Gatchalian warns of looming food shortage amid health crisis

Senator Win Gatchalian raised the alarm as the COVID-19 crisis has not only affected the people but the country's food security as well, given the real situation on the ground.

Gatchalian cited that some wet markets in the metropolis have now resorted to selling carabao meat due to beef shortage. He added that traders and farmers have had difficulty transporting and delivering goods from Benguet and other provinces to Metro Manila who had to stop at several checkpoints before queuing at several trading posts to wait for buyers. Eighty percent of the country's highland vegetable requirements, such as carrot, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and lettuce, come from Benguet.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. (PAMPI) has earlier warned of possible shortage in meat products by mid-April because quarantine restrictions impeded the delivery of raw materials to manufacturing plants.

Poultry farmers have also been finding it difficult to supply chicken to Metro Manila and some parts of Luzon due to roadblocks and personnel restrictions that have affected their deliveries and supply chains, which could trigger supply shortage in a months' time. This, despite orders from the national government to allow food deliveries through checkpoints.

The lawmaker said the national government should have guidelines for members of the Philippine National Police stationed at the checkpoints to follow. These guidelines should be in coordination with the local government units (LGUs) so they can synchronize their acts together to ensure the unimpeded transport of food supply and other food raw materials. He said authorities have to keep the country's food supply chain alive while making sure that all of the pandemic's impacts across the food system are being addressed.

Gatchalian expressed fears the delay in the movement of goods would force unscrupulous traders to hoard commodities and manipulate the price in the market, adding that there has already been an increase in the prices of some agricultural products in the past days.

"We should get our acts together. This is a classic example of lack of coordination between the national and local governments even with the local PNP. Iba sinasabi sa taas pero iba ginagawa sa baba", said Gatchalian in disbelief.

The lawmaker said we have yet to see the impact on the ground of the newly-launched food resiliency protocol of the Department of Agriculture (DA), which aims to speed up the transport of major agri-fishery commodities from the provinces to Metro Manila and other urban areas in Luzon. This includes the free movement of farmers, fishermen, workers in food processing and manufacturing firms, and food supply chain logistics providers.

"It is high time for the national government to check for themselves the situation on the ground on why there are delays in the delivery of food supplies. We must act at once or see the country plunge into a food crisis. Hihintayin pa ba nating mangyari ito? We can't afford to have another kind of crisis," the senator concluded.

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Gatchalian nagbabala ng posibleng food shortage sa gitna ng krisis

Nagbabala si Senador Win Gatchalian na maaring magkaroon ng isang food crisis sa bansa kung hindi aaksyunan ng gobyerno ang patuloy na problema sa checkpoints na sanhi ng mabagal na delivery ng mga pagkain.

Nababahala si Gatchalian na tila hindi nasusunod ang food resiliency protocol na iminungkahi ng Kagawaran ng Agrikultura (DA) ukol sa mabilis na pagdaloy ng food supply sa bansa. Aniya, may iilang talipapa na ang nagbebenta ng karne ng kalabaw dahil sa kakulangan ng karne ng baka sa merkado.

Dapat aniya magkaroon ng malinaw na guidelines ang national government na siyang susundin ng mga lokal na pamahalaan sa mga checkpoints na siya ring magiging panuntunan ng mga pulis na naka posisyon sa mga checkpoints para pare-pareho ang galaw.

"Isa itong halimbawa ng kakulangan sa koordinasyon mula sa national government pababa sa mga lokal na pamahaalan, isama na diyan ang pulisya. Iba sinasabi sa taas pero iba ginagawa sa baba", ani Gatchalian.

Nakita natin na maraming magsasaka at negosyante sa Benguet at iba pang probinsya na nahihirapan sa pagdeliver ng kanilang produkto dahil kinakailangan nilang huminto sa pagkadami-daming checkpoint bago sila makarating sa Maynila, ayon sa mambabatas. Mahigit ochenta porsyento ng highland vegetable requirements, gaya ng karot, cauliflower, broccoli, litsugas, at repolyo, ay nagmumula sa Benguet.

"Tone-toneladang mga gulay na nabubulok ang dapat sana'y naipamahagi sa ating mga kababayan. Kung naipapatupad sana ng ilang local government units nang tama ang paghahatid ng mga pagkain sa mga pamilihang bayan, hindi na aabot sa puntong ganito," ani Gatchalian.

Nauna nang nagbabala ang Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. (PAMPI) ng isang shortage sa produkto ng karne sa kalagitnaan ng buwan dahil sa mahigpit na pagpapatupad ng checkpoints sa bansa. Aniya, ang mga checkpoints ay isang sanhi ng pagkaantala ng mga raw materials sa mga manufacturing plants.

Ganoon din ang sentimyento ng mga poultry farmers kung saan nakaapekto ang ilang quarantine restrictions sa kanilang mga delivery. Huwag lang raw sanang magkatotoo ang bantang baka magkakulangan sa supply sa loob ng isang buwan. Ayon kay Gatchalian, maaaring samantalahin ng ibang negosyante ang kakulangan ng supply sa pagkain upang magtaas sila ng presyo ng kanilang bilihin.

Layunin ng naturang food resiliency protocol ng DA na mapabilis ang daloy ng pangunahing agri-fishery commodities mula sa probinsya papuntang Metro Manila at iba pang lugar sa Luzon. Kasama sa DA protocol ang malayang paggalaw ng mga magsasaka at mangingisda, mga empleyado ng food processing at manufacturing firms, at food supply chain logistics providers.

"Panahon na para ang mismong national government ay bumaba at tignan kung ano ang nangyayari sa mga checkpoints at kung napapatupad ba nang maayos ang mga direktiba. Hihintayin pa ba nating malugmok naman sa krisis ng kagutuman ang bansa? Dapat kumilos na tayo ngayon", pagtatapos ni Gatchalian.

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