‘Government aid to farmers, fishers will reduce prices’

MANILA, Philippines — Financial assistance to farmers and fisherfolk and rice distribution will result in substantial price reduction of basic commodities, according to Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“We owe it to you (farmers and fishermen) because you are the ones feeding the nation with the rice that you produce and the fish that you catch. It is the obligation of the government to make sure you will not go hungry,” Romualdez yesterday told cash and rice beneficiaries in Palawan.

About 10,000 beneficiaries of the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk program received cash from President Marcos and Romualdez at the Edward Hagedorn Coliseum in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Beneficiaries were from Palawan and Marinduque.

Romualdez assured Marcos of the House of Representatives’ continuing support for his programs.

“I assure you, in the upcoming budget (deliberations), these programs and projects of yours will be fully supported by the House,” he said.

Romualdez said the President made sure that Palawan was among the first provinces that would benefit from the program due to its natural resources.

Romualdez has been the concurrent “caretaker” of the first and third districts of Palawan after the deaths of representatives Edgardo Salvame and Edward Hagedorn.

House members led by Palawan Rep. Jose Alvarez, Palawan Gov. Victorino Dennis Socrates, Palawan Vice Gov. Leoncio Ola, Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. and Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron attended the event.

Rice from Cambodia

Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Tuesday expressed his country’s readiness to export rice and other agricultural products to the Philippines amid an annual Cambodian rice surplus of about six percent.

The Philippines and Cambodia exchanged views on economic partnerships, defense and security engagements and people-to-people ties during Ambassador Flerida Ann Camille Mayo’s July 16 courtesy call on Manet.

He sought broader people-to-people exchanges through stronger air connectivity between major tourist destinations of both countries.

Mayo conveyed the Philippines’ standing offer to work with Cambodian law enforcement, especially in jointly developing standard arrangements for the rescue and repatriation of Filipino victims of human trafficking and cyber scam operations as per the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in combating transnational crime. –  Pia Lee-Brago