New Badoc mayor sizes up local infra, welfare programs

Less than a week into office, Badoc’s new mayor, Virgilio Calajate, marked his 15 May proclamation by immediately visiting ongoing infrastructure projects and participating in aid distribution and agricultural events.

On 2 July, Calajate personally inspected the municipal slaughterhouse and newly constructed covered courts in Barangays La Virgen, Pagsanahan Norte, and Saud, assessing the progress and quality of the construction work.

On 4 July, he attended the distribution of 400 food packs to 200 residents as part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) “Project Lawa at Binhi” at the President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sports and Cultural Center. The distribution was led by MSWDO Officer-in-Charge Sophia Rosauro and DSWD Project Development Officer Christopher Cabitla, alongside Vice Mayor Glennd George Cajigal and councilors Romnick and Voks Torralba.

On 5 July, Calajate joined a ceremony in Batac City celebrating the launch of three farm-to-market road projects worth ₱40 million in Barangays Nagrebcan, Balbaldez, Alay, and Camanga. The initiative is funded by the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) Agrarian Reform Fund. During the same event, the Alay-Balbaldez Irrigators Association also received a four-wheel-drive tractor equipped with a rotary tiller, trailer, and 50 bags of fertilizer under DAR’s Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support Project.

DAR-1 regional officials, Ilocos Norte provincial leaders, and lawmakers — including Governor Cecilia Araneta Marcos and Vice Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc — were present at the ceremony.

Calajate succeeded Maximo D. Cajigal as mayor of Badoc. His immediate activities aimed to assess infrastructure conditions, deliver social aid, and reinforce agricultural development in the municipality.