President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should appoint an agriculture secretary to address the country’s rice crisis, a Negros labor leader said Saturday, September 2.
Wennie Sancho, General Alliance of Workers Associations secretary general, was reacting to Marcos’ order last week placing price caps for rice at P41 to P45 per kilo nationwide.
Marcos is the current agriculture secretary.
Sancho said the action of Marcos is arbitrary, he should have appointed an agriculture secretary to address the issue.
“The long history of our farmers being left behind despite the country’s economic progress has created a significant distrust on the strategies of PBBM in handling the rice crisis,” Sancho said.
This is largely due to the failure of the government to capacitate the agricultural sector to compete in the international arena, he said.
“Structural adjustment is necessary for our farmers and agricultural workers numbering more than 3 million. Mechanization is necessary,” Sancho said.
“PBBM should seriously evaluate the looming rice crisis. PBMM should listen to the rice farmers by giving them a strong voice in expressing their sentiments on the root cause of the rice crisis. He should go after rice cartels,” Sancho said.*