By Mortz C. Ortigoza
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| CORN/PALAY DRYING FACILITY IN ALCALA- The lot and the warehouse of the corn and palay drying facility in Bersamin,Alcala are funded out of the congressional tobacco excise tax share of 5th District Rep. Kimi S. Cojuangco. Inside the warehouse is the palay and corn mechanical dryer that will be used by farmers of Alcala in drying their crops even during rainy season. (Photo by LOEJAN ANUDON) |
ALCALA – Former Pangasinan Congressman Mark O. Cojuangco
said the state-of-the-art corn and palay drying facility that formally opened last
Thursday is the most efficient in the province.
He said the facility, together with its counterpart in
Villasis town, funded from the share of this town’s Tobacco Excise Tax is bigger
and cheaper compared to the one given by the South Korean government to the
province of Pangasinan in Sta. Barbara town.
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| MECHANICS. Former Congressman Mark O. Cojuangco explains to the farmers who attended the inauguration of the P80 million Corn & Palay Drying Facility in Alcala, Pangasinan the mechanics of the facility that opened its service last Thursday. The dryer can accommodate 400 tons of corn and palay a day. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA |
“Sobrang mahal iyon
(Korean project) maliit ang capacity noon at saka ang gatung noon kerosene hinde
ipa ”.
Cojuangco said the rice husk powered drying facility constructed
by the Malaysian cost P80 million while the lot is worth P20 million.
A source said the Korean project in Sta. Barbara in
partnership with administration of Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. cost P200 million.
“At saka mas maliit ang kapasidad niya (Korean project) at wala siyang
bodegang ganito (kalaki),” the former solon said by referring to the huge space
in the facility here.
Cojuangco said the facility could serve the farmers here and
the nearby towns to dry with a minimal fee their corn and palay especially
during the rainy season.
Mayor Ryan Paolo V. Mencias said farmers here could be
charged 50 centavos per kilo while farmers outside this town could be charged
65 centavos on the same kilo.
The former solon said the minimal fee is not to earn a
windfall but to recoup the electricity, the chaff and other costs of production
in running the facility.
Cojuangco added the operation of the project, that could accommodate
400 tons of corn daily, is a rebuffed to his critics that called the facility white elephant.
Former Mayor Manny Collado said that the edifice and those
at Villasis town have been conceptualized by Cojuangco when he was still a
congressman.
He said he, the former solon, and former Villasis Mayor Nato
Abrenica went to Malaysia to see how the huge machine was run.
“Noong pumunta kami in Malaysia. Sabi ng Malaysian
nagbibilad din kami ng palay noong 10 years ago. Sabi nila within 24 hours
pagka harvest nila diretso na sa dryer sa kanila . Panay mechanized sila kaya
mabilis”.
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| ALLIES. Former Congressman Cojuangco (extreme right first row) exchanges notes with (from left) Sta. Barbara Vice Mayor Emmanuel Cabangon, former Board Member Dionesio "Saffee" Villar", former Alcala Mayor Manny Collado, and AlcalaMayor Ryan Paolo Mencias. At the back were Bayambang Vice Mayor Mylvin Junio and Bautista mayoralty aspirant Eddie Ong. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA |
Cojuangco said that in terms of the manufacturing of corn
and palay drying facility the Malaysians are the leader in all of South East
Asia.
The solon hopes that someday all the corn and palay
dependent towns and cities in Pangasinan would have a drying facility.
“At dapat magkaroon ng ganito sa mga bayan-bayan sa buong
probinsiya ng Pangasinan. Para hindi na kailangan lumayo pa at mag dry sa road”.
Aside from palay and corn the facility could dry too mongo and
soybeans.
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| GADGET. The former solon demonstrates to the farmers and media men how the gadget calculates the moisture contents of the corn and palay that would be serviced by the drying facility. The gadget, according to Cojuangco, could determine the water content of the tons of corn and palay that would be dried by the facility. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA |
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