Senator Francis Pangilinan backed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plan to boost the agricultural sector in the second half of his term, but stressed that words must be matched with action, proper funding, and clean spending.
In a July 29 interview on ANC’s Headstart, Pangilinan said he will use his Senate oversight powers to ensure the President’s promised P113-billion support for the Department of Agriculture (DA) is delivered and used correctly.
“Madaling magsalita pero pag di mo pinondohan ano lang yun, bukambibig lang yun. Hindi lamang additional budget, pero dapat correct spending, hindi corrupt spending,” he added.
Pangilinan warned against budget cuts to agriculture and last-minute insertions, like in the 2025 budget, where education funds were reallocated to infrastructure.
The senator also called for details on the P113-billion DA plan, citing his own proposal to raise the agri budget to P100 billion yearly for six years. He noted Taiwan spends $6 billion a year on agriculture for 23 million people—more than the Philippines does for nearly 120 million.
Lowering rice prices to P20 is possible, but only if you fund it and stop the stealing, according to him.
Meanwhile, Pangilinan criticized the administration for not maximizing his Sagip Saka Act, which allows direct government purchases from farmers and fisherfolk without public bidding.
“You want to secure our food and our agri output, you secure your farmers and your fisherfolk. Unless we secure our farmers and a significant amount of the budgetary support is to do that–access to credit, infrastructure, climate change resilience, disaster relief–lahat yan dapat at mabilis dapat ang intervention,” he concluded.IMT
