Binay vows to address food security

MANILA, Philippines – Food security is among the issues that Vice President Jejomar Binay has vowed to address if he wins in next year’s elections.

During his visit to La Union on Friday, Binay, the standard bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance, said he would ensure better coordination with local government units (LGUs) and national food agencies to ensure sufficiency in food production, processing, distribution and regulation.

“To ensure proper food distribution, the Department of Social Welfare and Development will assist the Department of Agriculture (DA), other national government food agencies and the LGUs in targeting their beneficiaries through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction,” he said.

“We believe that an integrated approach will improve the accuracy in targeting the beneficiaries,” he said.

Binay said his administration would also introduce mechanisms for better fund management and supervision of anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs.

“To attain this, we will present the funds available for the region, regularly review the mandates, objectives and strategies of the DA and the other agencies connected with food security and ensure the necessary budget allocation for proper implementation,” he said.

Binay lauded the drop in poverty incidence in the province as “one of the few bright spots in the country.”

He cited records from the National Statistical Coordination Board, which showed that poverty incidence in La Union dropped from 30.6 percent in 2012 to 18.5 percent in 2014.

He said his administration would accelerate tourism and develop job-generating industries in the province to further reduce poverty incidence.

“La Union is known as the surfing capital of Northern Luzon. And in order to accelerate the tourism and business development of La Union and the Ilocos region we will ensure better coordination with regional tourism councils and hold regular meetings,” he said.