United for rice. Supporting the National Year of Rice (NYR 2013), hundreds of Santiagueños in Isabela pledged to save rice during the Pattaraday festival, May 2. Pattaraday, which means unity in Ybanag, is a celebration of the founding anniversary of Santiago City. Although Isabela is one of the country’s top 10 provinces cited as 2012 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achiever, its residences vowed to “eat what we could only consume and eat other food staples such as saba, camote, and corn” to help the country produce enough rice. Last year, Isabela’s palay production registered 600,000 metric tons, which, according to provincial agriculturist Danilo Tumamao, had greatly contributed to the government’s rice self-sufficiency program.
Excited
