Cognizant of her role in the development and commercialization of alternative products from tobacco, the Philippine Association of Tobacco-based Cooperatives (PATCO) endorsed on Saturday the appointment of National Tobacco Administration (NTA) officer-in-charge (OIC) Cristina Catu-Lopez as administrator of the agency.

“We respectfully appeal to President Aquino to appoint Ms. Lopez as NTA Administrator,” Andy Reyes, PATCO president, said.

Reyes said that Catu-Lopez, who hails from Tarlac City, is a “top caliber” executive of the tobacco agency and enjoys the confidence of the tobacco farmers.

PATCO, in endorsing the NTA official, asked President Aquino to “spare NTA from politicians who maybe having moist eyes on the agency and let professional managers lead the agency especially during this time when the tobacco industry is facing trouble spawned by the anti-smoking lobby.”

A cum laude graduate of St. Paul College in Manila and a Masters Degree holder in Business Administration, Lopez is the OIC-deputy administrator for support services of the NTA and concurrently administrative department manager.

She is about to complete a doctorate on Business Administration at the San Beda College.

She was designated OIC of the agency when Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion vacated the post on June 30 by virtue of Memorandum Circular No. 1 of the Aquino administration.

She headed the NTA’s Tobacco Dust Production Project that got the nod of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and led to the establishment last year of the country’s pioneer Tobacco Dust Processing Plant in Sto. Tomas, La Union.

Aside from dust which is now being used in Region 3 fishponds as an organic molluscicide in lieu of chemical pesticides, NTA is also developing other products from tobacco like pulp for the manufacture of paper, insecticides for mango, vegetables and flowers, and ethanol.

It was learned that a Tobacco Pulp Processing Plant is set to be built in Ilocos Sur after having passed government scrutiny and evaluation.

Meanwhile, the farmers said that with Lopez at the NTA’s helm, “we are assured of the continuing development and commercialization of the dust and other NTA-discovered alternative products from tobacco.”

“We are not only assured of additional income from our crop but also a sure fallback livelihood in the event the anti-smoking lobby succeeds in causing drastic setbacks in cigarette production,” the group said.