By Ellson Quismorio It's hard to highlight any "positive" developments to come out directly because of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis. But if the government plays its cards correctly, local farmers might become more appreciated than ever before as the country moves to secure its food supply. Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte
(FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte bared during Monday's special session at the House of Representatives a significant jump in farmgate prices of palay or unhusked rice ever since the pandemic began to affect the Philippines. "One positive aspect na nangyari po dito sa COVID ay tumaas na po ang buying ng palay. Dati po ay P10 to P12 , ngayon po ay balita ko ay P19 to P20 na (One positive aspect to have happened because of COVID is the hike in the buying price of palay. Before it was P10 to P12 per kilo, now I hear it's P19 to P20)," said Villafuerte, a former vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "Ang mga local traders ay agresibo nang namimili ng bigas ngayon...so ang mga farmer ay may positibo silang balita (Local traders have been aggressively buying rice...so that means there's positive news for farmers)," he said. At that time, Villafuerte was sponsoring House Bill (HB) 6616, or the measure that seeks to grant President Duterte with emergency powers that he can use to address the COVID-19 pandemic head on. These powers include allowing the President to realigning funds in the current P4.1-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) as he sees fit for the purpose. The designated interpellator, Ang Magsasaka Party-List Rep. Argel Cabatbat, made a manifestation on the Philippines' need to assure food self-sufficiency during these uncertain times. "Baka dumating ang panahon na magkaproblema ang ibang bansa at bigla silang magdesisyon na huwag nang magpadala ng pagkain dito sa Pilipinas at baka kulangin tayo (There might come a time when other countries, due to their own problems, decide to stop importing food and cause a shortage in the Philippines)," he said. Cabatbat is a top critic of Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, which did away with the old quantitative restrictions on rice imports in exchange of tariffs. This liberalized the entry of imported rice to the county, which caused local palay prices to plummet. Rice is the staple food of Filipinos. For 2019, it was estimated that the Philippines imported a record three million metric tons of rice, mainly due to the tarrification regime. The P19 to P20 per kilo price is close to the farm gate price of palay before RA 11203's enactment early last year. There are 2.5 million Filipino rice farmers. Farmers to save PH from hunger Pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cabatbat said: "Sana po matuto tayo ngayon sa pangyayaring ito at siguraduhin na kaya nating pakainin ang ating sarili na hindi nakadepende sa ibang bansa. Ang dapat nating gawin dyan, dapat magbigay tayo ng tulong at ayuda sa ating mga magsasaka para masigurado na habang mayroon tayong krisis, mapapakain natin ang ating mga kababayan." (We should learn from this occurrence and ensure that we can feed ourselves without depending on other countries. What we should do is to give assistance and support to our farmers to ensure that our countrymen won't go hungry during the crisis.) "Bukod sa mga front-liners natin, pasalamatan din po natin ang ating mga magsasaka na ilang dekada na natin inapi at ipinagsawalang-bahala. Sa bandang huli po, isa rin sila sa mga bayani na magsasalba sa Pilipinas (Aside from our front-liners, let's also thank our farmers whom we have neglected for decades. In the end, they are among the heroes who will save the Philippines)," he added. Villafuerte agreed with the party-list solon in that achieving food self-sufficiency is a must. "Importante po iyan dahil bawat bansa po ngayon ay may problema. Gusto rin nila pangalagaan ang kanilang pagkain (That's important because each country now has a problem. They also want to secure their food supply)." "Kagabi lang nakausap ko si Secretary Dar, marami na po silang mga magagandang programa to make our country self-sufficient in terms of food. Syempre kailangan ng pondo niyan. In times like these, kailangan ng quick action (I spoke to Secretary Dar just last night, they have a lot of great programs to make our country self-sufficient in terms of food. Of course these need funds. In times like these, quick action is needed). "That's why there's really a need to pass this measure," he explained.