MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos’ statement that a martial law rule would solve the country’s rice woes is insensitive to thousands who were imprisoned, tortured, and killed during the military regime of her father, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said on Monday.
In a statement, Brosas said that the martial law rule of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — father and namesake of incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — is not something that should be joked about.
Brosas said this after Senator Marcos remarked that the government’s response to the rice problem would prompt their late father to rise from the dead and declare martial law again on his birthday due to the local rice industry’s problems.
“Sen. Marcos statement is offensive to the thousands of Filipinos who were imprisoned, tortured, and killed during her father’s bloody Martial Law. Walang nakakatawa sa pagbabalik tanaw sa isa sa pinakamadugo at marahas na yugto sa kasaysayan ng ating bansa,” Brosas said.
(There is nothing funny about recalling one of the bloodiest and most brutal parts of our country’s history.)
According to the Makabayan lawmaker, a martial law regime was not the answer to rice sufficiency and more stable prices.
“We would like to remind Senator Imee Marcos that Martial Law is not the solution to the skyrocketing prices of rice and her brother’s failure to address the agricultural problems that the country faces today,” Brosas noted.
“It is also important to note that Philippine agriculture suffered under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime. Rice farmers were victimized by the Masagana 99, which propagated chemical-dependent and commercial rice varieties, destroying up to 4,000 traditional varieties and communal farming practices, shooting up input costs by 262%, and ultimately bankrupting millions for farmers,” he added.
Senator Marcos issued the statement earlier after reporters asked for her reaction to the Department of Finance’s (DOF) proposal to remove or reduce the 35 percent import tariff rates on rice to address surging rice prices.
The DOF proposal comes after President Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 39, placing a P41 per kilogram price ceiling on regular-milled rice, and a P45 per kilogram cap on well-milled rice.
READ: Bongbong Marcos orders price caps for rice at P41 to P45 per kilo
“Wag na tayong magtanim ng palay para matigilan na ang pagdurusa ng magsasakang Pilipino — todo import na lang tayo!” Senator Marcos said in a message to reporters.
(Let’s stop planting rice to end the suffering of Filipino farmers. Let’s just import everything!)
“Babangon at magma-martial law ang tatay ko sa ginagawa nila sa bigas ngayong birthday pa niya!” she added.
(My dad will rise and declare martial law with what they’re doing with the rice on his birthday!)
READ: Imee: My dad will rise and declare martial law because of these rice issues
Instead of a price cap, Brosas maintains that the sustainability of the local rice industry would be ensured by sufficient funding for farmers.
“As we continue to hear the 2024 budget proposal of the national government, we reiterate our call for the Marcos Jr. administration to provide sufficient funding to address the deep-seated issues of our agriculture industry,” she claimed.
The Marcoses have claimed that their patriarch’s rice programs have been key to self-sufficiency in the 1970s. However, in 2020 — before Marcos Jr. was elected in the 2022 elections — former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III disputed Senator Marcos’ claims that Marcos Sr.’s Masagana 99 was a success.
Senator Marcos said that when Masagana 99 was implemented, “there was a very effective use of commercial banks, rural banks, and even cooperative banks.”
But Dominguez, who was agriculture secretary of President Corazon Aquino after Marcos Sr. was ousted via a bloodless people’s revolution, quickly disagreed.
“Ma’am, before we go ahead, regarding the Masagana 99. I was Secretary of Agriculture that cleaned up the mess of Masagana 99,” he told the senator.
“There were 800 rural banks that were bankrupted by that program, we had to rescue them. whether it was a total success or not, it has to be measured against them,” he added.
READ: Dominguez rebuts Marcos on Masagana 99 feat: ‘I cleaned up the mess’