Q: Hi good afternoon, Mr. President, and Happy Anniversary for the Department of Agriculture.

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Thank you.

Q: Mr. President, may I ask what steps has DA taken to ensure affordability on the agri sector while focusing on improving production?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, those two go hand in hand. The best way to improve, first of all, availability and to keep the prices down is to have a good level of production na hindi tayo nabibiktima ng tinatawag na imported na inflation, which is what’s happening now kasi napipilitan tayong mag-import.

So we are doing everything that we can to increase production in all aspects. I’m not talking only about rice and corn kung ‘di pati na ang livestock, pati na ang fisheries ay ginagawa…

Ngayon lang ngayon… Kaya kami nag-meeting ngayon after the program ay nagfa-finalize kami ng net for this year. And I wanted to talk to the usecs and the other bureau chiefs kung ano ‘yung kailangan natin na ipaglaban doon sa budget. So that’s what we were doing upstairs and most of it has to do with increased production.

Sasabihin ko na sa inyo the Soil Health Program, the Aquaculture Development Program, the Biotech Research for Fisheries. But that is only what we talked about upstairs.

Mayroon pa ‘yan siyempre lahat ng produkto na agricultural commodities ay talagang pinipilit namin na pagandahin. And that’s why we are going to partnerships – PPP partnerships with some big groups, some small groups, some locals, some international para mabigyan tayo ng tulong para nga doon sa value chain na mabuo natin.

Q: Mr. President, may I also ask what is the role of former cooperatives in achieving growth for agri sector?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Critical. The first step in… One of the first steps that we must take if we are going to lower the price of production, the cost of production is to use big machines, to mechanize, to mechanize the system.

You cannot use the big – for production and post-production – na mga technologies kung maliliit masyado ang farm. Kaya’t ang unang gagawin ay i-consolidate, kino-consolidate ‘yan sa isang kooperatiba.

The cooperatives generally speaking ang aming average is 50 to 100 hectares per cooperative. Tapos io-organize pa ‘yan para maging mas malaki pa, maging 1,000, 1,500 hectares – I’m talking about hectares sorry – per overall organization.

Kasi pagtapos makakapagbigay natin, the RCEF program that I’m sure you have heard from Senator Cynthia before, the RCEF program na nagbibigay tayo ng makinarya para sa ating mga magsasaka ay ibibigay natin sa mga cooperatives, sila magde-decide sino’ng gagamit muna, saan gagamitin.

We are not organizing all of the cooperatives. We don’t have to dahil mayroon naman diyan mga farmers cooperatives na na operating na, mayroon diyan mga irrigators association, kami may mga sanghera, all of these different organizations.

So we will take advantage of their — already of their organization. And to that end, I just did the budget also of the CDA at nilagyan namin ng mas malaking pondo kasi talagang aasahan natin ang Cooperative Development Authority para sila ang magbubuo ng mga kooperatiba na hindi masyadong matibay pa, patitibayin pa – palalakihin at patitibayin.

Q: Sir, good afternoon po. ‘Yung Masagana Program po hindi lang siya basta naka-focus sa pagpapaigting ng produkto but also sa pagpapaigting din po ng value chain. Ano na po ‘yung mga measure na in place para ma-achieve po ‘yung goal na ‘to?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, exactly. We are trying to strengthen it at every point in the value chain. Even the Biotech is a research.

So ‘yung pinag-uusapan natin na mula sa research hanggang sa marketing. The marketing is hopefully going to be something like Kadiwa or something like that, that is inspired by the local government.

But in between, lahat pinapatibay din natin and we are making sure that first of all, simple lang, ‘yung mga simpleng problema na hinarap natin ‘yung mga rice smuggling, sugar smuggling, onion smuggling, ‘yan titigil natin ng ano ‘yan – gagawin namin lahat para matigil ‘yan. ‘Yung hoarding.

I think maliwanag na maliwanag na sa ating lahat na ‘yung pagtaas ng presyo by 87 percent noong nakaraang Pebrero – Enero, Pebrero, walang dahilan ’yun. Kumpleto ang onion natin dito. Nagho-hoard lang talaga at iniipit ang presyo. Tapos ‘yung cold storage ay hindi pinapagamit sa iba para ‘yung kontrolado lang – ‘yung mga sindikato, ‘yung kontrolado lang nila na onion,  ‘yun lang ang puwedeng aabot sa palengke.

So that’s the thing that we have – si Senator Cynthia halos biniriefing (briefing) kami diyan sa taas para – kasi matagal na nilang iniimbestigahan ‘yan. Kaya’t kailangan na talaga nating gawan ng paraan ‘yan.

