With fuel and production costs spiraling out of control, the backbone of the Philippines’ food supply—our farmers and fisherfolk—is reaching a breaking point.
Brian Poe of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Partylist is not mincing words. During a recent legislative hearing, Poe delivered a blunt warning to the government: if the agricultural and fishing communities collapse, the entire nation goes down with them.
Poe’s urgency stems from recent consultations in Pangasinan, where the stories from the field are harrowing. He shared a heartbreaking sentiment echoed by local fishers: “We are already losing from exhaustion, and we are still losing from fuel.”
The numbers back up their struggle. For many, fuel expenses alone now devour a staggering 50% to 70% of their total operating costs. This isn’t just a “tough season”—it’s a systemic threat to their survival.
While the Department of Agriculture (DA) has programs in place, Poe was quick to point out the math doesn’t add up. Currently, the P150 million fuel assistance fund reaches less than 1% of the country’s farmers and fishers.
“This is why the complaints persist,” Poe noted. “The vast majority are left out in the cold while costs continue to climb.”
He also pushed the DA for real updates on the promised P10-billion Presidential Assistance Fund. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. assured the committee that the massive rollout to over 4 million beneficiaries would finally begin this week, but Poe remains focused on structural changes rather than just one-time checks.
Poe is proposing a more aggressive, state-led approach to stabilize the industry:
- Government Procurement: Instead of just handing out cash, the state should buy crops directly from farmers to supply national feeding programs, ensuring a guaranteed market and stable prices.
- Tax Relief: Poe requested the Department of Finance to study suspending VAT on logistics, warehousing, and storage to lower the cost of getting food from the farm to the table.
- Corporate Accountability: He suggested that oil and gas companies should provide fuel at cost to the agricultural sector, rather than relying solely on taxpayer-funded subsidies.
For Poe, this isn’t just about economics; it’s about national security. He warned that relying on imports is a dangerous gamble.
“We should not allow our food supply to be jeopardized,” he stressed. “Internal food security is our only real defense.”
As the DA begins its billion-peso aid rollout, all eyes are on whether these interventions will be enough to keep our food producers afloat—or if the “collapse” Poe fears is already at the doorstep.