Die of COVID-19 or hunger? Villar urges LGUs to invest on agriculture

Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform. (Screengrab/ Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines—  People may die not because of  COVID-19  but because of hunger if local government units  (LGUs) would not pay attention to agriculture, Senator Cynthia Villar said on Wednesday.

During the hearing of the Senate committee on local government joint with agriculture and finance panels, the senator stressed the need for LGUs to invest in agriculture especially during this time of the pandemic.

“Local government should give more attention to agriculture because it’s very important because we now realize that agriculture is a source of our food,” said Villar, who heads the agriculture committee.

“It’s very necessary for our food security so if we don’t invest in it, then we will have a problem with our food security. So I thought that local government should  give importance  to that.”

“…Kasi  kung hindi man  tayo mamatay sa COVID-19,  mamatay  naman tayo sa kagutuman,” she added.

(Because if we don’t die of COVID-19, we’ll die   of hunger)

Villar made the remarks as the panels tackle her Senate Bill No. 1138 or the Local Government Agriculture Development Act that seeks to strengthen local government participation in agriculture development.

The bill seeks to institutionalize a 10 percent budget allocation for agriculture and fisheries programs, activities, and services.

At the start of the hearing, Villar noted that LGUs would get more share from the national government when the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling on the petition of former Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas takes effect next year.

The High Tribunal ruled that LGUs are entitled to a share from taxes collected not just by the Bureau of Internal Revenue but also by other agencies.

“As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, instead of P848.44B, the LGUs share is estimated at P1.083 T. And this will surely heavily affect the budget of the Department of Agriculture,” Villar said in her opening statement.

With the additional  P234 billion share next year,  the senator estimated that each municipality would get  P150 million. And a portion of this budget,  she said, could be used for agriculture.

/MUF