Mindanao has the potential to become the Philippines’ “food basket,” which former senator and senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan will be working on if he wins a Senate seat in the coming midterm polls.
Manila Bulletin
Philippines
National
Pangilinan: With enough budget, Mindanao has potential to be PH's 'food basket'
Philippines
National
Pangilinan: With enough budget, Mindanao has potential to be PH's 'food basket'
Pangilinan: With enough budget, Mindanao has potential to be PH's 'food basket'
Published May 3, 2025 06:00 pm
Senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan and Megastar Sharon Cuneta wave to the crowd during a campaign rally in Marawi City. (Team Kiko Pangilinan)
Pangilinan and wife Megastar Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan visited Marawi City, Lanao del on Saturday, May 3, Sur to join the campaign rally of Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra.
When the former senator took the stage after being introduced by his wife, he lamented about the lost opportunities of Mindanao.
“Sabi nila (They said), Mindanao is the land of promise. But for so long the promise continues to be broken. Hindi nabibigyan ng sapat na suporta, lalo na dapat sana food basket ng ating buong bansa ang Mindanao (It isn’t receiving enough support, especially that Mindanao should be the food basket of the whole country),” he said.
There is still hope to turn that into reality as he explained the need to allocate an additional P100 billion to the Department of Agriculture (DA) each year for the next six years, to bring its total budget to P800 billion.
The DA’s current budget sits at about P200 billion.
Pangilinan said that the funding must be used to directly benefit farmers and fisherfolk by supporting mechanization, fertilizer and input subsidies, post-harvest facilities, cold storage, and farm-to-market roads.
Cuneta-Pangilinan, who went with the former senator to woo Mindanao voters, also serenaded them with her hit song, “Kung Kailangan Mo Ako”.
She was even joined on stage by Gandamra for a duet as the local officials’ supporters cheered them on.In his speech, Pangilinan thanked Marawi City residents for their trust, noting that he won in the city in the past three senatorial campaigns.
“For those three terms, because pinagkatiwalaan niyo ako, binigay niyo sa akin ang inyong tiwala, tiniyak ko na hindi ako nagtaksil, hindi tayo ni minsan nasangkot sa anumang kaso o anomalya (because you trusted me, you gave your trust to me, I made sure never to betray you, never did I got involved in anomalies),” he said.
With only nine days before Election Day, the former senator urged voters to choose candidates based on their solid track records and proven accomplishments. He also asked them to reject candidates who remained silent on critical issues hounding the country.