Photo Release

Include farmers in RSBSA: Sen. Imee Marcos asks Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Regulations Asis Perez to look into reports that the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) has listed land owners as beneficiaries instead of the actual farm workers. RSBSA is a registry of farmers, fisherfolk and farm laborers that identifies the beneficiaries for different agriculture-related programs and services of the government. Marcos said the report came from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) scholars in Bukidnon. “Clearly, there is a distinction and I am not certain, in terms of policy, who we should help first. In terms of priority, clearly farm workers are clearly poorer and very often the owners of the land are not actually the tillers of the soil. So, the farmers are asking our help since their names are not actually listed in the RSBSA. I also encountered the same issue in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. Farmers are asking to be included in the list and not only the land owners,” Marcos said during a public hearing conducted by the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform Thursday, June 13, 2024. Perez said he would look into the matter. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)