Press Release
April 13, 2007

Bataan-Pampanga-Nueva Ecija sorties:
Villar vows to address needs of agri sector to address hunger

Senate President Manny Villar vowed to prioritize the development of the agriculture sector in a bid to address hunger and joblessness in the country, as he pursued his campaign in Northern Luzon particularly in Bataan, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija yesterday.

President of the Nacionalista Party and guest candidate of the Genuine Opposition Senate President Manny Villar who got a warm welcome from his Cabalen in Pampanga said that nearly half of the countrys population relies on the agriculture sector.

Ensuring that agriculture programs are adequately funded and efficiently carried out directly benefiting farmers will translate to an increase in the yield and production of our populations food requirement, the reelectionist senator said.

He said the Senate investigation of the fertilizer fund scam remains to be one of the top priorities of the Senate to ensure that farmers directly benefit from the governments agriculture programs and such benefits trickle down to the masses.

Villar said putting a closure to the three-year issue would show sincerity in fighting graft and corruption and empowering the rightful beneficiaries -- the farmers.

Villar cited the Social Weather Station (SWS) first quarter survey conducted on Feb. 24-27 which reported that about 3.4 million Filipinos making up a record-high of 19 percent of the countrys population have experienced involuntary hunger over the last three months. It said that hunger level worsened in Metro Manila (from 17.7% to 20.7%) and the rest of Luzon (from 17.7% to 18.3%).

Hindi kasi pwedeng basta ganun na lang yun at hindi na natin hahabulin ang mga dapat managot. Katungkulan namin sa Senado na patuloy na hanapin ang mga sagot sa napakaraming katanungan sa isyung ito, he said.

The Senate President stressed that by significantly minimizing corruption in the agriculture sector, the funds infused through the Department of Agriculture and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act will eventually help in increasing the countrys food supply.

Villar, who himself has experienced poverty before becoming a housing magnate, likewise said the amount of micro-finance loans to agriculture and fishery production should be increased to give farmers the necessary flexibility.

Both local and commercial banks, including cooperatives, would significantly help the agriculture industry by increasing their credit limit to farmers, he added.

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