ANGELES CITY — The city government tried, and succeeded, in planting and harvesting peanuts from the roundabout along MacArthur Highway in Barangay Sto. Cristo here.
Harvested from the community vegetable garden were 40 kilos of peanuts, which were donated to the city’s reformation centers, Home for the Girls and the Bahay Pag-Asa.
Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr., who saw the benefit of using rotundas for planting, thanked the City Engineer’s Office-Environmental Management System headed by City Engr. Donato Dizon for maintaining the community vegetable garden.
According to Executive Assistant IV Reina Manuel, organic vegetable seedlings including okra, green chilis and eggplants were initially planted during the series of planting activities which started on July 2021.
“Malaki po ang naging tulong nito sa ating mga kababayan. Ang kuwento [nga] po nila Engr. Don at ng mga EMS, patubo pa lang yung mga gulay, maliliit pa lang, naha-harvest na,” Manuel shared.
Manuel said it was Engr. Dizon who suggested to try if peanuts can be grown in the rotundas, during a meeting last June 2022.
“After two months po, ito na po, nakapag-harvest na po tayo,” Manuel said.
Engr. Dizon further said that all three rotundas will be planted with peanuts, including the highlands also located in the major highways.
To recall, it was on July 2021 when Mayor Lazatin, Manuel, Engr. Dizon, Chief Adviser IC Calaguas started the first of the series of planting activities in all rotundas in the city. They were joined by Gender and Development Officer-in-Charge Mina Cabiles, and Angeles City Economic Development Investment and Promotions Officer-in-Charge Irish Bonus-Llego.
It was also then when Mayor Lazatin said that community gardens are open to all residents, and a project that serves as encouragement to the people to plant in their backyards.
Angeleño residents can also avail of free vegetable seeds from the City Agriculture Office.
