Former senator and senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan wants the Department of Agriculture (DA) to have an additional P8-billion budget across six years to establish drying and cold storage facilities and other aid-related support for farmers.


In an interview over Radyo Natin Odiongan in Romblon province on Wednesday, April 16, the former senator said lowering the prices of rice will rely on the kind of support agricultural workers like farmers receive from the government.


“Yung dagdag natin pondong yun, susuportahan natin sa drying facilities, sa pataba, sa fertilizer, sa pestisido ang ating mga magsasaka. Susuportahan natin sa cold storage,” he explained.


“Kayang pababain ang presyo ng bigas pero sabi nga, you put your money where your mouth is. You do not put the money in your pocket as a public servant,” he added.


The former senator also lamented recent surveys showing that 36% of Filipinos are experiencing hunger because of the high prices of food and other goods.


To address this, Pangilinan said the government must fully implement the Sagip Saka Act, a law he authored and passed during his last term in the Senate.


The law allows national and local governments to purchase food directly from farmers and fisherfolk without public bidding and the restrictions of the procurement law.


With access to government agencies as a market, the former senator said that farmers will have increased revenues that will empower them to produce more crops and other goods. An improved supply chain will bring down the prices of food in the market.


As a former food security secretary during the Aquino administration, Pangilinan, who had been advocating for food security for the past 15 years, recalled his success in bringing down rice inflation and overall inflation in 2015.


In his one-year term as food security czar, he was able to lower rice inflation from 15% to 0.8% in just one year, while overall inflation was down to 1.5%.


To lower the prices of rice then, he also authorized the National Food Authority (NFA) to sell rice at P27 to P32 per kilo.


“Noong nakita ng mga traders na mura ang kinakalat namin na bigas, nagbaba na rin sila ng presyo,” he recalled, adding that he also went after smugglers and blacklisted abusive traders and middlemen.


“Kaya nating gawin noon, kaya ulit gawin ngayon,” Pangilinan said.


Meanwhile, the former senator also reminded other candidates to focus on finding solutions for the country’s problems amid current tensions in politics.


“Sa halip, tutukan natin ang problema ng pagkain… Sana tutukan natin yung issues na malapit sa ating mga kababayan. Diba dapat yun ang dahilan para tumakbo at bumoto?,” he asked.


If he wins a seat in next month’s midterm elections, he promised to work with all, regardless of political color.


“Ang gutom walang kulay. Ang solusyon ay walang kulay. Tutukan natin ang daing ng taumbayan hindi lamang dahil yun ang ating mandato kundi iyon ang karapat-dapat na serbisyong publiko na matanggap ng ating mga kababayan,” Pangilinan added.