Courtesy: BillionBricks
SPEAKER Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has personally directed the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to look into the government’s El Niño response and ensure that relief funds are fully and transparently used to help the hardest-hit farmers and fisherfolk.
This was stressed on Wednesday by Committee Chair and Quezon 1st District Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, who said the committee is taking up House Resolution No. 967, filed by Rep. Bella Vanessa Suansing, which calls for an inquiry into the agriculture sector’s preparedness for the forecasted 2026–2027 El Niño and the measures needed to mitigate its impact.
“This resolution highlights alarming developments across our agricultural sector that demand urgent legislative oversight. I wish to emphasize that this inquiry is conducted upon the personal instruction of the Honorable Speaker Faustino Bojie III to ensure that allocated public funds and relief budgets are fully, transparently, and directly implemented for severely hit beneficiaries,” said the lawmaker.
“While we acknowledge the Department of Agriculture’s proposed 61.99 billion consolidated action plan to mitigate the impacts of El Niño events, our duty in Congress is to ensure the strategy translates directly into protection on the ground.”
Enverga cited an initial release of ₱6.2 billion under the UPLIFT program for fuel, fertilizer, and direct assistance. He said the committee would check how quickly the funds and direct cash transfers are being disbursed to more than 310,000 smallholder farmers and fisherfolk targeted for assistance.
“We must verify whether field disbursements in hit regions are reaching intended beneficiaries,” he said.
The panel will also examine how Task Force El Niño coordinates with the Departments of Agriculture, Social Welfare and Development, and Labor and Employment, as well as local governments, to deliver direct support and emergency cash aid.
Enverga cited a ₱371-million funding gap that has left interventions such as specialized cloud seeding and efforts to control the redstriped soft-scale insect infestation in sugarcane unfunded. He said the panel would ask agencies how they plan to close the gap, protect farmgate prices and sustain agricultural production.
“Sa bawat araw na naaantala ang tulong, lalong nanganganib ang kabuhayan ng ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda. Hindi nila kayang maghintay sa gitna ng mga proseso at pormalidad ng pamahalaan. Kailangan nila ng agarang aksyon at konkretong tulong.”
metrosundaily
