Gov’t agencies may directly buy from farmers, fisherfolk soon after release of IRR

MANILA, Philippines — Government agencies will soon be allowed to directly purchase food from farmers and fisherfolk, with the guidelines on procurement set to be published next week, according to Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

He said this after the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), which is supervised by the Budget department, earlier submitted to the Senate a copy of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) on the negotiated procurement.

“We are grateful for the IRR[‘s] release and we hope that it [will be] disseminated to as many people as possible. At least P41 billion is allocated in this year’s budget of the DOH (Department of Health), DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), DILG (Department of Interior and Local Governance), and DepEd (Department of Education) for the direct purchase from farmers and fisherfolk,” Pangilinan said in a statement on Thursday.

“Direct purchase from farmers and fisherfolk means lower prices of quality food. This would ease the burden of our people who are barely making both ends meet,” he added.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has committed to release the guidelines by early next week.

According to Pangilinan, the procurement program will greatly help the country’s farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihoods were hit by the global health emergency, the rise of imports and storms.

The program is a key component in Pangilinan’s Sagip Saka Law, which has set in place an enterprise program for farmers and fishermen.

The vice presidential aspirant earlier said that he would move to defer the DBM’s budget if the IRR is not released.

RELATED STORY

Pangilinan lauds signing of Sagip Saka Act into law