Villar urges transparent implementation of fertilizer subsidy for farmers

With government planning to dole out P1,500 to each farmer for fertilizer and farming inputs, Senate President Manny Villar hopes the money will not be used to buy liquid fertilizers of the "Joc-Joc type."

The Nacionalista Party president said government should not attach as a condition to the subsidy the purchase of government-endorsed bottled fertilizers, "in order to prevent a repeat of the 2004 liquid fertilizer fiasco."

Villar conceded that P1,500 farming subsidy "is better than nothing" but the challenge, he adds, lies in ensuring that all of the money will go to farmers.

"This begs the questions: How can the government identify the beneficiaries? And of those in the list, what are the guarantees that they indeed deserve to be there? How can leakage be prevented?" he said "One in three employed persons in the country today are in fishing and farming. So this is around 12 million. Giving P1,500 each to this 12 million is by any yardstick a major operation. So it's really important for government to first assess if it has the machinery that it can mobilize for this operation," he said

Noting that the subsidy can cost as much as P18 billion in taxpayers' money, the manner by which it will be distributed "must be handled with utmost transparency," Villar said.

Villar however sees nothing wrong in government going into "retail financing" of food production for as long as the "distribution of assistance is pinpointed" and that "wholesale operations" like the building of more irrigation, roads and postharvest facilities are not sacrificed."

"The one-time subsidy is a tactical move but the ongoing rice crisis points to a solution that is strategic in nature. We need durable farm investments," he said.

"Kung may P1,500 ka nga na pambili ng fertilizer pero wala namang tubig, wala kang itatanim. So, ano ngayon ang i-fe-fertilize mo? Kung ubos na ang P1,500, pero ganun pa rin ang kalagayan ng lugar mo - walang irigasyon, walang bilaran ng palay, walang kalsada, so parang binigyan ka lang ng first aid at hindi permanenteng lunas, " Villar said.

Villar also said the safeguards should be put in place so the subsidy will indeed be "for soil nutrients."