Gasoline replacing forage in Lantad, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental

Sitio Lantad, Bgy. Kibanban, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental - Gasoline is slowly but surely supplanting forage in this former stronghold of the New People's Army (NPA) as the favored fuel for the transportation of its residents.

A convoy of the Misamis Oriental provincial government and the Department of Agrarian Reform-Region 10 (DAR-10) visited the hamlet to give away farm equipment, banana seedlings and supplies during the NPA's 39th founding anniversary last March 29 and residents and local officials talked constantly about the rapid changes overtaking their formerly sleepy sitio.

One of the most evident signs of the "progress" has been the changing lifestyles brought by the arrival of the ubiquitous "habal-habal" or motorcycle for hire.

"Although we still only have one habal-habal operated by a resident from Lantad, up to 15 arrive every day in the sitio bringing up supplies from the Poblacion and fruits and vegetables on the trip back," said Kibanban Bgy. Chairman Pacquito "Dabdab" Da-ao.

One-way fare on the route costs P300-350 per head but residents prefer taking the hour-long habal-habal ride to Sitio Napiliran, albeit expensive, compared to using their horses which used to take up to three hours, said Bgy. Kibanban Kag. Bruno Lindahay, himself one of the former NPA sympathizers in the area.

"Even at that price, it's still cheaper for residents to take the habal-habal rather than take their horses because they would be saving up to four hours on the road for the round trip," Lindahay said.

That's why the prices of horses which are mostly used by farmers as draft animals to bring down their products to Napiliran prior to the reconstruction of the Lantad-Kibanban barangay road are dropping.

"Most of the farmers here have three to four horses which are usually utilized in pairs," sad Romeo A. Lindahay, chairman of the Kibanban-Balatukan Tribal Council. "One pair is used for transporting farm produce to and from the farm, while the other two transport the same harvest to Napiliran."

With the resumption of the habal-habal service to Lantad, Lindahay said most of the farmers are selling off one or two of their horses since they now instead take the habal-habal to Napiliran and only use their horses for going to and from the farm.

As a result, domestic horses which used to cost P10-15,000 can now he had for P8,000-7,500. Since most families also keep a pair or two of cows, many are choosing to sell off their horses instead due also to the rising cost of feeds and difficulty in caring for a larger herd of domestic animals.

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