Former senator Kiko Pangilinan has his eyes on the prize if he regains a Senate seat in the 20th Congress: Bring food prices down akin to what he did when he was food security secretary during the Aquino administration.
 

Senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan shares a selfie with Toni Gonzaga during his interview on the TV host's YouTube show, "Tony Talks". (Photo from Kiko Pangilinan via Facebook)

In an interview with TV host Toni Gonzaga on her vlog “Toni Talks,” the former official and once vice presidential candidate talked candidly about his plans for a Senate comeback and why it had to be delayed by three years.
 

One reason why Pangilinan is so eager to make a comeback is to push for his advocacy of lowering food, particularly rice, prices.
 

“That was my advocacy. Para bang sinasabi sa akin, eh ikaw ang marunong magpababa ng presyo ng pagkain. Nababa mo na dati, so ito na (It’s like someone’s telling me that you’re the one who knows how to lower the prices of goods. You were able to do it before, so this is it),” he shared. 
 

“So, I said sige let’s fight, let’s offer ourselves and try to find a solution to that problem of high food prices,” the ex-senator and food security chief added.
 

Pangilinan, a lawyer by profession but had advocated for food security for years, has the data to back up his claims of the only one being able to lower food prices.
 

When he was appointed by former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III as food security czar in 2014, rice inflation was at 15 percent.
 

He was able to bring this down to less than one percent—just 0.8 percent within a year. This was the lowest recorded in two decades.
 

During his tenure, rice prices stabilized between P36 and P38 per kilo.
 

He did this by coming after smugglers, abusive traders, and hoarders, as well as by confiscating billions worth of smuggled rice, filing criminal charges, and revoking permits.
 

Despite being from the other side of the political spectrum, Pangilinan already said he is willing to work with the Marcos administration in bringing food prices down, adding that hunger has no political color.
 

In fact, he already shared plans to appeal to President Marcos to run after those who abuse the system.
 

“Well, first magpa-file tayo ng resolusyon para imbistigahan bakit mataas ang presyo ng pagkain. Nasaan amg problema, sino ang mga nagsasamantala, bakit hindi sila hinahabol (we will file a resolution to investigate why food prices are high. Where’s the problem, who are abusing it, why are they not being held liable),” Pangilinan said.
 

He is optimistic that if Marcos could be convinced to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) because of the Senate hearings, then he could also be persuaded to fix the agricultural sector and go after those who abuse the system.
 

“Ayusin natin ‘yung kahirapan ng farmers at fisherfolk. Naniniwala ako na hindi tayo magiging progresibong bansa hangga’t hindi natin inaayos ‘yung sektor ng agrikultura (Let us fix the poverty among farmers and fisherfolk. I believe we cannot be a progressive country until we fix our agricultural sector),” he stressed.
 

‘Original plan’
 

Pangilinan was supposed to run as a senator in 2022 before former vice president Leni Robredo decided to seek the presidency and ask him to become her running mate.
 

This, as well as his advocacies, is the reason why he’s gunning for a Senate comeback despite already serving three terms previously.
 

“Because that was my original plan,” he said.
 

But the former senator stressed there were no regrets in foregoing his chance to run as senator in the 2022 elections.
 

“That defeat led me to where I am today. It opened up beautiful opportunities and therefore this defeat will likewise open up opportunities and bring us to purpose. We just have to have faith,” he said.
 

“It was a great honor and a privilege to have fought that fight and I’m thankful that we were able to inspire many people. Maybe not yet enough di ba? Sabi ko nga (right? As I said), when you are passionate about social transformation there’s no such thing as failure, only delayed success,” Pangilinan added.
 

But in his three terms as a senator and despite the laws he has passed and advocacies he pushed for, he considers this his greatest achievement: “I have never been in any acts of corruption or anti-graft.”