FORMER senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan yesterday vowed to jumpstart a “food revolution” by crafting measures that will provide Filipinos easy access to affordable and nutritious food when he is elected to the Senate.
Pangilinan said he already has in mind the measures which he will author once elected, which include the Batas sa “Murang Pagkain” Act, the Food Sovereignty and Farmers’ Protection Act, the Expanded Feeding Program for Public Schools Act, and the Urban and Community Farming Act.
He said that the Murang Pagkain Act will seek to lower food prices by ensuring fair trade practices and setting a price stabilization mechanism, among others; while the Farmers’ Protection Act will strengthen local agriculture and protect farmers from unfair competition.
He also said he will propose the enactment of the Expanded Feeding Program for Public Schools Act to establish community-based food hubs to support school meals programs using locally sourced food.
The Urban and Community Farming Act, on the other hand, will encourage and empower Filipinos to grow their own food and promote self-sufficiency.
Pangilinan stressed the fight against hunger knows no political color as it concerns the lives of every Filipino.
Pangilinan served as food security secretary of the late President Benigno Simeon Aquino III from June 2014 to September 2015, during which he reduced rice prices by up to P3o pesos per kilo and lowered rice inflation from 15 percent to 0.8 percent.
He is the author of the “Sagip Saka” Act, which allows national and local governments to directly purchase from rice farmers without conducting public bidding.
