Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
“It is unacceptable that President and agriculture secretary Bongbong Marcos Jr is maintaining a “business-as-usual” stance on the effects of supertyphoon “Egay” and harping on “Filipino resiliency” to mask his inefficiency and negligence in times of calamity. The widespread damages further expose the government’s continued policy of neglect in terms of disaster preparedness and response in the face of the changing climate and extreme weather events.” This was the statement of farmers, fishers, and food security advocates as they picket outside the Department of Agriculture (DA) today to protest the government’s criminal negligence in times of calamities. Almost 200 cities and municipalities are under a state of calamity due to the effects of super typhoon Egay and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
“We are facing two major problems in the aftermath of supertyphoon Egay — heavy agriculture and fisheries production losses, and price surges of rice, vegetables, livestock, poultry, and all foodstuff,” according to KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos. The DA should take serious actions to address these concerns.” KMP noted that based on the latest price monitoring, the price of local well-milled rice is now at P49/kilo.
Among the most urgent demands of farmers and fishers to the DA are the following:
1. Grant P25,000 cash aid to farmers whose farms and crops were either damaged or destroyed and fishers who were not able to go fishing in the past weeks due to Egay and Habagat.
2. Aid for farmers whose farm animals (cows, carabaos, etc) drowned in the massive flooding.
3. Emergency shelter assistance for farmers and fishers whose houses were damaged and destroyed.
4. Price freeze and price ceiling on prices of rice, vegetables, poultry, livestock, and other basic commodities in the Price Act.
5. Stop the weekly price hikes and remove the excise tax on oil products.
6. Immediate release and distribution of the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance or P5,000 each for 2.4 million rice farmers.
7. Transform the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) collected from import tariffs, to direct agricultural subsidies for small farmers and fisherfolks.
KMP said farmers and fishers will assert significant agricultural subsidies on top of the much-needed relief and rehabilitation support for typhoon-stricken sectors in agriculture.
As of August 5, Egay’s damage to agriculture soared to P4.47 billion, with P1.75 billion worth of rice crops and P1.74 billion worth of crops wiped out. Swathes of vegetable farms and fruit orchards were also damaged while fishponds overflowed due to the flooding. Livestock, poultry, and fisheries sectors were also severely affected. The agriculture department reported that the typhoon affected 170,510 farmers and fishers with the total volume of production loss estimated at 152,041 metric tons spanning 195,539 hectares of agricultural areas. However, the actual damages and the number of affected farmers and fishers could be higher.
KMP said that based on reports from its local chapters, the distribution of relief to affected individuals has been extremely slow and selective. “Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos are still in need of urgent relief — food, water, medicines, and emergency shelter. They will also be needing significant long-term rehabilitation assistance for their damaged houses, destroyed crops, damaged fishing boats, and means of livelihood swept away in the flood,” Ramos said.
KMP said the distribution of food and relief packs should be for all typhoon victims and immediate assistance should also be granted even for those who are not registered with the DA’s Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
Super typhoon “Egay”, declared so far the eighth most destructive tropical cyclone to hit the country in the last five years, has affected more than 3 million persons across 14 regions, 51 provinces, and 469 cities and municipalities nationwide. As of August 5, the death toll reached 29 individuals while more than 285,000 individuals remain displaced. ###
