Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday, August 24 called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent a bill institutionalizing the extension services provided by the government to farmers and fisherfolk.

Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan opposes the proposal of lowering the age of criminal responsibility for heinous crimes, expressing his strong belief that the problem is in the implementation of the law. Pangilinan said the solution to the problem of juvenile delinquencies is not by amending the existing law (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act or Republic Act 9344) but by proper implementation. (Senate PRIB photo)

Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, said this is to ensure rural development and uplift the living conditions of agricultural workers.

The senator said he plans to ask the President to certify Senate Bill No. 1182, or the Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Act of 2025, which he filed last August 13, as a priority.

In his privilege speech last week about the state of the country’s agricultural sector, Pangilinan underscored the need for agricultural extension services at the provincial and municipal levels, as well as the strengthening of agricultural cooperatives.

“We will begin hearings on this and we ask the president to certify these bills as urgent—extension service and strengthening of agriculture coops under the DA (Department of Agriculture),” the senator said.

Pangilinan said he has personal awareness of the systematic failure to provide extension services to farmers and fisherfolk.

As a farmer-CEO who has been running his own farm in Alfonso, Cavite for more than a decade, the senator said the nearest DA regional office to him was located three hours away—in Lipa, Batangas.

Due to the remoteness of DA offices, local farmers and fisherfolk are unable to access critical government services such as loans, financial aid for pesticides and fertilizers, technical training, and many more.

Pangilinan said passage of the bill into law will pave way for the creation of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Agency—replacing the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)—to serve “as the national apex organization for a unified and efficient agriculture and fisheries extension system of the country.”

“It shall ensure that public extension services meet the national standards of performance and effectively contribute towards the achievement of the national goals of agriculture and fisheries modernization and sustainable development,” he added.

Likewise, the proposed law will mandate the hiring of several agriculture experts—provincial agriculture and fisheries officer (PAFO), assistant PAFO for fisheries development, assistant PAFO for agriculture development, city agriculturist and fisheries officer (CAFO), and municipal agriculture and fisheries officer.