Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday, October 26 commended the issuance of Executive Orders (EO) Nos. 100 and 101 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., describing these initiatives as a “big win” for farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole.

The President signed EO No. 100, which establishes a floor price for government purchases of palay, and EO No. 101, which fully implements Republic Act (RA) No. 11321, the Sagip Saka Act.

The EOs, along with the ongoing rice import ban, aim to boost the country’s agricultural sector and improve farmer incomes during the harvest season, Pangilinan noted.

“This is a huge win for our farmers and the agricultural sector. We are grateful to the President and all of our partners in advancing these two executive orders,” said Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform.

The senator earlier met with President Marcos and various government officials to push for the two directives amid the sharp drop in palay farmgate prices and the volatility of the prices of agricultural goods.

“These EOs demonstrate that when the government listens to farmers and takes decisive action, we can ensure that those who feed the nation are able to live with dignity,” Pangilinan added.

“When we advocated for the Sagip Saka Act, this is the kind of support we envisioned for our farmers and fisherfolk. It is high time they reap the rewards of their hard work,” he stressed.

EO No. 100, series of 2025, directs the Department of Agriculture (DA) to set a floor price for the government purchases of palay by taking into consideration the production costs, prevailing market prices, reasonable margins for farmers, welfare of farmers and consumers, and other relevant factors.

EO No. 101, series of 2025, directs the full implementation of RA No. 11321, also known as the Sagip Saka Act, which was principally authored and sponsored by Pangilinan.

The Sagip Saka law empowers the national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to purchase food directly from farmers and fisherfolk without the need for public bidding.

Based on the EO, all national government agencies and instrumentalities—including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and LGUs—are mandated to implement RA No. 11321.

Pangilinan has been instrumental in advocating for the rights and welfare of farmers and fisherfolk, expressed his gratitude for the support given by various government agencies and officials.

With the EOs now signed, the lawmaker pushed for a whole-of-nation approach in uplifting the lives of farmers and fisherfolk, achieving food security through a more stable food supply chain, and lowering the prices of goods for Filipinos.

“With the palay floor price in place, farmers are no longer at the mercy of middlemen. Together, these measures will help uplift the lives of millions of rural families,” the senator said.

“But let us make sure that this momentum continues. Let us not stop at these EOs — let us strengthen our entire agri value chain by fighting against rampant corruption and abuse in the sector and putting accountability, transparency, and good governance at the core of our service to the people,” the senator emphased.