Legarda Wants to Make Sibalom Market a Center of Local Produce in Antique

On the first day of 2019, Senator Inday Loren Legarda visited the Sibalom Public Market, one of the biggest markets in Antique, and expressed her intent to make it a center of local produce in the province.

Legarda herself was delighted to see all the fresh local produce in the market such as kamote, saba, spinach, squash and batwan, among many others.

“The Sibalom Public Market has the potential to become a center for Antique’s local produce, especially for southern towns since market-goers here come from not only the 76 barangays of Sibalom, but also from the neighboring towns of San Jose, Belison, Patnongon and Bugasong,” said Legarda.

Aside from the usual market goods from the upland barangays of the municipality, the Sibalom Public Market also offers furniture and products made from bamboo.

Legarda met with the bamboo furniture makers of Sibalom and said that a Bamboo Center can be established in the municipality to improve its bamboo industry. Through Inday Loren’s initiative, Sibalom has become a recipient of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Shared Services Facility (SSF) on briquettes and other bamboo products.

“We always need to improve and innovate, make our products export quality so that it would be easy to market. DTI-SSF will be a big boost and a Bamboo Center will allow for a more robust bamboo industry,” said the Antiqueña senator.

Legarda said she would also like to have a “Bagsakan Center” (for fruits and vegetables) and a Triple “A” standard Slaughterhouse in the market to ensure that its products are fresh and are of high-quality, which will attract more customers from other municipalities and provinces.

Legarda said that these efforts are also aimed at providing more opportunities for her fellow Antiqueños whose livelihood depend on local produce and harvest.