PBGEA helps Marawi

MEMBER companies of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) embarked on a relief mission to help displaced people caught in crossfires and severely affected by the war in Marawi City.

Volunteers were shocked to find Marawi a ghost town but still braved entering the area to bring assistance “to our Maranao brothers and sisters

“We heard gunfire and bombs from cannons and airstrikes,” says Betty Francia, one of the volunteers who joined the convoy to Marawi.

She added, “but we are extremely honored to be in a position to extend some form of assistance to our brothers and sisters. I just wish this fighting will end soon.”

“If there is one crop that bears a heart, it’s the bananas. And it’s what members of the PBGEA embodies and live by,” says PBGEA Executive Director Stephen Antig.

PBGEA has championed for the concerns of the banana industry while delivering the gains through socio-economic interventions in areas where member-companies are operating in 15 provinces in Southern Philippines.

“We have an active Sagip Pamayanan, which is a program on disaster relief and rehabilitation to calamity stricken areas and that is not only limited to where we plant bananas. Of course, we are one with Mindanao and we are one with our fellow Filipinos in Marawi,” Antig added.

The group, comprised of industry stakeholders including farmers and export companies filled three trucks with relief goods consisting of hundreds of boxes of bananas, medicines, sacks of rice, ready to eat halal food packs, drinking water, clothes, blankets, toiletries and personal hygiene package, toys and others.

The donated goods amounted to over a million pesos.

PBGEA sought the assistance of the AFP Eastern Mindanao Conference Command (EastMincom) to deliver the relief goods in the evacuation centers in Marawi. A “One Love, One Mindanao, Help Marawi” convoy was organized with volunteers from the member companies escorted by the military rolled from Davao City on June 17 and safely arrived at Camp Ranao adjacent to the Provincial Capitol of Lanao on June 18 after some 14 hours of land travel. The collected goods were turned over to the military for distribution.

The EastMinCom provided the manpower and security. Ltc. Ronaldo G. Valdez expressed how they are, “grateful to get extra hand and support from the civil society. We appreciate the partnership wherein civilians help our soldiers.”

PBGEA also provided some care packages and other goods for the troops to boost their morale.

“The bananas are actually a convenient and a good source of energy for our troops on the ground, it’s a grab and go food. PR