Despite the chaos that continues to wrap the storied halls of the Senate, four-term Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan carries on what he has vowed to do: go out in the fields, consulting with stakeholders such as farmers and fisherfolk, to shift away from political noise and focus on the advocacies that brought him to public service.
While political maneuvering is nothing new to the veteran lawmaker, the senator is making a deliberate step back from politicking, disinformation, and ad hominem attacks, choosing instead to continue leading the reforms needed by the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
His focus, he said, would continue to be uplifting the lives of farmers and fisherfolk, achieving food security, and ensuring that prices of basic commodities remain affordable for ordinary Filipinos.
There is no letting up in addressing the everyday struggles of agriculture and fisheries workers, he added.
Prioritizing the fulfillment of the mandate he has been given by the people is one way to regain public trust amid the controversies that have surrounded the Senate in recent weeks.
“In fact, yung Solid Bloc 11, ang aming layunin ay pabalikin o maibalik yung imahe at reputasyon ng Senado. How do we salvage after the scandal, after the shooting, itong sunod-sunod na maniobra na nakakalungkot? Yun ang layunin ng SB 11,” Pangilinan said in a media interview on the sidelines of his visit to Albay province to consult with farmers and fisherfolk regarding the impact of drought on their sectors.
“And kasama diyan, and I think kung ako ang tatanungin, isang mahalaga para manumbalik yung tiwala ay yung trabaho. Kaya ako narito kahit na maraming politika na nangyayari sa Maynila, sa Senado. Andito tayo sa Albay, andito tayo para isulong pa rin ang ating adbokasiya sa agriculture and fisheries,” he added.
The senator used to head the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform before the shakeup that installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano two weeks ago. The committee has been vacant since then.
For Pangilinan, the decision to refocus on his advocacies despite losing the chairmanship of the agriculture panel is neither political nor strategic. It is deeply personal.
He has consistently carried an identity tied to food security, rural development, and agricultural and fisheries reform for more than a decade, having run his own farm in Alfonso, Cavite since 2012.
He knows the struggles of farmers by heart, his own organic farm having experienced setbacks because of pests and weather disturbances.
From 2014 to 2015, he expanded his legislative work as the Aquino III administration’s Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, emphasizing, throughout his term, one central belief: that national progress begins in the countryside.
He has worked full-time as a farmer-entrepreneur since his 2022 vice-presidential defeat, but realized in 2025 that the sector needed him in the Senate to push for legislation that would drive reform and modernization.
Today, amid a political climate dominated by partisanship and disinformation, Pangilinan wants to draw attention back to what he says are “gut issues.”
“Kumakalam ang sikmura ng ating mga kababayan. Nanganganib na naman na magdusa ang ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda sa nalalapit na El Niño. Ang pulitika naman laging naririyan, pero hindi makakapaghintay ang gutom at kahirapan na araw-araw hinaharap ng mga Pilipino. Sana diyan tayo tumutok at hindi sa pag-angkin ng kapangyarihan,” he stressed.
The senator was in Albay province on Thursday, May 28, to attend the Agri Fiesta 2026 and hold consultations with several agriculture and fisheries stakeholders.