VP aspirant Pangilinan vows to address hunger among Filipinos

Senator and vice presidential bet Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said Sunday that he would address hunger in the country, and ensure food security through agriculture and the fisheries sector if he wins in the May 9 polls.

At the launch of his Vice Presidential campaign dubbed “Biyahe ni Kiko: Hello Pagkain, Goodbye Gutom,” Pangilinan said he would double the budget of the Agriculture department to address hunger.

He noted that the Department of Agriculture (DA) originally proposed a budget of P231 billion for 2022, but the Budget department only recommended P91 billion to Congress.

“[Ang] crop insurance, disaster relief assistance, immediate assistance ay importante. ‘Yung suporta sa pataba, ‘yung suporta sa farm implements, ‘yung access sa mga merkado, lahat ‘yan kailangan talagang maramdaman ng magsasaka,” he said.

(Crop insurance, immediate disaster and relief assistance are important. Also, farmers need support for fertilizer and farm implements, and the access to markets.)

Earlier, Vice President and presidential bet Leni Robredo -- Pangilinan’s running mate -- also vowed to double the budget of the agriculture sector within her six-year term if she wins the presidency.

“Sabay sa pag-doble ng budget ng agrikultura ay dapat triplehin o i-quadruple ‘yung pagbantay dun sa pondo upang matiyak na ang pakinabang ay direktang mayroong kinalaman sa kapasidad ng ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda,” Pangilinan said.

(Along with the doubling of the agriculture budget, tripled or quadrupled monitoring of the use of fund must be done to ensure that its impact is directly related to the production capacity of our farmers and fishermen.)

Further, Pangilinan said that he also plans to fully implement the Republic Act No. 11321 or the Sagip Saka Act.

This measure establishes the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program of the Department of Agriculture, which has a comprehensive set of objectives, targets, and holistic approach in promoting the establishment of enterprises involving agricultural and fishery products.

“Full implementation ng Sagip Saka Act will actually free up about P30 to 40 billion worth of purchases of the Department Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) of agricultural products directly from the farmers,” he said.

“Pagkatumaas na ang kita ng magsasaka at mangingisda, dadami ang kanilang ani, dadami ang kanilang kita, dadami ang suplay ng pagkain, babagsak ang presyo, lahat tayo ang makikinabang,” he added.

(If the income of the farmers and fishermen increases, their harvest will increase, the food supply will increase, prices will fall, and we will all benefit from the program.)

Pangilinan who served as a Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization and National Food Authority Council chair during the Noynoy Aquino administration, also noted that a significant portion of the proposed additional agriculture budget should be allocated for climate crisis resiliency.

He added that there should also be additional infrastructure and technology for the farming and fishing communities.

Pangilinan said that the “Biyahe ni Kiko: Hello Pagkain, Goodbye Gutom” drive  could serve as a window for debate and discussion, and action on one of the most critical problems in our country which is the high prices of food, resulting in hunger and malnutrition.

Earlier, Pangilinan said that he wants to serve in a Cabinet post related to agriculture in the event Robredo gets elected as president. —LBG, GMA News