Marcos must step down as DA chief now – fishers group

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MANILA, Philippines – A fisherfolk group said Thursday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should now step down as chief of the Department of Agriculture (DA), accusing his administration of “incompetence” in addressing the country’s ballooning inflation.

Ronnel Arambulo, national spokesperson of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), said Marcos should be held accountable for the soaring prices of agriculture and fisheries products.

“Kailangan na ng mga mangingisda at magsasaka ng isang bagong kalihim na bukod sa maglalaan ng buong panahon sa kagawaran, ay magsusumikap na tugunan ang kinakaharap ng sektor ng agrikultura,” he said in a statement.

(Our fishermen and farmers need a Secretary that will not only devote all of their time to the department but also work hard to address the challenges faced by the agriculture sector.)

Arambulo said the worsening economic crisis, especially in the agricultural and fisheries sector, is a “manifestation of the Marcos’ administration’s incompetence and negligence.”

“Mahigit kalahating taon nang Presidente si Marcos subalit wala pa itong konkretong hakbang para resolbahin ang taas-presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin at serbisyong panlipunan,” he added.

(Marcos has been President for more than half a year, and yet he has not taken concrete steps to resolve the rising prices of basic commodities and social services.)

The vulnerable sectors affected by the economic blows, according to Arambulo, had been persistent in calling for efficient solutions to agricultural issues like the rollout of fuel subsidies to farmers and fishers, strengthening of local production, and halt in the importation, especially amid the decline in the value of the Philippine peso against the United States dollar.

“Subalit walang pinapakinggan si Marcos sa mga konkretong panukalang ito (But the concrete proposals are falling on Marcos’ deaf ears),” he lamented.

Instead, Arambulo said, the Marcos administration is relentlessly pursuing policies that fill local markets with imported agricultural goods, subsequently hurting the players in the local agri-fisheries sector.

Marcos had previously defended his decision to keep his post as Agriculture Secretary despite the worsening challenges faced by the sector, noting that he can better push for reforms in the DA since stakeholders “cannot say no” to him as the nation’s Chief Executive. — Kimberly D. Albaño, trainee

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