Wean PH from agri imports, new DA chief dared

Francisco Tiu-Laurel —DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FACEBOOK PAGE

Lawmakers on Tuesday challenged acting Department of Agriculture (DA) chief Francisco Tiu-Laurel to lead the country away from its dependence on agricultural imports, as they lamented how the Philippines has declined from being an exporter of goods to being heavily dependent on imports.

At Tiu-Laurel’s confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments (CA), Sagip party list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta urged the new DA secretary to come up with strategies to address the problems besetting the country on agriculture that has forced the government to resort to importation.

“The DA is laden with a lot of concern that you have to fix and have to invest in, especially on rice sufficiency, which is widely considered as a political commodity. We hope that with you at the helm, we would no longer need to depend on our neighboring countries for our food sufficiency,” he said.

The CA would eventually confirm Tiu-Laurel, after Marcoleta and other CA members raised problems the country is facing on the importation of rice and sugar, which are two of the prime agriculture commodities needed by the country.

“We may need to look for alternative food sources so that time will come that we will no longer need to import rice,” he said, noting the risk of the Philippines’ dependence on imports.

“Even [Southeast Asian] countries rely heavily on the Mekong River, which can be controlled by China,” he said.

Oversupply of sugar imports

Marcoleta also expressed concern over the current state of the sugar industry, with the Philippines having been relegated from a sugar exporter to a purely importing country.

“If I’m not mistaken, we are bound to export another 500,000 metric tons of sugar next year,” he said.

In response, Tiu-Laurel said the country may import only around 200,000 metric tons because of the oversupply of imported sugar this year and the abundance of supply in local markets.

“Based on the assessment of the industry with DA and [Sugar Regulatory Authority],conservatively we will be importing 200,000 tons, assuming there are no adverse weather events,” he said.

Conflict of interest

Tiu-Laurel was also confronted over his supposed conflict of interest as part owner of one of the country’s major players in the fishing industry.

Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros sought confirmation from Tiu-Laurel on his shareholdings with various companies, mainly the fishing industry.

“How will you assure the [CA] that the companies that you used to be part of, especially those in the fishing sector, will not get preferential treatment in the manner that they conduct business from the DA and its attached agencies that regulate the industry?” she asked the DA chief.

Tiu-Laurel said he has already divested ownership from all 68 companies through deeds of donation and sale, as he clarified that he will not exert influence on how the companies will be regulated.

“Basically when I left the companies that I used to hold, we were already professionalized, so we have professional managers running the companies, and very transparent,” he said.

He said he has been given specific instructions by his father not to put the family’s name in disrepute.

“Our family’s dignity is paramount. There should be no special favors for my family’s companies, no accommodation [because] my family will not allow that,” he said. INQ