Quirino Gov. Dax Cua has called on the national government to immediately draft a plan to operationalize President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for local government units to closely coordinate with the administration to ensure the country’s food supply.
Cua, chairman of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), assured that they fully support Marcos’ call.
“Tama ang Pangulo (The President is right). We need a plan, and we need to work closely together. We need the national government, which sees the whole picture, to show us how such inter-governmental and inter-provincial coordination could be operationalized to secure our food supply,” Cua noted.
“Makakaasa ang pambansang pamahalaan na ang buong LPP ay makikiisa sa layunin na ito (The national government can expect full support from the LPP),” he added.
Cua said Marcos noted the need for coordination during a recent meeting with the LPP.
“We have to coordinate our efforts on food supply. We cannot just allow ‘bahala na kayo (on your own),’” Cua, quoting Marcos during the meeting, said.
Cua noted the President's call for planning, saying it will give an idea of the provinces’ cropping schedules, yield, soil problems, and use of fertilizer.
He believes that working together amid the threat of climate change is good.
“It gets more difficult for local governments to stabilize supply, we cannot work as separate islands, but rather as a closely inter-linked chain,” said Cua.
Cua said that “with the national government having a clear picture of the needs and activities of the provinces,” the practice of doing “one size fits all” solutions could be eliminated.
“That’s why we need a system where the strengths, weaknesses, assets, and needs of provinces in terms of agriculture are mapped, so that we can ensure that the support the national government provides will actually be put to use.”