Cynthia Villar: Galunggong is expensive, eat vegetables instead
Published Dec 10, 2019 12:00 am
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senator Cynthia Villar has told the public anew: Don't eat galunggong (round scad) if it is too expensive.
Senator Cynthia Villar
(PRIB Photo by Albert Calvelo/ Senate of the Philippines) Villar, chair of the Senate agriculture and food committee, repeated her advice Tuesday after the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced it is planning to import the commodity due to increasing prices and declining supply. She said the public should consume food that is available and more affordable. "Ako naman, eh kung mahal ang galunggong, eh 'di huwag kumain ng galunggong, di ba? There are other alternatives na pwedeng gawin. Bakit ba gustong- gusto niyo 'yong galunggong kung mahal ang galunggong? Eh lalong nae-encourage yong price increase, bakit 'di kayo kumain ng gulay?” Villar told reporters in an interview. (For me, if round scad is expensive, then don't eat it, right? There are other alternatives. Why do you like it so much if it is too costly? That just encourages price increases. Why don't you eat vegetables instead?) Vegetables, she said, are much healthier and might address malnutrition among children, citing the recent international education assessment finding the Philippines at the bottom in terms of reading, math, and science. The senator also scored the DA for supposedly insisting on importing galunggong when it should be promoting self-sufficiency of the country's food supply. "'Yang galunggong na 'yan masyadong kontrobersyal. Gustong-gusto nila mag-import, may naglalakad pa sa akin na bigyan daw sila ng import permit sa galunggong. Bakit ba patay na patay tayo? Mahal na ang galunggong, huwag kumain ng galunggong,” she said. (That round scad is too controversial. They insist on importing, there was even one trader asking me to endorse to the DA the issuance of his import permit. Why do we want it so badly? Galunggong is now expensive, we should not be eating it anymore.) "Madami namang choices, bakit ba iniinsist 'yan (There are many other choices, why insist on it)?" she added. Villar has consistently been opposed to the importation of galunggong. She gave similar advice in 2018 when the DA also planned to regularly import the so-called "poor man's fish" to increase supply and solve rising prices. Meanwhile, Villar said the Department of Trade and Industry should conduct inspections to make sure that traders and stores are complying with the suggested retail prices of food.
Senator Cynthia Villar(PRIB Photo by Albert Calvelo/ Senate of the Philippines) Villar, chair of the Senate agriculture and food committee, repeated her advice Tuesday after the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced it is planning to import the commodity due to increasing prices and declining supply. She said the public should consume food that is available and more affordable. "Ako naman, eh kung mahal ang galunggong, eh 'di huwag kumain ng galunggong, di ba? There are other alternatives na pwedeng gawin. Bakit ba gustong- gusto niyo 'yong galunggong kung mahal ang galunggong? Eh lalong nae-encourage yong price increase, bakit 'di kayo kumain ng gulay?” Villar told reporters in an interview. (For me, if round scad is expensive, then don't eat it, right? There are other alternatives. Why do you like it so much if it is too costly? That just encourages price increases. Why don't you eat vegetables instead?) Vegetables, she said, are much healthier and might address malnutrition among children, citing the recent international education assessment finding the Philippines at the bottom in terms of reading, math, and science. The senator also scored the DA for supposedly insisting on importing galunggong when it should be promoting self-sufficiency of the country's food supply. "'Yang galunggong na 'yan masyadong kontrobersyal. Gustong-gusto nila mag-import, may naglalakad pa sa akin na bigyan daw sila ng import permit sa galunggong. Bakit ba patay na patay tayo? Mahal na ang galunggong, huwag kumain ng galunggong,” she said. (That round scad is too controversial. They insist on importing, there was even one trader asking me to endorse to the DA the issuance of his import permit. Why do we want it so badly? Galunggong is now expensive, we should not be eating it anymore.) "Madami namang choices, bakit ba iniinsist 'yan (There are many other choices, why insist on it)?" she added. Villar has consistently been opposed to the importation of galunggong. She gave similar advice in 2018 when the DA also planned to regularly import the so-called "poor man's fish" to increase supply and solve rising prices. Meanwhile, Villar said the Department of Trade and Industry should conduct inspections to make sure that traders and stores are complying with the suggested retail prices of food.