By Cyrus A. Natividad

HON. MATT P.PALABRICA-Number 1 Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member of the 3rd District, Province of Iloilo.

In his second term as Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member of Iloilo Province, CPU Board of Trustees Member Matt Plagata Palabrica speaks about the present need of Iloilo and how he will recommend a solution. He was elected as number 1 Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the 3rd District of Iloilo Province in the May 2022 local and national elections.

Palabrica is a PhD degree holder in Development Administration (2011) and a Master in Management in Public Administration (2007) from Philippine Christian University, Manila. He was also a consistent Dean’s Lister for his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Major in Agronomy from Central Philippine University, and a graduate of CPU High School with Honors.
He is currently chairman of the Accounts Committee, General Services and Human Resources; Vice Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and Cultural Communities and Underprivileged Committee; Member of the Agriculture and several other committees.

In his capacity as legislator in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan – with good background and vast experience in agriculture, Palabrica concentrates on food security. Food production is his priority proposal for Iloilo province in order to support rice farmers in their pursuit of higher valuation of their harvested palays, in the midst of the soaring prices of farm chemicals and fertilizers. Among its issues, he said that “The passage of Rice Tariffication Law and its effect on the livelihood of the already suffering rice farmers brought further economic disaster already broken by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He said that “With its passage, our rice imports grew so significantly that the Philippines became the world’s largest rice importer in 2019. The Manila Times has published news that 38,400 metric tons of imported rice had been off-loaded in the Iloilo Port, valued at more than 1billion, and additional thousands of metric tonnes continue to be unloaded recently. This volume, when dumped into the markets of Iloilo City and Province, has greatly affected the income of a large segment of the rice growing economy of the Province.”

Palabrica has intended to submit a proposal approved by the Sanggunian Panlalawigan to his Excellency President Ferdinand “Bongbong”Marcos, Jr. “to stop importing and selling of imported rice during the rice harvest seasons.”

As Member of the Board of Trustees of Central Philippine University and CPU Corporation, Dr. Palabrica also relates to the need for technology and linkages that will help students support government in food production. During his student days in CPU, he was Governor and Representative of the College of Agriculture.

He has been President of Bingawan Sugarcane Planters Farmers Association and Member of Iloilo Seed Producers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, among several other civic organizations. He has conducted seminars abroad as Resource Speaker, and participated in several professional and government training /seminars.

Before his election to the Sanggunang Panlalawigan, Dr. Palabrica was Mayor of the Municipality of Bingawan, Iloilo (2007-2016); Vice Mayor of Bingawan 2016-2019. He was Agriculturist II (Rice Specialist) Department of Agriculture (2000-2004); Presidential Staff Officer II, National Youth Commission (1997-2000) and President, SK Provincial Federation of Iloilo (ex-officio, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member 1993-1996).

Under his watch, the Municipality of Bingawan received numerous awards: 2010 Galing Pook Award; Seal of Good Local Governance (2016), Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping (2014), and Seal of Child- Friendly Local Governance among others. In 2019, Bingawan was awarded the Model LGU Implementing Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Program.

One of the values he learned in CPU that has helped his political career, he said is, “Love of God and country.” A brilliant leader, Matt Plagata Palabrica is the grandson of former Mayor Victor Catedral Plagata and Sabina Perre Falsis; and Teopisto Palencia Palabrica and Julia Fernandez Selorio. He is the 3rd son of former Mayor Zafiro Palabrica and Josephine Plagata; and an older brother of encumbent Mayor Mark Palabrica. He is married to Precel Gallaza, a public school teacher. They have four children.