Vice presidential candidate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano slammed the administration anew for supposedly downplaying the plight of drought-stricken farmers asking for subsidy and assistance in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato.
During the Senate hearing Thursday on the bloody dispersal of protesting peasants in North Cotabato, Cayetano said the government failed to immediately release funds to mitigate the effects of El Niño weather phenomenon in the province.
READ: Senate to probe Kidapawan incident
“[North Cotabato] Governor [Emmylou Talino] Mendoza, who happens to be a Liberal Party member, told us herself during the hearing that their local government wrote a letter to the national government to ask for assistance, but nothing came,” Cayetano said.
The senator accused the administration of lying to the public in saying that there were sufficient funds to address the needs of the farmers, who were demanding relief and subsidy for farm communities affected by the dry spell.
READ: Cops, farmers clash in Kidapawan; 2 dead
“Tama na palusot at pagsisinungaling (Enough of excuses and lies). We actually have P45 billion worth of funds in the 2016 budget that may be used for projects that will curb the impact of this crisis. Kung determinado ang Palasyo na resolbahin ito, magagawa nila. Pero bakit kailangan pang sumulat ng lokal na pamahalaan? Bakit maraming magsasaka pa rin ang patuloy na nagugutom at naghihirap (If the Palace is determined to resolve this matter, they can do it. But why did the local government even write a letter to the national government? Why are there many farmers who are still starving and facing poverty)?” he said.
Cayetano said the farmers could not have staged a protest and the Kidapawan clash could have been avoided if only the government “had immediately taken action to heed the people’s demands.”
“Pero iniwan ng Palasyo ang mga magsasaka ng Kidapawan. Iniwan nito ang North Cotabato. Pati mga pulis pinabayaan. Wala na ngang sapat na kagamitan gaya ng dispersal equipment, kinasangkapan pa laban sa mga magsasaka,” he added.
(But the Palace left behind the Kidapawan farmers. It left behind North Cotabato. It also neglected the police. The police lack sufficient materials such as dispersal equipment, yet they have been used against the farmers.) RAM