Calamity readiness aid from DAR benefits 2K farmers in So. Leyte

By JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA
May 2, 2026

HINUNANGAN, Southern Leyte – Though they knew the distribution of the calamity readiness assistance from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) here was scheduled in the afternoon of April 14, but neighbors Maribel Mendoza and Virginia Borlaza were already outside of the venue as early as seven o’ clock in the morning.

Maribel, 44, and Virginia, 61, were among the 73 residents of Barangay Tuburan in this town, some nine kilometers away from the town proper, who were in the list of recipients of the said assistance.

A total of 2,100 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and members of agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) from this municipality and six other towns in this province, trooped to the three designated areas situated here and in the towns of Silago and Saint Bernard, for the distribution.

All three mayors, Lemuel Honor, Jocelyn Bungcaras and Ymard Joseph Tocmo of Silago, Saint Bernard and Hinunangan, respectively, expressed their gratitude to DAR for choosing their respective towns as venues for this event and for providing assistance to the farmers.

DAR Eastern Visayas Regional Director, Atty. Robert Anthony Yu, led the distribution which started at nine o’clock in the morning at the Silago covered court in the municipality of Silago. He disclosed that Agrarian Reform Secretary Corado Estrella III, upon instructions from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., downloaded funds for this assistance, which included two pairs of slippers, coffee and sugar, personal hygiene kit, towel and flashlight, aside from the pail where the items were placed, intended to areas frequently-hit by typhoons.

Calixto Peru, 72, and one of the 412 recipients in Silago, expressed thanks to the President and Estrella. He shared that he is happy to receive such assistance. “I need all these, especially the towel which I can use when I work in the farm,” said Peru.

From Silago, Yu and his team went to the Catmon Barangay Auditorium in Saint Bernanrd where 669 recipient-farmers from this town and from the towns of Bontoc and Liloan were waiting.

Virginia Antipala, 68, from Barangay Himos-onan, Saint Bernanrd, said, “These are of big help to us. The coffee, the slippers, I can use them,” Antipala said.

After lunch, the team from DAR proceeded to the Hinunangan Municipal Cultural Center where Maribel and Virginia, together with 1,017 other farmers from this town and from the towns of Sogod and Hinundayan, had been waiting for hours.

Finally, Maribel and Virginia got hold of their pails full of items necessary in times of disaster. Maribel exclaimed, “I’m so happy because I don’t have money to buy these items. We need all these. The flashlight is of big help because we don’t have light at home.”