Senatorial candidate Jack Enrile talked passionately about his vision for the country: “Murang pagkain, maraming pagkain.”
He said he could talk about it the whole day.
“Bakit hindi? Ang daming nagugutom na Pilipino kahit pa ekta-ektarya ang lupa natin,” he said during an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) yesterday, April 23, at Annabel’s restaurant, Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City.
The son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile knew the subject well, even if he grew up in privileged society.
Moving on, “Nakakatakot po na 45 percent po ng mga household natin, sinasabi po nila, kulang na kulang ang kinakain po nila sa pang-araw-araw.
“Sa ibang bansa, ang percentage po ng kanilang take-home pay na napupunta po dun sa gastusin sa pagkain, sa developed countries, averaging between 12-16 percent.
“Dito po sa Pilipinas, 65 percent of our take-home pay, napupunta po sa pagkain. Kulang na nga po, ang mamahal pa.”
Hence, he came up with action plans that aim to: 1) increase the productivity of lands 2) improve the capability of farmers 3) ensure the capability of provinces to feed the people 4) allocate the fund to where it’s needed.
“LOCALIZE.” Enrile cited California, which he described as “the third biggest exporter of rice in the world even if they don’t eat rice.”
He also mentioned the effectiveness of “food sovereignty in South America.”
(The book Food First and Views defined it as Advocates “putting the people who produce, distribute and consume food at the centre of decisions on food systems and policies, rather than the demands of markets and corporations that they believe have come to dominate the global food system.")
“Sa ngayon mura pa ang presyo… Pero pag naging dependent na tayo sa kanila, nasanay na tayo sa pag-aangkat sa ibang bansa, wala na tayong magagawa kung taasan pa nila ang presyo.”
With conviction, the senatorial candidate said, “Kailangan maging centerpiece o corner ito ng ating agricultural policy…
“Kailangan i-localize natin ang production, kailangan i-localize ang distribution, kailangan i-localize rin po natin ang consumption ng ating agricultural products.”
His fear is that, “Baka darating ang araw na didiktahan na po tayo ng ating mga trading partners kung ano yung puwede nating kainin, kailan natin dapat kakainin yun, at kung magkano po natin dapat bayaran.”
FOOD REQUIREMENT PLAN. Enrile asked this question: “Ilan ba ang toneladang palay o bigas ang kailangan natin para pakainin natin ang isang daang milyong Pilipino tatlong beses sa isang araw? Ilan?”
The obvious answer, he said, “We don’t know.”
He underlined the need for a “national food requirement plan”— which, he described to a small group of showbiz writers who arrived early, as a “road map, an infrastructure support map for agriculture.”
He pointed out, “Ang Iloilo maraming bigas, pero ang Negros, kulang? Ang Ilocos, ano ang kailangan niya para in a certain number of years, magkaroon ito ng food sufficiency?”
And during the actual press conference, he elaborated his idea.
“We need to come up with a law, that every year, magtatatag tayo ng provincial food requirement plan for every province na magiging basehan po ng national food requirement plan ng bansa.
“At base dun sa national food requirement plan, magkakaroon po tayo ng agriculture-infrastructure support fund na siyang sasagot doon sa kakulangan ng bawat probinsya pagdating sa imprastraktura para masagot din ang pangangailangan nila pagdating po sa agrikultura.
“Yun po ng magiging sagot po para sa ating problemang kakulangan sa pagkain.
“Yun po ang magiging sagot sa pagdami po ng trabaho sa agricultural sector natin.
“Yun po ang magiging sagot kung paano natin mapababa presyo ng ating kinakain sa pang-araw araw.”
In short, the funds, he said, “go exactly to where it’s needed.”
GOVERNMENT’S SUPPORT. He was in a government position for almost 10 years, how come none of these were implemented?
Enrile replied, “In 1997, we passed the 1997 Agriculture Modernization Law. It is a law. To this day, from 1997 to 2013, you have about 16 years, it’s an unfunded mandate. It’s not a question of law; it’s a question of will. The good law is in place…
“The problem is, it depends on the availability of funds and more than likely, it depends on the agenda of the administration.”
In those years, roads have been constructed and reconstructed several times, transportation system has improved, even the economy now is going up.
However, “Tila yata hindi nabibigyan ng sapat na suporta ng ating pamahalaan ang ating agricultural sector. Kaya, tila yata, bagamat gumaganda ang ekonomiya, gumaganda ang ibang sektor ng ekonomiya, dumadami ang trabaho sa ilang sector ng ekonomiya, last year ang nalagas na trabaho sa agricultural sector natin is 1.2 million jobs...”
Other countries like Thailand have more “irrigated lands”— “10 million hectares” for its 55 million population” as opposed to the Philippines’ “1.4 million hectares for its 100 million people.”
He emphasized, “We need to invest more” to increase our lands’ and farmers’ productivity.
IMPROVING HIS DISTRICT. PEP contributor Gorgy Rula asked the senatorial candidate if his plans were implemented in the first district of Cagayan, where he served as a congressman from 1998 to 2007. He was succeeded by his wife Sally Ponce Enrile.
Enrile said, "Kung titignan po natin ang pondo ng PDAF [Priority Development Assistance Fund] na dumaan sa ating kamay, nailaan po natin doon sa mga infrastructure para sa ganun e tumaas ang productivity ng nakararami po sa ating mga kababayan."
"Malaki po ang impact ng mga programa po natin.
"We were able to allot 650 million on boats, road networks sa Cagayan, kaya mas madali ngayon dalhin ng ating mga kababayan yung kanilang agricultural products sa merkado.
“And, we were able to put about 1.2 billion pesos worth of irrigation. Kaya ngayon, medyo instead of one cropping a year, two to two and a half times sila nagka-crop sa isang taon.”
Does this mean that the poverty rate is now lower?
He nodded.
“Bumababa po ang poverty rate. Hindi po talagang nawawala ang poverty dun dahil alam po nating dumadami po ang populasyon. Pero yung mga nakikinabang po sa mga lupang sinasaka nila ay medyo mas maganda na po ang kita ngayon.”
The message he wants to impart is simple: “Pag busog ka, happy ka.”