Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
Retail prices of rice, vegetables, poultry and fish and other food produce are expected to increase anew after supertyphoon Egay (international name Doksuri) pummelled farmlands and coastal areas particularly in Central and Northern Luzon regions. “Mabilis na makakalimutan ang mga sinabi sa SONA ng Pangulo dahil ilang araw lang makalipas, nadelubyo na ang bansa ng supertyphoon Egay. Mas lalong tataas ang presyo ng pagkain at mga bilihin dahil sa epekto ng superbagyo.”
“It is rather unfortunate that every time a calamity hits the country, the President is somewhere else, most of the time, out of the country enticing businesses to invest in the Philippines,” according to KMP secretary general Ronnie Manalo. “Hindi sapat na nakamonitor lang sa sitwasyon ang Pangulo, dapat nandito siya kapag kailangan siya ng ating mga kababayan,” the peasant leader said as he recalled President Marcos Jr’s controversial Singapore Grand Prix trip at the height of Super Typhoon Karding’s onslaught last year.
Based on the initial assessment of the Department of Agriculture Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center, some 2,009 hectares of rice lands were affected while 1,176 hectares of cornlands were damaged as the typhoon battered Abra, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Pangasinan and other parts of Central and Southern Luzon provinces. The extent of the damage will likely increase in the coming days.
In several towns in Cagayan province, rice, and corn lands were inundated by flashfloods caused by the powerful typhoon. In Pangasinan, rice farmers attempted to save their soon-to-be harvested rice crops.
More than 30 people were reportedly killed due to the capsizing of a boat in Laguna Lake and several landslide and flooding incidents. Ilocos region was among the hardest hit. A state of calamity was declared in Ilocos Norte with more 21,000 people affected by the typhoon. In Ilocos Sur, 14 municipalities still have no electricity and access to clean water, and more than 14,000 individuals are in need of immediate relief. “Every year, during the southwest monsoon season, farmers and fishers endure this calamity situation. Such condition further buries them in poverty and debt,” Manalo said.
KMP urged the government to impose an urgent price freeze in calamity-stricken areas and immediately aid farmers, fishers, and rural population affected by supertyphoon Egay. Another low-pressure area is developing into a tropical storm according to weather bureau PAGASA. Once it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the tropical storm will be named FalconPH. ###
