SUMILAO, Bukidnon (MindaNews / 23 February) – A group of farmers here expressed optimism that a Robredo presidency will bring about reforms in the agriculture sector that would prioritize small farmers.
“Her fight is our fight too. We also want other farmers in the Philippines to achieve what we have achieved,” said Elgine Orquillas, chair of Panaw Multi-Purpose Cooperative (originally called the Mapalad farmers), stressing they are confident this could be realized “because her fight is our fight too.”
Panaw MPC chair Elgine Orquillas during the welcome program for Vice President Leni Robredo in Sumilao, Bukidnon on 23 February 2022. MindaNews photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO
Orquillas, speaking during the welcome ceremony for Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday, cited among others the need to prioritize local production instead of importing goods to protect Filipino farmers’ income and ensure food security.
She said that in relation to this, the government must reform or amend the tariff system, including Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, to protect local agricultural products and the interests of small farmers.
Farmers should also be given representation in the Trust Fund Management Committee under Republic Act 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act that took effect on March 13, 2021, she added.
The law created the committee to manage the consolidated coconut levy collections currently amounting to at least P76 billion, and to return it to its rightful owners, the estimated 3.5 million coconut farmers.
The committee is composed of the departments of Finance, Budget and Management, and Justice. The exclusion of farmers from the committee has raised some criticisms.
Collection of the levy, which was imposed during the Martial Law period by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was compulsory.
In the same event, Orquillas urged voters to choose the “right candidate.”
“I hope the voters would wake up in the coming election. Let’s choose the right candidate. Even if Ma’am’s (Robredo) opponents say negative things about her, we won’t quarrel with them.
“A good voter chooses what is right. A good voter doesn’t listen to fake news, not only watches Tik-Tok,” she said in Filipino.
“We have known her (Robredo) ever since. We know her as a lawyer, as a friend,” she said.
Vice President Leni Robredo is welcomed by farmers in Sumilao, Bukidnon on Wednesday, 23 February 2022. From Sumilao, Robredo proceeded to Maramag town for a caravan to Malaybalay City where a rally was held in the afternoon. MindaNews photo by H. MARCOS C. MORDENO
Before joining politics, Robredo worked for Saligan, one of the non-government organizations (NGO) that render legal assistance to farmers in their land claims under the agrarian reform program.
She was one of those who supported the Mapalad farmers during their march from this town to Manila in 2007, to assert their claim on the land they are presently occupying here.
“But it was really Gov. Kaka Bag-ao (of Dinagat Islands province) who helped them all the way from Sumilao to Manila. I just assisted them in finding a place where they could sleep in Naga City,” Robredo said.
Bag-ao worked with Balaod Mindanaw, a legal service NGO, before becoming a congresswoman and then governor. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
