The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved in its last regular session an ordinance that formally establishes the Mango Pulp Weevil Action Team hoping to end the pest that had been ailing the mango industry for 24 years now.
The ordinance, authored by Rolando Bonoan Jr., board member, prescribes the duties and responsibilities of the local government units and the Mango Growers Association of Palawan.
In his speech at the regular session, Bonoan said that the Mango Pulp Weevil Action Team (MPWAT) will ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the mango pulp weevil eradication program in the province.
He said that with the Action Team together with the DA, provincial government, and the Mango Growers Association of Palawan aims to put an end to the two decades-long struggle of the industry and the issues and concerns of the mango growers.
The MPWAT will work to eradicate mango pulp weevil in Puerto Princesa City and in southern municipalities which include Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Sofronio Española, Brooke’s Point, Rizal, Bataraza, and Balabac. It also hopes to strengthen the mango industry by gaining market access outside the province, and to intensify plant quarantine service operations in Palawan.
Mango is one of the high-value commercial fruit crops in the province. There are about 248,000 mango trees in plantations in Palawan. Based on the findings of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Palawan mangoes are sweeter than those in other parts of the country.
In 1987, the Bureau of Plant Industry imposed a quarantine on Palawan mangoes prohibiting its movement, transfer, and carrying outside of the province. Because of this, Palawan slid from rank 15 among the mango-producing provinces in the Philippines in 1990 to rank 29 in 2009.
Bonoan is hopeful that this problem will be addressed with the creation of the MPWAT, and use of new technologies, researches and protocols.
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