With 13 days to go before the opening of the 19th Congress on July 25, Senator Cynthia A. Villar filed her priority bills designed to further accelerate the country's agricultural growth, to preserve and conserve the environment, and to help Filipino entrepreneurs.

Villar will retain the chairmanship of the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Food, and Environment and Natural Resources in the upcoming Congress.

She held the same committees in the 18th Congress.

Her bills, Villar asserted, would help boost the country's food sustainability and sufficiency.

She also emphasized the country's livestock industry as a major concern during this time.

The livestock sector comprising of cattle, hogs, poultry, and dairy should feed the Filipino people. It can also reduce poverty in the countryside by giving raisers better income and jobs to farmers and their families.

Villar said the development of the industry could improve availability and affordability for a safe and nutritious livestock, poultry, and dairy products for the 110 million Filipinos.

"The draft bill on livestock, and poultry, together with the Yellow Corn Development Bill were crafted with the help of the NEDA (National Economic Development Authority) and in consultation with various stakeholders," she pointed out.

"The African Swine Fever (ASF) which hit the industry in 2019 resulted in the culling of thousands of pigs, wiping out entire farms and growers which adversely affected the P260 -billion swine industry of the country," she added.

Even until now, Villar said ASF is slowly moving towards areas that were not previously declared as infested or "red zones".

Also, Avian influenza or bird flu continues to spread across the country as new outbreaks have been recorded in Luzon and Mindanao.

Villar spelled out her bills on agriculture as follows:

1) Livestock, Poultry and Dairy Development and Competitiveness Act of 2022;

2) Yellow Corn Industry Development Act of 2022;

3) Marine Hatchery in Baybay City, Province of Leyte;

4) Marine Hatchery in the Municipality of Talacogon, Province of Agusan Del Sur;

5) New Land Bank of the Philippines Act;

6) Philippine Fiber Industry Development Program of 2022;

7) Integrated Urban Agriculture Act of 2022;

8) Agriculture Information System Act;

9) National Farmers, Fisherfolks and Agri-workers Day; and

10) Anti-Ilegal Movement of Animals or Plants.

The Villar bills related to the protection of our environmental and natural resources are as follows:

1) National Wetlands Conservation Act;

2) Revised Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act;

3) Integrated Coastal Management;

4) National Mangrove Forest Protection and Preservation;

5) Rainwater Harvesting Facility;

6) Paoay Lake Protected Landscape Act (Province of Ilocos Norte;

7) Taklong and Tandog Group of Islands Natural Park Act (Province of Guimaras); and

8) Minalungao Protected Landscape Act (Province of Nueva Ecija).

Villar said coastal environments that encompass different ecosystems such as shore lands, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs, are among the most productive and biologically diverse landscapes known to man.

"Coastal and marine areas are vital sources of food, minerals and raw materials while marine-related economic activities, including fisheries, marine transportation, tourism, coastal mining, and offshore oil and gas development make significant contributions to a country’s GDP (gross domestic product) as well as provide livelihood and employment opportunities to coastal communities," she explained.

Villar also filed two other bills- the Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month and Small and Medium Enterprises Stock Exchange (SMEX).

Villar said the bill on Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Act aims to declare the month of November every year as “Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month” to inculcate in every Filipino the wisdom of supporting our very own Filipino-made products and recognize Filipino producers.

The SMEX bill, on the other hand, seeks to assist Small and Medium Enterprises in obtaining their financing requirements from the developing capital market in the country.