FARMERS’ SENATOR. Central Luzon farmer-leaders raise the hands of senatorial bet Benhur Abalos Jr. (center) for fulfilling his earlier pledge to hear out their grievances during a dialogue held at the NFA regional office compound in Cabanatuan City on Tuesday morning. Photo by STEVE GOSUICO
Abalos vows to prioritize farmers’ kin in giving out scholarships
CABANATUAN CITY – “Dahil kayo ang nagpapakain sa ating bansa, dapat bigyang prayoridad ang mga anak ng magsasaka sa mga state colleges natin na maging scholars.”
Thus said senatorial aspirant and former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr., who flew in this city Tuesday at the National Food Authority (NFA)regional office to fulfill his earlier pledge to have a dialogue with local farmers from Central Luzon calling for an increase in the buying price of palay during the harvest season.
Welcoming Abalos were NFA Administrator Larry Lacson, former Magsasaka Partylist Rep. Argel Joseph Cabatbat, former Agriculture Secretary Leony Montemayor, Agriculture Usec. Asis G. Perez, and farmer-leaders Joe Pangalilingan and Dante Lazatin.
“Itong land conversion, sa pagsulpot ng mga subdivision ito ang sintomas na may problema talaga sa agrikultura, kung ito ay palalakasin natin katulad ng NFA, ang mga magsasaka ay hindi magbebenta ng lupa kung hindi sila nalulugi, kaya dapat pakinggan natin ang mga magsasaka, gawin nating produktibo ang kanilang lupa, lahat ng infrastructure ilagay dito, kasama farm equipment, crop insurance, pautang na walang interes, at ang tamang presyo ng palay dito,” said Abalos.
“Huwag na tayong pumunta sa punto na mawala na ang mga sakahan natin, bandang huli ang kawawa ang bayan natin, dapat may food security tayo at food sustainability and the only way in doing that ay suportahan natin ang ating mga magsasaka,” he added.
Towards the end of the dialogue, Perez and Lacson proposed that wet or freshly-harvested palay be bought by the NFA at P18 per kilo to the delight of the farmers present during the event.
Meanwhile, Lazatin called on the national government to totally scrap the giving out of all kinds of “ayuda” or financial assistance to various sectors and instead pour all the funds to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and other concerned agencies in the giving out to the farmers’ beneficiaries of free medical and educational benefits, including pensions for farmers upon reaching the age of 65.
For the part of Cabatbat, who is running for congressman in the province’s first district, he said the initial March 22 staging of the “Unang Sigaw ng Magsasaka” in Guimba proved to be successful because the farmers’ voices are now heard and it was even made symbolic because it took place right in this city at NFA, the agency which truly represents the Filipino farmers and which holds the key for the farmers’ progress.
