MANILA, Philippines — Amid reports of agricultural losses that will seriously impede the country’s food security agenda, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan called for the immediate repair and restoration of roads, bridges, and irrigation systems damaged by the recent typhoons and southwest monsoon or habagat.
In a statement, Pangilinan warned that prolonged damage to agricultural infrastructure could further harm farmers and fisherfolk and threaten the country’s food supply.
The government, he said, must move quickly to restore vital farm-to-market roads, irrigation, and mechanization and dryer facilities so farmers can return to their fields, transport their produce, and prepare for the next planting and harvest cycle.
"Farmers and fisherfolk are among the sectors of society most severely affected by weather disturbances such as the southwest monsoon (habagat) and typhoons. Roads are damaged and farmlands are destroyed, this means not only is there no harvest, but there is also no way to transport the produce—even if they manage to salvage a small amount," Pangilinan said.
Immediate repairs of roads that are vital to the transport of agricultural produce from farms should be part of the government’s food security response in times of natural disasters, he added.
The senator urged the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Agriculture, the National Irrigation Administration, and local governments to conduct rapid assessments of damaged agricultural infrastructure and to prioritize repairs in heavily affected farming communities.
He also called for the release and proper use of available funds for rehabilitation, emphasizing that repairs must be durable and withstand increasingly frequent and intense weather events.
