ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan — The city government received a PHP14.7-million financial grant from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) as additional funding for its Hundred Islands Engineered Kawayan (e-Kawayan) Project.
“The amount will be used for equipment modernization, human resource development, bamboo nursery establishment, bamboo plantation and processing and manufacturing,” City Agriculturist Arceli Talania said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Friday.
She noted that the amount was part of a previous PHP31-million donation from PAGCOR, which was unutilized since the fund can only be used in the specified items included in the memorandum of agreement (MOA).
“The city government and PAGCOR signed a new MOA for the said fund alongside the turnover on Thursday,” Talania said.
She added that the amount will be of great help for the e-Kawayan Project and in providing livelihood to residents and even to inmates at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Alaminos City.
“Mayor Arthur Celeste saw the need to provide livelihood for the inmates in BJMP Alaminos City, hence we will be initially hiring 25 inmates to help in our operation. We will bring equipment and material inside the facility but for now we are still scouting for the area where we could put the equipment. In the meantime, the City Agriculture Office conducts training for the inmates,” Talania said.
The e-Kawayan factory produces keychains, plaques, trophies, podiums, frames, toys, chairs, tables, lampshades, and anything their clients ask for using bamboo as raw material. (Hilda Austria/PNA)
