Nueva Vizcaya Governor Jing Gambito, joined by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Provincial Director Elizabeth Martinez and Dupax del Sur Mayor Neil Magaway, led the turnover of agricultural inputs and a shared service facility worth P1.5 million to the Bugkalot Casecnan Coffee Farmers Association in Barangay Talbek, Dupax del Sur recently.
Martinez said the assistance will increase yields, improve bean quality, support value‑adding processing and expand market access for farmers.
“DOLE will provide more funds for Nueva Vizcaya in 2026 to bolster livelihood initiatives, employment services and other labor‑related programs,” she explained.
Dolly Rose Minas, supervising labor and employment officer of the Public Employment and Service Division of the Office of the Governor and program focal person, said the P7.5‑million DOLE allocation under the Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP/Kabuhayan) and the Adjustment Measures Program (AMP) provides farm inputs, equipment including coffee processors, shared services and training.
“A similar aid is slated for coffee growers in Kayapa, Kasibu, Sta. Fe and Ambaguio.”
“A similar aid is slated for coffee growers in Kayapa, Kasibu, Sta. Fe and Ambaguio,” Minas added.
In his message to the association headed by Sonny Nangitoy, the governor said the provincial government will keep working with national agencies to secure more support for agriculture and continue rolling out his flagship road program, “Kalsada ti Kabanbantayan at Dalan ti Umili,” to improve upland access.
“As long as I am governor, I will do everything I can to uplift the lives of Novo Vizcayanos, especially those in our mountain communities,” Gambito said.
“I want them to know there is a government that truly cares and will stand with them every step of the way.”
“I want them to know there is a government that truly cares and will stand with them every step of the way,” Gambito added.
Nangitoy said he and his fellow members were deeply grateful for the support, noting that the DOLE assistance comes at a crucial time as the association continues to recover from recent calamities. He added the group is even more encouraged because, besides the DOLE package, they also secured a P10-million fund for their coffee processing facility, which is now under construction.
Nangitoy explained that the two-storey processing facility, funded by the Department of Agriculture (DA), was obtained through the joint efforts of Gambito and Magaway and is expected to strengthen the association’s capacity to process and market their coffee.
Nangitoy also said the group earlier received P500,000 from the Office of the governor, which the association used to improve its office.
Before the turnover ceremony, beneficiaries attended a business and work improvement session where speakers from DTI, DOLE, TESDA, PESD, and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRM) discussed entrepreneurship, work values development, occupational safety and health, emergency first aid, and basic bookkeeping.
