Taming inflation, food security still Marcos priorities

MANILA, Philippines — Taming inflation, particularly rising rice prices, and ensuring food security remain top priorities of the government, President Marcos reiterated in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday.

The issue of rice prices and food security was the first thing Marcos tackled in his SONA, where he said the recent data bannering the country as among the best-performing in Asia means nothing to a Filipino, who is confronted by the price of rice at P45 to P65 per kilo. Rice was also mentioned towards the end of his speech.

“My dear countrymen, I know you are feeling it (inflation). We do not ignore your grievances and sufferings,” the President said in his speech delivered at the Batasang Pambansa.

Inflation slowed down to 3.7 percent in June from 3.9 percent in May due to the easing of energy and transport costs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Controlling the increase in prices of basic commodities remains the top concern of most Filipinos, a recent poll conducted by OCTA Research showed.

Marcos’ campaign promise is to bring down the price of rice to P20 a kilo.

Marcos said while the Philippines harvested a record of 20 million tons of palay last year, it fell short to fill the 16 million tons of rice requirement of the country.

“So we continue to support the agricultural sector, to speed up, facilitate and boost production – from planting, harvesting, to transportation and sale – to also prevent product spoilage,” the President said.

In the past year, more than 100 million kilos of various seeds, seedlings and fertilizers were distributed to farmers.

In terms of fisheries, the government released more than 500 million fingerlings and 3,000 fishing boats, the President said. It also rehabilitated fish ports to support the industry, he added.

The government also extended technical and financial assistance to help players in the agriculture sector gain new knowledge in production and sourcing of capital.

Marcos said the government is also ready to provide livestock raisers with African swine fever vaccine to protect farmers and raisers from future losses.

Because of compelling emergency reasons, such as illegal