So these are – we take it at both sides, from the smuggling side, from the hoarding side, that’s on the marketing, but also on the production side. Because pagka – there’s a very simple concept tinatawag vertical integration. Imbes na isang kompanya may ginagawa, isa naging trader, isa naging marketing, isa retail. Pagka iba-iba ‘yan, maraming cost ‘yan paglipat. ‘Pag vertically integrated ‘yan, ‘pag kasama lahat ‘yan, wala ng cost ‘yun tuloy-tuloy na lang hanggang sa retail. ‘Yun ang hinahabol natin and that’s what we are trying – that’s what we have been doing.

Q: And then lastly, sir, how can we ensure the sustainability of Kadiwa program?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: How?

Q: How can we ensure the sustainability of Kadiwa program?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Productivity. The problem of the Kadiwa program now is production, supply. Kulang ang production natin. Oo, kaya hindi natin ‘yung iba… Kung may imported, hindi naman natin maibigay sa presyo na gusto natin. That’s the problem.

Kaya kailangan ang bubuhay sa Kadiwa ay ang increased production of all agricultural commodities.

Q: Good afternoon, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Good afternoon.

Q: Sir, may we just get update on the fishing talks with China because recently, sir, mayroon mga reports na ‘yung mga fisherman hinaharang pa rin sila sa Pag-asa island and recently ‘yung BRP Dagohoy sinundan siya ng Chinese vessel. Mayroon po ba tayong update, sir, dito sa talks na ‘to?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Iyong latest na report ay sinundan na lang. Hindi na kagaya ng dati na talagang hinaharang.

So there’s a little progress there.

Actually ang BFAR mayroong projection na lalaki ang huli because nabawasan nga ‘yung – nabigyan ng pagkakataon ang ating mga [fishermen]. That is because we are continuing to talk to the Chinese government, to President Xi in every way para nga…

Ang inuna ko talaga noong kami’y nagkita ay sinabi ko unahin na lang natin ‘yung fisheries. Huwag na nating pag-usapan ‘yung teritoryo dahil hindi naman tayo makakapag-decide ngayon dito na nag-uusap tayo.

Unahin niyo ‘yung mga fisheries dahil sinasabi ko wala namang kasalanan ‘yung tao, bakit natin paparusahan? So we are making some progress in that regard.

And then also the coordination, pagka may fishing ban, may coordination na tayong ginagawa sa kanila para hindi na lang bigla, fishing ban na ngayon. Makapagplano naman tayo.

‘Pag sasabihin may fishing ban in two months’ time, planuhin na natin, ano’ng gagawin ng mga mangingisda? So bigyan natin sila ng ibang livelihood or another source of income.

So that slowly, slowly… Alam mo na these things do not come very quickly. Slowly, slowly… But we are slowly making progress because the key to that was really the improved communication between the Philippine government and the Chinese government.

Q: Good afternoon, sir.

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Hi, good afternoon.

Q: Magtatanong lang po sana kami ng update regarding po doon sa parang joint order for farm-to-market road. Kamusta po ‘yung magiging nabanggit po nila earlier ‘yung parang magkakaroon ng net. Mayroon po kaya itong budget na-allocate for the farm-to-market road at saka kung sakali magkano po? At saka kung gaano kalayo – ilang kilometers?

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Malaki ‘yung aming ano nakalagay sa for the farm-to-market roads because ang ginawa natin noong nakaraan, ang farm-to-market roads wala namang plano kung ano’ng hihingi. Kung sino’ng congressman, governor makahingi ay lalagyan ng farm-to-market road doon sa kanila.

So noong pumasok kami pinagplanuhan namin, saan ba talaga ang kailangan na farm-to-market road? Ngayon, kung ‘yung mga request na local request ay medyo naman kasama doon medyo puwedeng i-adjust doon sa national program, eh ‘yun ang itinutuloy namin.

So we have a major farm-to-market road. I don’t want to give you the final amount yet because you’re going to print it and then it’s going to go into hearings and magbabago and then you will say what happened to the money that you promised? So huwag na muna.

But once we go to the process… But we have a very… That was one of the major concerns. We keep talking about supply chain problems so para – that will help the supply chain and bring the farmers closer to the market.

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, ‘yung tungkol sa bonus daw.

PRESIDENT MARCOS: Nagtatanong sila sa mga bonus sabi ko wala na, hindi na tayo makakapag-bonus dahil kailangan bayaran ‘yung kuryente.

Q: Sir, no bonus?

PRESIDENT MARCOS:  Hindi. Pag-meeting-an natin ‘yan. Titingnan ko pa kung ano ‘yung savings natin pero may bonus kayo.

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SOURCE: PCO-PND (Presidential News Desk)