Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
Farmers are not at all appeased with the appointment of fishing magnate Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr as the new Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary. “Ang ipinalit ni Marcos Jr ay katulad din niya — walang background sa agrikultura at walang record sa pagsisilbi sa mamamayan. It is public knowledge that Tiu-Laurel Jr is a campaign donor, and his appointment is an obvious payback from Marcos Jr. Tiu-Laurel Jr firmly carries with him his business interests and class bias. Coming from a global food conglomerate, he and his family businesses and their ilk of elite compradors will surely benefit more from his new position as agriculture secretary, according to KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos.
“Nothing in his background and credential states public service and public interest. Placing him as the agriculture secretary speaks in volume when it comes to conflict of interest. In fact, he represents big business and the elite. How can we expect him to know the situation of small farmers and fisherfolk who are among the poorest of the poor? Hindi sapat ang ginawa niyang pagsama sa laot sa pangingisda ng malalaking barko ng Frabelle, limang araw bawat taon, para maunawaan niya ang danas at buhay ng mga maliliit na mamamalakaya na kung walang mahuhuling isda ay walang kakainin ang pamilya,” Ramos said.
Tiu-Laurel Jr is the President of Frabelle Group of Companies which is engaged in diversified business interests including deep-sea fishing, aquaculture, canning, food manufacturing, processing, food importation and trading, cold storage, shipyard operations, wharf development, real estate development, and power generation. Frabelle has a fleet of 117 shipping vessels engaged in tuna and sardine fishing. He also has business interests in reclamation as the President of Bacoor Seafront Corp. and Diamond Export Corp.
“We are not convinced that he has divested his interests in his family’s companies and businesses. Now more than ever, we are alarmed and concerned that he will only push for the further liberalization of the domestic agriculture and most especially, the fisheries sector,” the farmer-leader added.
“Tiu-Laurel was brought up in an environment where food is all about business. How can we expect him to sincerely address the food crisis situation and solve the rising food prices? Will he respond to and act on long-standing demands to repeal the rice liberalization law? Will he stop the massive food importation and rein in the rampant agricultural smuggling?
KMP said farmers and fisherfolks will further press for the sectors’ most urgent demands and challenge head-on the new DA secretary. ###
