With the 2026 budget deliberations in the Senate set to begin next week, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan issued a stern reminder to heads of different government agencies to prepare their plans for the full implementation of the Sagip Saka Act in their respective food programs.
In a media interview while in Baguio City on Thursday, August 28, Pangilinan shared that part of the reason he ran as senator was because of the failure to implement the Sagip Saka Act—a law he authored and passed in 2019 that allows national government agencies and local government units to purchase produce directly from farmers and fisherfolk without public bidding.
“Kaya kung may mga nanonood na department heads of agencies ng gobyerno sa national eh maghanda kayo sumagot sa tanong ko,” the senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, said.
“Anong plano nyo para bumili under this law—direkta na bumili from farmers and fisherfolk at kapag wala kayong plano eh hindi ko ipapa-approve, ide-defer ko budget nyo hanggat may plano kayo,” he added.
If properly implemented, the law can bring down the prices of food, stabilize the supply chain, achieve food security, and increase the income of farmers and fisherfolk.
Among the government-run agencies and instrumentalities that Pangilinan said must implement the law are state colleges and universities, public hospitals and rural health clinics, correctional facilities, and the social welfare department for their calamity relief aid and other social assistance programs.
“It can be done. It should be done and we’re pushing it,” the senator stressed.
He said that he wants to see the plans being implemented during the harvest season before Christmas this year, so that farmers and fisherfolk can earn extra income for their families.