SONA: Food for the nation
Food for thought. While some can’t decide whether to be “pleasantly surprised” or “bored” with how President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address last Monday ended in just 47 minutes—with absolutely no digression from the prepared text, except for a brief moment of humor— why don’t we focus instead on the good stuff. Or more specifically, the food stuff, if you will. I’m not talking about what food they had prepared at the Batasang Pambansa Complex. No. What I want to highlight here is the bits from President Duterte’s speech that translates to more food on the tables of many Filipinos.
Let’s start with the farmers. It’s quite a tradition in almost every SONA to mention various sectors of the country and, almost always, the agriculture industry—our farmers—is given attention. If we’re talking about bringing more food on the tables of Filipinos, it’s the farmers that we should, of course, be grateful to.
“Our farmers, especially our coconut farmers, form a significant part of the basic sectors of society. It is from the toil of their hands that we put food on the table,” the President said. He then made special mention of a bill to establish the Coconut Farmer’s Trust Fund, urging Congress to prioritize it.
This isn’t the only time the President has pushed for agricultural reforms. Over the past three years, he has asked the Department of Agriculture to improve the productivity of farms, “reduce farm expenses and promote the well-being of farmers, consumers, and the general public through various programs,” he said earlier in April this year.
In the same month, he asked the Landbank of the Philippines to release funds for the beneficiaries of the government’s land reform program, “as soon as possible,” Duterte said then.
Damages to farmlands caused by recent tropical storms notwithstanding—a total of R600 million, reports say—the government has continued to allocate as much as R120 billion to the agricultural sector. On top of these, the President said he’s pushing efforts to “reduce the price of rice by up to P7 per kilo.”
Better agriculture, happier farmers, more food on the tables of the Filipino.
But that’s not all. As controversial as it may be, a fact that Duterte himself recognized at the SONA, he mentioned the government’s efforts against “endo” (end of contract). “Our campaign against Endo has resulted in the regularization of more than 300,000 workers as of early this month,” he said. “Read my lips, I understand that this does not satisfy all sectors. I share their sentiment—I truly do,” the President added rather bluntly. “That is why I add mine to their voices in asking Congress to pass legislation ending the practice of contractualization once and for all.”
It may not be perfect, but it’s a start. That’s more food on the table regularly.
Speaking of regularization, a boom in the economy has translated to significant gains, including a 1.52 million additional employment generated in the first half of the year. This keeps the government on track to hit its 900,000 to 1.1 million employment generation target for 2018.
More jobs, more food on the table, more families fed.
And its more food on the table, not just in the country’s major cities or economic hubs, if the President’s plans are to be achieved. “We are now in the process of fulfilling that promise through significant increases in the budget for Mindanao. At the end of my term, I hope to see the promise of Mindanao fulfilled, or at the very least, approaching fulfillment,” he said at the SONA, asking for the quick passing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
That’s more food on the tables of our brothers and sisters in Mindanao.
The President also recognized the need for an improved healthcare system. “These will ensure that every Filipino family gets the appropriate, affordable, and quality health services in appropriate facilities and will be protected from financial burden due to sickness,” he said, adding his plea for the quick passage of the Universal Health Care Bill.
After all, healthier Filipinos mean a better economy, which again translates to more food on the tables of families all over the country.
So, despite all the drama that prefaced last Monday’s SONA, the plot twists that rivaled that of popular HBO television series Game of
Thrones or Netflix’s House of Cards, depending on your side of the story, the bottomline of the President’s message seems to be that, to have more food—both real and proverbial—on the tables of the Filipino.
Our farmers, especially our coconut farmers, form a significant part of the basic sectors of society. It is from the toil of their hands that we put food on the table. —President Rodrigo Roa Duterte