We don't look down on you.

It was with these words that House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III tried to emphatize with Nueva Ecija farmer Danilo Bolos, and assure him and the government didn't treat like him and people like him as dirt, even if that’s exactly how the latter feels.

But Dy was still compelled to apologize, especially after Bolos' description of farmers' everyday struggles left the congressmen in attendance shaken.

"Unang-una po ay humihingi kami ng paumanhin, sa kagusutuhan lamang po ng ating gobyerno na matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga farmers, pero hindi po nangangahulugan na mababa po ang aming pagtingin sa inyo," Dy told Bolos during the joint public hearing of the Committee on Agriculture and Food and Committee on Ways and Means.

(First of all, we sincerely apologize. It is only out of the government's desire to address the needs of our farmers. But this does not mean that we hold you in low regard.)

"Mataas po ang respeto namin sa inyo. Kung wala po ‘yong masisipag nating farmers, hindi mabubuhay ang ating bansang Pilipinas (We have high respect for you. Our country the Philippines won't be able to live without our industrious farmers)," said the congressman from Isabela's 6th district.

However, this innate industriouness is almost like a curse for Bolos, who like countless other land tillers simply want to break out from the chains of poverty. If only they had this choice.

"Kami po’y talagang gusto nang tumigil sa aming pagsasaka subalit ito na po ‘yong buhay namin. 'Pag tumigil po kami paano po? Wala naman po kaming pupuntahang iba kun’di itong magbungkal lang ng lupa. Wala po talaga kaming alam kun’di itong pagtatanim ng palay o paggawa ng ating mga pagkain," Bolos said.

(We really want to stop farming, but this is our life. If we stop, what then? We have nowhere else to go but to till the land. We really know nothing else but to plant rice and produce our food.)

"Bagama’t kumakain po kami ng tatlong beses sa isang araw, eh hindi naman po sapat ‘yong aming kinikita. Sana po sa pamamagitan ng hearing po na ito maawakasan po sana ang aming paghihirap," appealed the downtrodden farmer.

(Although we eat three times a day, what we earn is still not enough. We hope that through this hearing, our hardship may finally come to an end.)

Self-pity 

During the hearing, Dy announced the good news that some one million farmers will each receive government "ayuda" or financial aid worth P7,000, to be facilitated by next year's budget. Bolos' raw reaction to this was of self-pity that probably caught the solons off guard.

"Kaya sana po ‘yong, ‘yong katulad po, nabanggit po kanina ni Speaker na magbibigay na naman po ng ayuda na halagang P7,000. Eh nangyayari po para kaming pulubi, ‘yong ayuda talaga naman pong hindi sapat para kami’y umahon," he told the joint panel.

(So we hope that, like what the Speaker mentioned earlier about giving another P7,000 in aid. What’s happening is we feel like beggars, because that aid is truly not enough for us to rise from poverty.)

Bolos then went to state in the plainest language what he believed was the most crucial assistance that the lawmakers can give to local farmers.

"Ang mahalaga po sa amin talaga ay ‘yong presyo ng palay, ‘yong amin pong produkto. Mabigyan lang po sana ng halaga ‘yong hirap namin (What's really important to us is the price of rice, our product. I hope our efforts would be given some value)."

He went on to name Republic Act (RA) No.11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law of 2019 as the single most harsh measure to their daily lives. ‘Yan po ang sadyang nagpahirap sa amin, mula’t sapul po ‘yan talagang dinamdam po namin ‘yan (That’s what really hurt us, from the very start, we really regretted that)."

Sounding heartbroken, Bolos narrated the repeated tragedy of their children walking out of lives since they couldn't handle poverty anymore.

"Halos marami na pong mga kasamahan naming mga anak hindi na po nakapag-aral, siya na po ang tumutulong sa magulang upang magsaka, subalit nando’n pa rin ang paghihirap kaya umaalis din po ‘yong bata na amin pong sanang katuwang sa pagsasaka, wala na rin po, umaalis na rin dahil nga sa sobrang hirap namin, sobrang hirap ng mga magulang," he said.

(Many of our fellow farmers’ children have stopped going to school. They now help their parents in farming, but the hardship remains. So even those children, who we hoped would be our partners in farming, end up leaving too, because of how difficult our lives are, how difficult it is for the parents.)

There was one more line from Bolos that made congressmen cringe--a reference to the flood control projects corruption scandal, where billions of public funds allegedly ended up in greedy pockets instead of farmers' toolboxes.

"Tulad na lang po ng mga kalsada sa aming bukirin, hindi po madaanan. Kalabaw man nababalahaw pa. Samantalang ginugugol pala natin ay bilyon-bilyon sa mga imprastraktura na nawawala naman," he said.

(Just like the roads in our farmlands, they’re impassable. Even carabaos get stuck. Meanwhile, billions are being spent on infrastructure that appear to be non-existent.)

Dy--known as an ally of farmers in his province--gave Bolos his best promise.

"Gagawin po namin ang lahat para matiyak na ang kapakanan ng bawat farmer dito po sa ating bansa ay talagang ma-proteksyunan natin hindi lamang sa larangan ng mga programa, na hinahatid ng ating Department of Agriculture (DA), kun’di lalong-lalo na mapataas natin at maging maganda, at maging maginhawa ang buhay ng bawat magsasaka," he said.

(We will do everything to ensure that the welfare of every farmer in our country is truly protected, not only through the programs delivered by our [DA], but more importantly, to uplift and improve the lives of every farmer and make their livelihood more comfortable.)

Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, agriculture panel chairman, assured Bolos that the Rice Tariffication Law was due for an overhaul.

"Makaka-asa po kayo, tulad po ng nabanggit ni Speaker Bojie, kami po ay sa kasalukuyan ay kaisa ng [DA] na inaayos po natin ‘yong RA No.11203 na ang hangarin po talaga namin dito ay matulungan po kayo, maging masaya po kayo na nagtatanim," he said.

(You can count on us, just as Speaker Bojie mentioned, we are currently working together with the [DA] to amend RA No. 11203. Our true intention here is to help you, and for you to find joy in farming.)

"At bukod po doon gusto po namin ay kumikita po kayo, at gusto po namin, ay ang pinaka-unang konsiderasyon po natin dito ay atin pong ma-protektahan ang lahat po ng rice farmers," Enverga added.

(And beyond that, we want you to earn a living, and we want our top priority here to be the protection of all rice farmers.)