Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
“Walang gutom (No hunger).”
President Marcos made this promise to the Filipino people as he assured them of enough rice supply after he ordered the lifting of the rice price cap that was supposed to temper the ballooning prices of the staple grain in the market.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads the distribution of seized smuggled rice to 1,000 members of 4Ps from Taguig City on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Noel Pabalate/MANILA BULLETIN)
In BBM VLOG 250: “Libreng Bigas (Free Rice),” the Chief Executive explained his administration’s continuous rice distribution drive to those affected by its rising prices.
“Sapat ang suplay ng bigas, at tuloy-tuloy ang suporta sa ating magsasaka’t mamimili, maging ang pagtugis sa mga smuggler at hoarder (The rice supply is enough and we will continue supporting our farmers, including the arrest of smugglers and hoarders),” he captioned his video.
“Sa Bagong Pilipinas, ito ang magsisilbing sukatan ng ating panunungkulan — walang gutom o pangamba pagdating sa pagkain (Under Bagong Pilipinas, this will serve as the measure of our governance—no hunger or fear when it comes to food),” the President added.
Marcos has spent the last weeks going across provinces to distribute smuggled rice seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from Zamboanga province.
He went to Cavite, Camarines Sur, Siargao Island, Dinagat Island, Antique, Capiz, Aklan, Zamboanga, and Metro Manila for the rice distribution program.
“Bakit natin ito ginagawa? Dahil dapat talagang direktang nakikinabang ang taumbayan sa kawalang-hiyaan nitong mga smuggler at hoarder na ‘to (Why are we doing this? Because our countrymen need to directly benefit from the shamelessness of this smuggler and hoarder),” he stressed.
The Chief Executive explained that his administration is also committed to strengthening the various aspects of farming and agriculture—irrigation, mechanization, cheaper fertilizer, post-harvest facilities, farm-to-market roads, and transport costs—to lower the cost of production.
“Mga kababayan, ginagawa natin ang lahat upang masiguro ang tuloy-tuloy na pag-istabalisa at pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas sa merkado (My countrymen, we are doing all we can to ensure the continuous stabilization and decrease of rice prices in the market),” Marcos said.
“Walang ibang sukat sa ating panunungkulan ang tumutumbas na makita kayo na kompartable at maginhawa ang buhay. Iyan ang aking sukatan, walang gutom o pangamba pagdating sa pagkain (There is no other measurement of my governance but to see you comfortable and having convenient lives. That is my guide, no hunger and fear when it comes to food),” he added. — Raymund Antonio
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
