Food Sovereignty bill as Filipino First policy

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Taking the cue from then Boholano President Carlos Polestico Garcia's First Filipino Policy, Rep. Juan Ponce Castaner Enrile (1st district, Cagayan) has filed House Bill 4626 (Food for Filipinos First Act of 2011), which he simply called as food sovereignty bill.

Enrile, in his recent visit to Bohol, said his bill, if approved, would overhaul the National Food Authority, replacing it with the National Strategic Food Supply and Reserve Corporation that provide a system of determining the minimum food requirements of Filipinos.

The bill is mainly based on the seven points, outlined in his privilege speech last December 2010, that now serves as guide to his "crusade for a comprehensive framework against poverty and hunger." He argued that Filipinos must be able to eat first what is locally produced before exporting these to the international market.

The congressman, who is the only son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, has been through 36 provinces nationwide to meet with multi-sector groups, particularly farmers and fishermen, as part of his consultations for support of his proposed bill.

In his meeting with the local press here, he explained "food sovereignty" as the "right of peoples, communities and countries to define their own agricultural, labor, fishing, food and land policies, which are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances."

Under the proposed bill that tackles eight parts with 25 sections, NFA will be stripped of its regulatory function, except trading, which will be transferred to the Department of Agriculture. He also wanted the government to prioritize the following:

Agricultural infrastructure support; ensure access to low-interest credit to farmers, fisher and farm workers; remove all subsidies on export-oriented agriculture and transfer them to grains and vegetable farmers and livestock growers; launch an effective and strong campaign against smuggling and dumping of food and agri-based products and commodities that can be supplied by local produce; reclaim our original strength on agricultural research and scientific breakthroughs; strengthen NFA as a state trading enterprise that protects our farmers and fisherfolk; and break all land monopolies as government implements the last phase of agrarian reform program.

Meanwhile, Enrile, who once divorced his first wife, said he favors the proposed divorce law but respects the position of other sectors as they respect his stand on the issue.

Asked if his coming here is a prelude to throwing his hat in the Senate race in 2013, he refused to give definite answer except by saying that his father, the Senate president, is still there and whose term ends on 2016 yet. (FREEMAN)