Outgoing Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Tuesday, June 14 said the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. should do as much for the Philippine agriculture sector especially in light of a potential food crisis brought on by the war in Ukraine.
“We really need to step up in terms of prioritizing food security. I will reiterate infrastructure is important, enegy and power, transportation, telecommunications—it is all important...but it would be difficult to live without food. We can’t live without food,” Pangilinan said in an interview with ANC’s Headstart.
“And yet the priority of food security in the country seems to be set aside and that’s should never be the case, and that’s precisely what other countries have seen, but we continue to lag behind,” the senator lamented.
For one, Pangilinan said the country needs to veer away from subsistence farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock farmers raise are used to maintain the farmer and the farmer’s family without any extra.
He said Philippine agriculture should move towards farm enterprise management and development so that farmers can see their income, capacity and productivity increase.
Likewise, he said the government should increase the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“Put your money where your mouth is. If you want to look at the big picture, if you combine agriculture and irrigation, it’s about P115-billion total annually. That’s a little over two percent of the entire budget,” he said.
At the same time, Pangilinan questioned the government’s propensity to rely on importation which directly affects local production. He pointed out importation should only be enforced as a stop-gap measure.
Asked what he intends to do after his stint in the Senate and after having lost in his vice presidential bid, Pangilinan said he intends to resume his farming activities.
“I have no regrets of running. I was able to bring the agenda of our farmers front and center and will continue to do so,” said the lawmaker.
“I did step down in 2013 and became a full-time farmer. And our agriculture advocacies continue...So yeah, life will go on, farming is my priority. The challenges to farming continue, people will still have to eat regardless of the outcome of the elections,” he stressed.
Asked if he would help the Marcos administration, Pangilinan said he would be willing to help “in any way if it is good for the country.”
“If the programs are good, yes, we will support. But if the programs, to our minds, are insufficient, then let us push for better programs and saying we should be able to approach it differently,” he said.
“And that has always been our position ever since under the administration of former President Gloria Arroyo, former President Noynoy (Benigno Aquino III), and President Duterte. If we think it should be supported, we would. And you know, we endorsed, passed, voted in favor of several and many of these measures pushed by the administration,” he said.
“So sana many of our viewers would also be discerning. Because we have been demonized by certain sectors (saying) na walang nagawa, at puro batikos (kami) etcetera, which is farthest from the truth. And we hope that our citizens will see through with these information, dahil meron naman talagang (there was really) disinformation,” Pangilinan said.