Batac, Cabadbaran seal sister city ties

Batac mayor Jeff Nalupta and Cabadbaran mayor Dale Corvera signs the sister city agreement. (Photo courtesy of Batac government)

By Dominic B. dela Cruz

Staff Reporter

Batac City—The cities of Batac and Cabadbaran in the province of Agusan Del Norte has signed an agreement establishing sister city links on May 4 at the Batac City Hall.

The signing was of the highlights of the recently concluded 6^th Batac Farmers’ Day celebration.

Batac mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta and Cabadbaran mayor Dale Corvera led the signing and was witnessed by officials of both cities.

Like in the city of Cabadbaran, Nalupta said agriculture is also one of the main livelihood in Batac and its prime products are rice, corn and high value commercial vegetables.

Nalupta added that Batac is preparing to become one of the most important economic centers in Northern Luzon in the next 10-20 years.

In exchange for the visit of Cabadbaran officials, Mr. Nalupta said a similar delegation would visit the Agusan city for another round of signing.

Meanwhile, Mr. Corvera in his speech thanked the Batac officials for holding the signing during the Farmers’ Day celebration.

Mr. Corvera said it was his first time to visit Batac and he already fell in love with the place with the warm welcome and hospitability extended to them.

The Cabadbaran mayor also disclosed a very special kind of affinity with Batac saying the grandmother of his wife is a native of Brgy. Rayuray in this city and the father of vice mayor Harris Glen Puyot also hails from the same barangay.

Corvera added that the grandmother of his wife is a sister of vice mayor Puyot’s father.

With this revelation, Mr. Corvera stressed that Batac occupies a special place in their hearts as they have kinship with the people here.

This is the reason Mr. Corvera said that made him bring the entire officialdom of Cabadbaran to formally witness the “friendship, understanding and cooperation” between the two young cities.

Cabadbaran’s cityhood was also questioned in the Supreme Court and is also in the “League of 16 Cities” along with Batac.

With both mayors on their third and last terms, they vowed to share and complement one another in the areas of culture and the arts, commerce and trade, skills and livelihood development, tourism, technology, and urban planning and development.

Mr. Corvera briefly described Cabadbaran City that was founded in January 31, 1894 and became a city on July 28, 2007.

Cabadbaran is the latest capital of Agusan Del Norte with 31 barangays—19 of which are rural and 12 urban—after Butuan City became a highly urbanized city.

Mr. Corvera said their city roughly has a total population of 78,000 and has a land area of 32,746 hectares and its main source of income is agriculture and a little mining and sand and gravel because this city is also a host to a sand and gravel exporter.