Cynthia Villar hits PH importation habit: ‘Bobo ba tayo…?’
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Cynthia Villar again lambasted the country’s strong or habitual liking for importation and questioned the P10 billion budget for imported chemical fertilizer. “Aba eh 10 billion, nasa-shock ako sa P10 billion para sa importation ng fertilizer? Nasa-shock ako doon,” Villar said during Tuesday’s hearing on the proposed P167.5-billion budget of the Department of Agriculture for 2024. (Well, 10 billion, I’m in shock at P10 billion for the importation of fertilizer? I was in shock there.) The senator then questioned the government’s policy on importation, which she said should only be a temporary solution to any supply shortage. The permanent solution, she stressed, is for the country to produce its own. READ: Department of ‘Importation’? Cynthia Villar flags DA’s importation policy anew “Bakit tayo mag-i-import? Ba’t hindi natin bilhin ‘yung ating sarili para nabibigyan natin ng trabaho ‘yung kapwa natin Pilipino na naghihirap?” Villar said. (Why should we import? Why don’t we buy our own to give jobs to our fellow Filipinos who are suffering?) “Alam mo nung araw tayo pinakasikat pero ngayon talong-talo na tayo. ‘Yung mga articles na [nababasa] ko talo na tayo ng Vietnam, talo na tayo ng Thailand, talo na tayo ng Indonesia.” (You know, back in the day, we were the most popular, but now we are losing. ‘The articles I [read] say that we have lost to Vietnam, we have lost to Thailand, we have lost to Indonesia.) “Bakit? Bobo ba tayo na tatalunin tayo ng lahat, ha? O mahilig lang tayo mag-import kaya hindi natin nade-develop ‘yung ating sarili,” she added. (Why? Are we stupid that everyone will beat us, huh? Or we just love to import. That’s why we can’t develop ourselves.) READ: Senators scold agri officials over unspent, misspent funds Instead of spending P10 billion on imported chemical fertilizer, Villar urged the government to invest in composting machines that produce fertilizer from kitchen and garden waste. The senator pointed out that since 2002, she has been spending her own money to buy composting machines every year for Las Pinas City. To this date, she said, the city has 89 composting machines that can produce 89 tons of organic fertilizers every month. “And then pinamimigay ko po ‘yan sa mga farmer saka urban gardeners na binibigyan ko sila ng libreng seeds kasama nyan para magtanim sila ng gulay para ‘pag wala sila trabaho hindi sila magutom at hindi
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