Press Release
September 18, 2007

GORDON DELIVERS SECOND BATCH OF FRUITS OF HOPE

Senator Richard Gordon arrived in Davao at 4 am today (September 18, 2007) on board a Philippine Air Force C-130 to lead the second mission for the Fruits of Hope Project. He was joined by North Cotabato Gov. Susing Sacdalan, North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pinol and the North Cotabato Fruit Growers Association and other farmers.

Gordon oversaw the loading and unloading of several tons of fruits from various parts of Mindanao and flew back to Manila in the afternoon where he was welcomed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Department of Trade (DTI) Secretary Peter Favila, and Department of Agriculture (DA) Sec. Art Yap.

During its first run, the Fruits of Hope project fetched 6 tons of assorted fruits from farmers in Jolo, Sulu using a C-130 and brought the fruits to Villamor Airbase in Paranaque, Metro Manila where they were picked up by two supermarket chains. The fruits sold out within an hour after it was displayed in their fruit stands.

The Fruits for Hope project is a joint peace building initiative of the Philippine National Red Cross, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Asia America Initiative, and the Philippine Air Force with Rustan's, SM, Robinsons Corporation, Nestle, and Shopwise. The project aims to link producers of various agricultural crops from Sulu, Basilan, North Cotabato, and other areas in Mindanao to markets in Metro Manila and help them get a better price for their goods, thereby assuring them of better profits.

"What the fruits of hope signify is our government's commitment to bringing development to areas in Mindanao that have been suffering from being wrongly labeled as war zones. We should all be reminded that development is not a reward but a vital pre-requisite for peace," Said Gordon, adding, "After getting people in Manila to taste the fruits we flew in from Sulu, their minds have begun to change a bit and they're no longer talking about war in Sulu. They're talking about its sweet mangosteens, its lanzones, its durian, and its coffee. We are committing ourselves to spreading the sunshine and doing what we did for Sulu to other conflict stricken areas in Mindanao."

The Fruits of Hope project is expecting to sign up NAMVESCO (National Market Vendors Association of the Philippines), Negros Navigation, Sulpicio Lines, Bagumbayan Movement Committee on Livelihood and Productivity as future partners.

NAMVESCO has signified its intent to buy and sell fruits sourced from Sulu, Basilan, North Cotabato and other areas in Mindanao participating in the Fruits of Hope Project. By doing this, farmers in these provinces will be directly linked with the vendors, removing the broker/middlemen in the process and give them the opportunity to get their supply of fruits at a much lower cost.

For its part, Negros Navigation and Sulpicio Lines are both willing to allot 1 or 2 containers (10000 kgs. - 20000 kgs) for the Fruits of Hope project with the freight cost free of charge in order to keep the costs/expenses low, thereby allowing higher income for farmers and lower prices for customers.

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