President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. highlighted the importance of better coordination mechanisms between the national and local governments in the area of food supply.
Marcos said this during his meeting with members of the League of Provinces of the Philippines on Thursday, August 11.
In his speech, the President pointed out that planning will be the key to better coordination between agencies as this will give them an idea about their cropping schedules, yield, soil problems, and fertilizer use.
"We have to coordinate our efforts on food supply. We cannot just allow 'Bahala na kayo (You're on your own,'" Marcos said.
"This has to be part of a plan, and that is why, more than ever, the President needs the help of governors. Dati, ang (Before) agriculture, for example, was really under the national government," he added.
Aside from food supply, Marcos sought strengthened coordination in the field of digitalization, noting that provinces have done a better job on this than the national government.
"Marami sa inyong medyo progressive, inunahan niyo na ang (Many of you are progressive, you're even ahead of the) national government. Now, we have to bring the system together.
"Kailangan yung information na hawak ng isang probinsya, ng isang agency, accessible doon sa kabila (The information a province or an agency has must be accessible to others) as long as they have authorization," he added.
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Marcos discussed his administration's plan for digital transformation. This includes the rollout of National IDs, implementation of the National Broadband Plan and the common tower program, and connecting geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas via the so-called 'Broad Band ng Masa' project.