Inday Loren Inaugurates Gabaldon School Building, Launches Milk Feeding and Dairy Dev’t Programs in Antique

Senator Loren Legarda will lead today the inauguration of the Gabaldon school building at Pandan Central School as well as the launch of a Milk Feeding Program and Dairy Development Program for the Province of Antique.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, allotted funding under the 2016 national budget for the restoration of the Pandan Central School Gabaldon Building.

The Gabaldon building was built in 1938 and was occupied by the pioneer graduates of the school in 1941. The building was burned down by the Japanese Army when the war broke out during the World War II in 1943. The building was rehabilitated by the Americans but was damaged again by the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

Inday Loren, as her fellow Antiqueños call her, has been advocating for the restoration of Gabaldon school buildings in the country not only as part of heritage conservation but also to reuse them for their original purpose as places of learning.

“The success of the restoration of these structures can promote the concept of heritage conservation especially in the provinces where these built heritage remain standing. These buildings can be used to ease classroom shortage or congestion especially in the countryside,” she said.

“As we teach the Filipino youth our nation’s culture and history, we should also inculcate in them the respect for things that form part of our heritage,” she added.

Coinciding with the Gabaldon building inauguration is the launch of the Inday Loren at ang Batang Alaska School Milk Program, a milk feeding program for selected schools in Antique. The launch will be held at Pandan Central School but will also be implemented in 17 other schools in the province, one school per municipality.

Legarda, a nutrition advocate, said that the milk feeding program will complement feeding programs and gulayan sa paraalan programs in public schools.

“Over 29,000 Filipino children below five die each year due to undernutrition. It not only affects children’s physical growth, but also diminishes their learning capacity and school performance. Later in life as adults and professionals, they have lower productivity and reduced earnings by half,” she explained.

“That is why we need to provide good nutrition to children to ensure optimal growth. We need to ensure that nutrition-related programs of government are not only funded but also implemented well,” Legarda stressed.

Meanwhile, the Senator will also lead the turnover of breeding stocks and the launch of the Antique Dairy Development Program, which aims to increase local dairy stock and local milk production through the establishment of dairy enterprises, provide livelihood opportunities as source of additional income to farmers, and address the problem of malnutrition.

To date, 44 heads of pregnant dairy heifers were already distributed to a total of 15 dairy farmers in Antique who have produced 17 calves and some 18,579 liters of milk since its initial dispersal made last January 10, 2018. The launch will be in time with the delivery of 24 heads of pregnant dairy heifers.

The formal launch of the program at the Liberman Gymnasium in Pandan will also provide an avenue for dairy farmers to air issues and concerns, and manifest whatever support they may need to succeed in dairy production and dairy enterprise.

Legarda will also lead the distribution of fiberglass boats and post harvest fishing kits to recipients in Pandan. A total of 750 units of fiberglass boats are allocated for the whole province of Antique.