Task force formed to address food security issues amid Middle East crisis —Kiko

A task force has been organized by lawmakers and national agencies to address current challenges in the agriculture and fisheries sectors as a result of the heightened tensions in the Middle East, Senator Francis “Kiko Pangilinan said Tuesday.

Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, said that the "AGRI-AGRA Team,” which is composed of representatives from the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Congress, and local government units, met on Tuesday to discuss pressing concerns about food security.

“[Ito’y] para magkaroon ng task force na pagtutulungan natin i-monitor, bumuo ng isang ad hoc committee, crisis committee, and AGRI-AGRA team para bantayan itong magiging tulong suporta, ayuda, assistance, sa ating food security concerns,” he said.

(We met to create a task force that can work together to monitor, form an ad hoc committee, crisis committee, and AGRI-AGRA team to monitor the support, cash aid, and other assistance that will be given in relation to our food security concerns.)

Pangilinan also said that there is a current proposal for a “Bayanihan-type” of supplemental budget to address the looming energy and food crises brought about by the Middle East conflict.

The proposed budget refers to a special, accelerated financial appropriations patterned after the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, both of which were passed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Included in the proposed supplemental budget are provisions on additional interventions to ease the burden of the current crisis on Filipinos.

Last week, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency and ordered the adoption of a Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) for affected sectors.

A whole-of-government response was also activated to ensure energy supply stability, support key sectors such as transport, agriculture, and MSMEs, and protect Filipinos amid global oil supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. — BM, GMA News