Several local government units (LGUs) and organizations in  Davao del Norte have expressed their full support to the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor)  and the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc.(TADECO), given that the accord has been  a key factor in creating jobs  and revving up the economies of their respective communities.

The JVA between BuCor and Tadeco involves the development of a banana plantation inside the  Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) with the primary goal of rehabilitating inmates housed inside the prison compound.

The legislative bodies of Panabo City, and of the municipalities of Carmen, Sto. Tomas, and Dujali  were among the LGUs that have cited the countless economic and social benefits that the JVA has brought to their respective localities. 

Last May 29, the angguniang Panlungsod of Panabo adopted a resolution “earnestly supporting the joint venture agreement” between TADECO and BuCor, which it said has a “vast contribution  to the economy of the neighboring cities and municipalities  within the Davao Region.”

In its resolution, the Sangguniang Panlungsod said the TADECO-BuCor agreement “had [been] reviewed and approved by no less than Six (6) Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretaries, namely, Juan Ponce Enrile (1968-1970),  Vicente Abad Santos (1970-1979), Ricardo C. Puno (1979), Catalino Macaraig Jr. (1979-1981), Sedfrey Ordonez (1987-1990), Simeon Datumanong (2003), and Raul Gonzales (w004-2007).”

“It has also passed through fourteen (14) Secretaries of Justice who upheld its validity,” the Sanggunian also said in its resolution.
The resolution pointed out that “inmates had job opportunities provided by the said JVA that helped them realize their goals and made their lives more useful to their families and the community.”

Mayor Virginia Perandos of the municipality of Carmen pointed out that “TADECO has been playing (a major role) in the development of the entire province of Davao del Norte in general, and brought quality standard of living for  the people with its employment opportunities, including many of the BuCor inmates.”

A resolution unanimously adopted by the Sangguniang Bayan of Carmen on May 23 expressed its support to the JVA, and said the “presence of banana companies including Tadeco boost the economic activity not only of the Municipality of Carmen, but throughout the Davao Region.” 

The resolution likewise noted that TADECO and the other banana-producing farms in Davao helped transform Carmen into a first-class  municipality in the province.

The Liga ng mga Barangay of Carmen has also adopted a separate resolution backing the BuCor-Tadeco JVA. “Fifty percent of our labor force are working [in companies like TADECO, Dole Philippines and other agro-industrial establishments in the locality and other neighboring cities and municipalities,” the Liga said in its resolution. 

Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Bayan of Braulio E. Dujali pointed out in its Resolution dated May 25 that besides creating jobs, providing revenues for the municipality,  and constructing roads and other infrastructure, TADECO has also regularly conducted medical outreach programs for the town’s “poor communities through the Antonio O. Floirendo Foundation” and helped the town realize “its electrification program which benefited a good number of households and even those located in the outskirts of this town.” 

The Braulio E. Dujali chapter of the Liga ng mga Barangay have also come out in support of the JVA, stating in its unanimously adopted resolution that “Tadeco is one of the highest-yielding banana plantations in the world that provides employment to thousands of workers.

The Sangguniang Bayan of Sto. Tomas said in a separate resolution adopted on May 22  that it is backing the BuCor-Tadeco accord “so as not to displace the thousand workers and its contribution to the economic development of the communities and country.”

Its resolution likewise stated that Tadeco “contributed to the development of the economy in Mindanao through its huge plantation of Cavendish banana that provided employment to thousands of workers, more particularly from the Municipality of Sto. Tomas and other adjacent municipalities and cities within the Province of Davao del Norte.”

The Liga ng Mga Barangay of Sto. Tomas, meanwhile, unanimously adopted a resolution last May 18 supporting the JVA, which it said, “helped to rehabilitate the inmates inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) and prepare them for their eventual reintegration to society by providing them with a decent means of livelihood while serving their sentences to become a productive citizen in the community.”

The Liga ng Mga Barangay of the Island Garden City of Samal  noted in its  May 10 resolution that the JVA provides employment to hundreds of workers in all of the 46 barangays within the city.

“TADECO, Inc. extends various services to the community in terms of providing health- and education-related programs that values health and wellness of its employees and their families and grants full scholarship to qualified dependents to strengthen its corporate social responsibility through its programs and activities that being implemented to its nearby communities within the Province of Davao del Norte,” the resolution read.