provincial Agriculture Office, and the Makato Agriculture and Fisheries Council to jointly conduct a revalidation of lists of beneficiaries for those who are affected by the El Nino phenomenon in the town of Makato .

In PAFC Resolution No. 37, Series of 2024, Arnulfo Magcope, PAFC Chair, said that it was moved and approved upon the motion of Gina Diangson, the PAFC treasurer, and Jun N. Aguirre (Boracay Island News Network) as the Public Information Officer of the PAFC.

It was gathered that at least 13 of the 18 barangays in Makato had asked the Aklan Provincial Government to suspend the distribution of financial assistance, stating that several of the beneficiaries on the lists were not identified as farmers or even fisherfolk.

Engr Alexys Apolonio, the head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, said that at least 800 residents of Makato will be supposedly given P10,000 each from the assistance given by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“The local government of Makato has not provided us with the lists of beneficiaries. They had directly gone to the regional office of DA-Western Visayas to request assistance. The province was just tasked with the distribution, to which we have no idea who were legitimate farmers/fisherfolks and who were not,” Apolonio said.

Magcope said the resolution aimed  to ensure that legitimate farmers and fisherfolks would be given priority in the distribution of presidential cash assistance.