MANILA, Philippines—Senators Loren Legarda and Pia Cayetano Wednesday sought to recast next year’s proposed P1.541-trillion budget to make it more responsive to disaster mitigation and preparedness.
Both senators said deliberations on the General Appropriations Act of 2010, which will resume on Monday, should focus on giving more funds to programs that will help the country cope with the effects of climate change.
The Senate hopes to pass the budget before adjourning for the Christmas break.
Legarda wants funding for the Climate Change Act of 2009, which she authored. Signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Oct. 23, the act calls for the creation of a Climate Change Commission. It seeks the purchase of more pump boats and other rescue equipment; development of water-submersible crops; and improvement of local area disaster response operations. It also calls for steps to reduce carbon emissions and increase forest cover as risk reduction measures.
Cayetano, on the other hand, called for budget realignments to finance other pro-environment laws and programs.
Cayetano wants to reinstate the P2-billion slash in the proposed budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
In a statement, Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, noted that the budget of the DENR had been reduced from P12.9 billion this year to only P10.7 billion in 2010.
The budget cut will affect, among others, existing programs such as watershed rehabilitation, cadastral surveys and biodiversity conservation, she said.
Capital outlays for forest restoration and the acquisition of modern equipment for pollution monitoring and geo-hazard mapping will also be affected, Cayetano said.
Cayetano also wants to see money allocated for the relocation of more than half a million squatters living around waterways in Metro Manila.
She said the government would need P3.2 billion annually in the next 10 years to build 22,689 social housing units to accommodate 545,000 households.
Both Legarda and Cayetano said the recent calamities brought on by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoons “Pepeng” and “Santi” should serve as eye openers for the people and the government.
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Source: http://www.inquirer.net/propertyguide/aroundtown/view.php?db=1&article=20091105-234285
Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Protect RP Agri Sector From Unfair Trade
Senator Loren Legarda today warned that the Philippines is set to lose P100 from noncompetitive products if it concedes to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) which will eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers for trade among ASEAN nations. She emphasized that the agriculture sector is especially vulnerable if said agreement is signed.
“While agriculture is recognized as the most vital industry to fight hunger and poverty, it is also the sector with the highest level of trade distortions. After we have suffered P18.4 billion in agriculture damage from Ondoy and Pepeng, we cannot afford to lose out further in our agriculture sector because of trade imbalance,” said Loren, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
Legarda stressed that the ATIGA should not come into full force without the ratification of the Senate, and that it should follow the constitution and the country’s laws.
“Before the Philippines concedes to this agreement, wider consultations should be done. With the Philippines being a primarily agricultural country, the sector contributes a fifth of our total GDP, providing jobs and support to tens of thousands of families, and almost one half of our labor force. It is a sector that must be protected because the livelihood of thousands of Filipino farmers depend on it,” she said.
Among the important concerns on the agreement is the lack of public consultations. It is required under Philippine tariff and customs laws, as well as under the setup of the Senate Committee on Trade that before negotiating a trade policy position, public hearings should be made so that the people could voice out their concerns over a pending trade agreement.
“We live today in an open trade regime where quality products at competitive prices are required to sell in the market. The farming sector needs safety nets to cushion it from the impact of liberalized trade in the agriculture sector,” said Legarda.
She pointed out that huge domestic support and export subsidies provided by developed countries to their farmers render developing countries' farm products uncompetitive.
“Contrary to WTO principles, advanced countries give their farmers huge subsidies, which developing countries cannot afford, thus creating an unfair playing field. The ATIGA will have an across-the-board impact on trade in agriculture if it is signed without first applying the necessary safety nets,” she said.
She added, “agriculture in developed countries is a big, integrated business. In addition, they are awash with subsidies from government. Developing countries like the Philippines simply cannot afford to provide its farmers the same subsidies that developed countries grant them. As a result of unfair trade, developing countries are inherent losers.”
ATIGA was endorsed by the AFTA Council in August 2008, and signed by its parties during the ASEAN Summit in February 2009.
“Free trade has not worked because it has never actually happened: trade agreements of the past have been neither free nor fair. They have been asymmetric, opening up markets of developing countries to goods from the advanced industrial countries without full reciprocation,” she said.
Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1256285928.html
“While agriculture is recognized as the most vital industry to fight hunger and poverty, it is also the sector with the highest level of trade distortions. After we have suffered P18.4 billion in agriculture damage from Ondoy and Pepeng, we cannot afford to lose out further in our agriculture sector because of trade imbalance,” said Loren, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
Legarda stressed that the ATIGA should not come into full force without the ratification of the Senate, and that it should follow the constitution and the country’s laws.
“Before the Philippines concedes to this agreement, wider consultations should be done. With the Philippines being a primarily agricultural country, the sector contributes a fifth of our total GDP, providing jobs and support to tens of thousands of families, and almost one half of our labor force. It is a sector that must be protected because the livelihood of thousands of Filipino farmers depend on it,” she said.
Among the important concerns on the agreement is the lack of public consultations. It is required under Philippine tariff and customs laws, as well as under the setup of the Senate Committee on Trade that before negotiating a trade policy position, public hearings should be made so that the people could voice out their concerns over a pending trade agreement.
“We live today in an open trade regime where quality products at competitive prices are required to sell in the market. The farming sector needs safety nets to cushion it from the impact of liberalized trade in the agriculture sector,” said Legarda.
She pointed out that huge domestic support and export subsidies provided by developed countries to their farmers render developing countries' farm products uncompetitive.
“Contrary to WTO principles, advanced countries give their farmers huge subsidies, which developing countries cannot afford, thus creating an unfair playing field. The ATIGA will have an across-the-board impact on trade in agriculture if it is signed without first applying the necessary safety nets,” she said.
She added, “agriculture in developed countries is a big, integrated business. In addition, they are awash with subsidies from government. Developing countries like the Philippines simply cannot afford to provide its farmers the same subsidies that developed countries grant them. As a result of unfair trade, developing countries are inherent losers.”
ATIGA was endorsed by the AFTA Council in August 2008, and signed by its parties during the ASEAN Summit in February 2009.
“Free trade has not worked because it has never actually happened: trade agreements of the past have been neither free nor fair. They have been asymmetric, opening up markets of developing countries to goods from the advanced industrial countries without full reciprocation,” she said.
Source: http://www.lorenlegarda.com.ph/article-1256285928.html
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