Senator: CCT program should require more backyard gardens

Thursday, November 3, 2011
THE Social Welfare and Development department should urge more beneficiaries of its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program to plant backyard gardens to fight off hunger as food prices go up, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Thursday.
Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, made this call after a recent Social Weather Stations survey found 4.3 million families have gone hungry in the past quarter. The SWS survey also reported a rise in “overall hunger” in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.
Iwan Azis of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Office of Regional Economic Integration, meanwhile, has warned that rising food prices may be “the new normal.”
In an article on the Vietnamese News Agency’s Vietnam Plus website, Azis said “there are worrying signs that food price fluctuations are now taking place within a much higher bandwidth than ever before.”
The ADB sees a 10-percent rise in food prices that will mean 64 million more people living in poverty. The rise in food prices has been attributed to production shortfalls from floods and droughts.
Rising demand in China and India for grain, oil, seeds, sugar, and livestock have also driven prices up, Vietnam Plus reported.
“If rising prices are the ‘new normal,’ then we cannot let rising hunger be part of this ‘new normal.’ It is unacceptable that people go on the entire day without any food to eat. We need to exhaust all means to find a creative solution,” Pangilinan said, adding part of the solution can be found in “our own backyards.”
“What we will need, especially for the short-term, is to increase coverage of the backyard gardening program under the government’s ‘Pantawid Pamilya’ program (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or the CCT), to give more poor and hungry families the chance to grow their own food and nourish themselves and their children. That’s the first step to getting people out of hunger,” he added.
The CCT program offers beneficiaries money for meeting requirements like keeping their children healthy and in school.
The Social Welfare department has been promoting backyard gardening to help poor families make sure their children are well-nourished.
“Self-sufficiency as a nation starts with self-sufficiency as a family, and it could very well start in our own backyards,” Pangilinan said.
Communities of CCT beneficiaries in Cagayan, Isabela, and Bohol have already put up backyard and communal gardens.
In Kalinga, the CCT program requires beneficiaries to maintain backyard gardens and latrines.
Gardening is also included in P28.96-million cash-for-work program that the Department of Social Welfare and Development launched in July for victims of calamities in Luzon.
Pangilinan said there is also a need for a long-term solution to hunger.
“We need more people, especially the younger generation, to go back to farming in order to meet our food security goals. And government needs to pump in a lot of support for this sector in order for us to turn the tide around and be self-sufficient instead of relying on food imports. It’s the only way for an agricultural country like ours,” he said.
He said modernization, manufacturing, and new technology will mean little until the Philippines learns to feed itself.
“All our neighbors will be zooming past us, exporting their own agricultural products to the rest of the world, while we will be the Crippled Man of Asia, hands outstretched and always dependent on others,” the senator warned.(Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)
Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on November 04, 2011.

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2011/11/03/senator-cct-program-should-require-more-backyard-gardens-188571

Recent opinion survey of frequent travelers heading north towards Subic and Clark Pampanga revealed that the number one most frequently visited wine shop in Pampanga is Clark Wine Center located in Clark Philippines. Reasons given include good selection of fine vintage as well as affordable wines for everyday drinking also. This wine shop also has a beautiful roof deck lawn which serves as a nice venue for outdoor alfresco dining, cocktail parties and small functions and events. There are five large wine cellars that contain some of the world’s finest wines and rare vintages as well as wines that are excellent value that every wine shoppers love to discover. This wine shop in Clark is frequently visited not only by local residents but also tourists arriving in the Philippines looking to pick up a few bottles of good wine that are not normally available in their home town.

Subic is well known for diving, the sea and water sports that come with the territory. However one thing that Subic is not famous for is dining options. For years, visitors to Subic have complained about the quality of the restaurants and dining establishments but it is only until recently that travelers to Subic discovered the best restaurant to wine and dine, even for visitors with families and children. Now most residents of Subic and also Tarlac and Baguio know of this wine shop in Clark as the best place to buy wines in the Philippines and certainly the best wine shop in Pampanga, Angeles City, Clark Philippines.

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices. Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world. As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years. Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop.

The next time you are in Pampanga and are looking for things to do in Clark Philippines spend some time to do a little wine shopping at the most famous wine shop outside of Manila called Clark Wine Center. One of the favorite places to visit in Pampanga Clark Freeport is the white building along M A Roxas highway of Clark which houses over 2000 selections of fine vintage wines. The Clark Wine Center is one of the places to visit, a tourist spot and a good shopping place for those staying in Angeles City, Subic or Clark Pampanga.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

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While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com