Villanueva: Is a proposed declaration of a state of emergency for the agri sector necessary?
Senator Joel Villanueva, the shoo-in Senate Majority Leader in the 19th Congress, said he is ready to discuss with the Marcos administration on proposals to declare a state of emergency for the agriculture sector amid fears of an emerging food crisis.
A the 19th Congress is scheduled to open on July 25, Villanueva said he would ask the Department of Agriculture (DA) for an assessment on the current state of the Philippine agriculture sector.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, is currently the temporary DA secretary.
The DA, according to Villanueva, should submit plans alongside the proposals of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI).
PCAFI had called on President Marcos to declare a nationwide "state of calamity" for food sufficiency and immediately mobilize funds for the agriculture sector to address current food supply challenges.
PCAFI president Danilo Fausto, had laid out various plans that the chamber earlier presented during their meeting with Marcos on Thursday, July 7, 2022.
Among these include the declaration of a state of calamity to deal with the food crisis, increase of local food production and immediate mobilization of funds for Philippine agriculture.
Fausto said it is "necessary" for the government to declare a statewide state of calamity to attain food sufficiency "so that the President can encourage and direct the local government units (LGUs) to direct some of those funds for agricultural production.”
‘’First things first: kailangan ba talagang magdeklara pa ng state of emergency? (Is a declaration of a state of emergency necessary?). Talaga po bang state of emergency ang rekomendasyon para solusyonan ang problema sa agrikultura? (Will the proposed state of emergency solve the problems in agriculture?),’’ Villanueva asked.
‘’Kung ilalaan natin ang bahagi ng budget ng mga LGU sa food production, ilang trabaho po ang malilikha o matutulungan nito? (How many jobs will be created when a part of the budgets of local government units (LGUs are used for food production?) Aling mga proyekto o programa ang masasakripisyo dahil sa reallocation ng budget? (How many projects or programs will be sacrificed because of a reallocation of their budgets?),’’ he said.
Villanueva also asked how long would a state of emergency last and what are the targets to be met before it could be said that the crisis is over.
‘’Paano natin masu-sustain ang magiging bunga ng aksyon natin matapos ang state of emergency? (How will the success of such emergency be sustained?) Ilan lamang po ito sa mga tanong na dapat masagot ng panukala (These are but some of the questions that require answers),’’ he added.
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