MANILA — Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 1624, or the Congressional Commission on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Security (AGRICOM) Act, citing the need for a national mechanism to address the persistent challenges faced by Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.

In his co-sponsorship speech, Marcoleta shared his personal experience visiting farmers in Claveria, Cagayan Valley, and seeing the impact of government-supported projects, including three water impounding dumps that have helped increase agricultural output in the barangays of Bacsay, Tabbugan, and Unyon.

“Kung di po ako nagkakamali ay nakuha nilang madoble yung kanilang output sa pagsasaka. Tuwang tuwa po sila, di nila malaman kung paano sila magpapasalamat sa mga biyayang nakamit po nila sapagkat doon po ay nakita nila na isang proyekto na hindi kinapalooban ng kahit anong corruption,” he said.

Marcoleta also visited Piddig, Ilocos Norte, where he noted a modern rice mill with drying facilities, contrasting it with the limited facilities in his hometown of Paniqui, Tarlac.

Citing his upbringing by farmer parents and his own experience as a tiller of a small lettuce farm, Marcoleta said AGRICOM will allow for a comprehensive national assessment of the needs of farmers and fisherfolk.

“With the creation of AGRICOM, we will undertake a long overdue national assessment and evaluation of what our farmers and fisherfolk need and why they are still left behind,” he said.

The senator emphasized that the commission would provide a mechanism to recommend concrete, meaningful, and innovative reforms to strengthen the agriculture and fisheries sector, ensure adequate and affordable food for Filipinos, and enhance the country’s global competitiveness in these industries.

Marcoleta noted that similar congressional commissions have been created for other sectors, such as energy under the EPIRA law and education through two previous commissions on education, and that efforts to establish an agriculture commission date back to a 1995 Joint Resolution in the 10th Congress.

He described the current state of agriculture in the Philippines as “subsistence farming,” where farmers continue to live in poverty despite their efforts, with insufficient harvests and ongoing dependence on rice imports.

“So I join the sponsor in pushing for the creation of this Congressional Commission on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Security,” Marcoleta said.

The bill aims to institutionalize oversight and evaluation of the agriculture and fisheries sectors to implement reforms that directly benefit Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.