• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The P20 per kilogram of rice is attainable and can be sustained if the agricultural sector is modernized, according to former Senator Francisco “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Pangilinan, a former chair of the Senate committee on Agriculture and Food, said “we should have at least a P200 billion increase annually in the next six years, so that we can really modernize our agricultural sector. That’s when you can achieve P20 per kilo of rice.”
The Department of Agriculture is set to launch the P20-per-kilo rice program, following the Commission on Elections approval to roll out the initiative.
It said the rice will come from the buffer stocks of the National Food Authority, which reached a five-year high of 7.17 million 50-kilogram bags of milled rice. As of the latest data, the inventory has risen further to 7.56 million bags – enough to feed the country for an estimated 10 days.
Also a former Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, Pangilinan, who is seeking a return to the Senate, said “we can make it sustainable if we have more financial capital flowing into agricultural and fishery sectors, by way of post-harvest facilities, equipment, crop accident and health insurance, as well as the necessary infrastructure.”
He cited Vietnam and Thailand, which either doubled or tripled their budgets for the agriculture sector, compared to the Philippines, which allocated a smaller budget.
Clearly, budgetary increase is necessary, said Pangilinan, whose bid to return to the Senate got the endorsements of Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and former Governor Rafael Coscolluela.
It can be done, but you need to put your money where your mouth is, so that there will be food in our people’s mouth, he stressed.
Pangilinan, who thanked the support of Lacson and Coscolluela, acknowledged that the endorsements are expected to boost his senatorial bid, considering Negros Occidental is among the vote rich provinces in the country, with registered voters of more than two million.
Right now, the race is very tight, with nine candidates tied for the last three slots, the former senator said, citing survey results.
With the endorsements of Lacson and Coscolluela, Pangilinan, who is the husband of Sharon Cuneta, said “we hope we will consolidate our 10th place and reach the finish line.”
To capture votes, political machinery is needed, where voters rely on local chief executives, he stressed.*
