MANILA – A party-list solon is urging the government to “shield” from politiciking and counter-insurgency campaigns the relief operations or subsidies the farmers will receive due to the El Niño phenomenon.
Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Isagani Zarate made the remark after damages to agricultural crops rose to P1.2 billion in nine provinces and three cities under state of calamity in the Visayas and Mindanao region.
Zarate said the government must do all it can “to help the farmers not just for the replacement of their crops and for irrigation but for food as well.”
The Duterte administration, he added, should prioritize drought-affected farmers.
“Farmers are the ones feeding us, it is but right that the government give them their just due,” said Zarate.
“El Niño is a time of calamity for farmers and their plight must not be used for them to be further exploited,” he added.
In the past, Zarate recalled that “epal” politicians misuse the relief effort by putting their faces on food packs.
He also warned the military and the police against using disaster relief to recruit farmers to join CAFGU.
