Amid soaring food prices and a looming dry spell that strongly affected fisherfolks and some 175,063 farmers in 163,694 hectares of land, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stepped down as Agriculture secretary in November 2023.
In his 17 months at the helm of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the president insisted on staying to quickly carry out sectoral reforms. Marcos finally heeded calls for him to give up the post and appointed billionaire and fishing tycoon Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to take his place.
With marching orders to tame the prices of agricultural commodities, Laurel pledged to modernize agriculture in the country and continue the initiatives laid down by Marcos.
In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year, the president made four promises to boost local agriculture production and achieve food security for the country. All those pledges are still in progress, while the two he made in his first SONA in 2022 remain unfulfilled.
Marcos refrained from mentioning his election campaign “aspiration” to bring down rice prices to P20 per kilo in his 2023 SONA. However, the DA persisted in following the chief executive’s order to expand Kadiwa stores and bring down rice prices by launching the Bigas 29 program, aimed to sell rice at P29 per kilo.
While Kadiwa stores and outlets sell rice at cheaper prices, the retail price for regular milled rice in July remained at P49.54 per kilo.
Other agriculture-related priority bills still have to be passed by Congress.
Amendments to the Anti-Smuggling Act have passed the third and final reading in both chambers, but a bicameral conference committee still has to be convened to harmonize disagreeing provisions in the two versions of the bill.
Legislators have yet to pass amendments to the Cooperative Code and Fisheries Code, while the National Land Use bill remained stalled in the Senate. In an interview on GMA News Online in May, proponent Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Matugas II attributed the delay to the clashing interests among stakeholders.
Take a closer look at how the president’s promises on agriculture have fared so far:
SONA YEAR: 2023SECTOR: Agriculture
- File charges against smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products and pass the amendment to the Anti-Smuggling Act
“Pandaraya ang kanilang ginagawa. Napapahamak hindi lamang ang mga magsasaka, kundi tayo na ring mga mamimili. Kaya hindi natin papayagan ang ganitong kalakaran. Bilang na ang mga araw ng mga smugglers at hoarders na ‘yan.”
Promise Status - Date: In progress - 07/12/2024
Promise Update:
- The House of Representatives unanimously approved on final reading the proposed Agri-Fishery Commodities and Tobacco Economic Sabotage Act of 2023 in September 2023.
- Under the bill, smuggling rice and other agricultural products is considered “economic sabotage,” punishable by life imprisonment.
- In December 2023, the Senate approved on final reading a similar bill, repealing the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.
- In February 2024, the DA formed a technical working group to aid Congress in amending the law and prepare its position and inputs on the proposed bills.
- Revise the Fisheries Code
“Our Fisheries Code must be revised to incorporate and strengthen science-based analysis and determination of fishing areas. This approach will protect both the interests of our fisherfolk and our fisheries and aquatic resources. To this end, we will seek the support of Congress to amend the Code to guarantee sustainable development of our fisheries sector in harmony with environmental balance.”
Promise Status - Date: In progress - 07/12/2024
Promise Update:
- DA Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla listed proposed amendments to the Fisheries Code, post-SONA discussions on food security on July 25, 2023. The list included establishing pre-border control to ensure the food safety of imported fish, identifying the fishing criteria in municipal waters and setting up catch limits and fishing days, among others.
- In 2023, the House approved a bill amending Section 108 of the Fisheries Code. A counterpart measure remains pending at the Senate committee level.
- Consultations with stakeholders, including concerns on the demarcation of fishing areas, are ongoing, according to recent reports from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
- Amend the Cooperative Code
“Tatlong-daang clusters na ang ating natukoy na binubuo ng halos 900 kooperatiba, at may lawak na mahigit 200,000 ektarya ng bukirin. Upang mas mapabilis at mas mapadali ang pagbuo ng kooperatiba, kakailanganin natin ang suporta ng Kongreso na maamyendahan ang Cooperative Code.”
Promise Status - Date: In progress - 07/12/2024
Promise Update:
- Congress approved in December 2023 a bill revising Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9520, or the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008.
- The Senate Committee on Cooperatives tackled House Bill No. 9673 and counterpart bills on May 15.
- Some proposed amendments to R.A. 9520 include limits on foreign investments and assistance, share capital holdings and specifications on cooperative membership guidelines.
- Find ways, such as reviving Kadiwa Centers, to bring down food prices
“Papalawigin pa natin ang Kadiwa… Our aim is to boost our local agricultural production — through consolidation, modernization, mechanization, and improvement of value chains–augmented by timely and calibrated importation, as needed.” (SONA 2023)
At gagawa tayo ng mga paraan upang maramdaman ng mga mamimili ang pagluluwag ng presyo ng mga produktong pagkain sa kayang halaga, gaya ng muling pagbubuhay ng mga Kadiwa Centers.
Promise Status - Date: In progress - 07/12/2024
Promise Update:
- In a press release on May 19, the DA announced that Kadiwa centers in Metro Manila would sell rice at P29/kilo.
- Last June, the National Food Authority (NFA) approved DA’s Bigas 29 program, which aims to sell “aging but good” rice stocks to select beneficiaries in Kadiwa sites. The program was launched for a large-scale trial run in 10 Kadiwa centers in Bulacan and Metro Manila on July 5.
- To date, there are 265 regular Kadiwa stores, and 121 pop-up stores nationwide.
- Create a national network of farm-to-market roads (FMRs)
Gagawa tayo ng national network ng farm-to-market roads upang mas mabilis na mailakbay ng mga magsasaka ang kanilang mga produkto sa mga pamilihan.
Promise Status - Date: In progress - 07/12/2024
Promise Update:
- The FMR project received a P30-million budget increase over the past year, from P130 million in 2023 to P160 million in 2024, including an additional P5 million for FMR rehabilitation.
- Marcos Jr. boasted on Jan. 8 that 51% of the projected national farm-to-market roads, or 67,328.92 kilometers of 131,410.66 km, have been completed.
- Pass National Land Use Act
As I am here today addressing the legislature, allow me now to propose legislation that we would like you to pass in support of these programs… National Land Use Act. This will provide for a rational and holistic management and development of our country’s land and water resources; hold owners accountable for making these lands productive and sustainable; strengthen the LGU to manage ecological balance within its jurisdiction. It also provides for Land Use and Physical Planning/Framework as a mechanism in determining policies and principles to implement this legislative measure.
Promise Status - Date: Stalled - 07/12/2024
Promise Update:
- The proposed National Land Use Act was passed by the House of Representatives in May 2023 but remains at the committee level in the Senate.
- The Asian Development Bank and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies have renewed calls for a national land use policy to advance disaster risk management and mitigate conflicts.
