Panayam kay ASec. Arnel de Mesa ukol sa aabot na P1.5-B na pondo ng D.A. para sa unprogrammed appropriations

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Panayam kay ASec. Arnel de Mesa ukol sa aabot na P1.5-B na pondo ng D.A. para sa unprogrammed appropriations  For more news, visit:  ►https://www.ptvnews.ph/  Subscribe to our DailyMotion Channel: ►http://www.dailymotion.com/peoples-television-incorporated  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ►http://www.youtube.com/ptvphilippines  Like our Facebook pages: ►PTV: http://facebook.com/PTVph  ►Rise and Shine Pilipinas: https://www.facebook.com/riseandshinepilipinas  Follow us on Twitter:  ►http://twitter.com/PTVph  Follow us on Instagram: ►https://www.instagram.com/ptvph  Watch our livestream on:  ►http://ptvnews.ph/livestream/ ►https://www.dailymotion.com/PTVPhilippines  Watch our News Programs, every Mondays to Fridays  Rise and Shine Pilipinas - 6:00 - 8:00 am Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon - 12:00 - 1:00 pm Sentro Balita - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Ulat Bayan - 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm PTV News Tonight -  9:30 pm - 10:30 pm  Saturday & Sunday: ►Ulat Bayan Weekend - 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon to you, Asec Arnel.

00:02Hi Ninia, good afternoon.

00:04Nice to see you again.

00:05Long time no see, Asec Arnel.

00:07And I'm happy because you have a lot of news and updates for us

00:11from you and the Department of Agriculture.

00:15First of all, Asec, our question is,

00:18what are the projects of the DA

00:20that are under the so-called unprogrammed appropriations?

00:25Ninia, for my year at the moment,

00:28most of the foreign-assisted projects are under the unprogrammed appropriations.

00:34Just recently, there are four projects.

00:38This is the Philippine Rural Development Project,

00:41Second Additional Financing,

00:43which is the scale-up of this project.

00:46The Fish Resiliency Core Project of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources,

00:51also included is the Mindanao Inclusive Agri-Development Project.

00:55This is for the Indigenous Peoples Project.

00:58This is for the whole of Mindanao.

01:00There are a lot of projects.

01:02Yes, Ninia.

01:03And most of them are in Mindanao.

01:06In Mindanao, these are the rural projects

01:10that are being implemented by our government.

01:12So for now, how are these projects?

01:15Ninia, we are thankful to the Department of Finance

01:19for releasing the required GOP requirements

01:22because these projects are ongoing.

01:25For example, the Farm-to-Market Road,

01:28along with the irrigation projects,

01:31our aquaculture enterprises,

01:34livelihoods, and infrastructure.

01:37These are also included in our projects

01:40for our Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao.

01:43And of course, the other projects,

01:46capacity building and training,

01:48are included in the funds that were released

01:51just recently this month.

01:54And this is a big help for us to finish

01:57according to schedule,

01:58our scheduled programs.

02:01Speaking of the funds,

02:02how much is allotted to the DA

02:05for the projects under the Unprogrammed Funds?

02:09In total, for the four projects

02:12that I mentioned earlier,

02:13this amounted to Php 1.25 billion.

02:17We call this the government counterpart.

02:22These projects, since they are foreign-assisted,

02:25these four are World Bank-assisted projects.

02:29So, the loan proceeds also go into the fund

02:33under the general appropriations.

02:35But normally, there is a 10 to 20% equity

02:40of the government of the Philippines

02:42aside from the equity of local governments.

02:45So, for the DA, about 10 to 20% is allocated

02:48to complete the project.

02:50And of course, the local government

02:52and the beneficiaries.

02:54But we have ownership on their part.

02:58Okay. So, what is the effect

03:00on the projects of the DA

03:02if it is under the Unprogrammed Appropriations?

03:04For those who don't know,

03:07please explain the Unprogrammed Appropriations.

03:10Why is it called Unprogrammed?

03:13If it is unprogrammed,

03:15because every year,

03:17we have a line budget item.

03:20So, if it is a line budget item,

03:21it is automatically funded

03:23by the beginning of January.

03:25It is immediately released.

03:27If it is an Unprogrammed Appropriations,

03:29it has conditions before it is released.

03:31And one of the conditions is

03:33that the government should have sufficient funds.

03:36And we are glad that there was a transfer

03:39because the government got additional funds

03:43through the Department of Finance.

03:45So, this is a big thing for us.

03:47We know that the priority of our President

03:49is the agri-sector.

03:52And especially, our projects

03:54for the township, for Mindanao,

03:56and for our IPs,

04:00and especially for the places

04:02where these projects are needed.

04:04So, it is not only the DA

04:06who received these funds

04:08from the Unprogrammed Appropriations?

04:11Correct.

04:13Please give us a background.

04:15I know that you are not DOF.

04:18But where did the DOF get these Unprogrammed Appropriations?

04:22If I am not mistaken,

04:24this is part of the fund

04:26because there was a non-moving fund

04:29in some of our agencies.

04:31So, because there are subsidies

04:33that were given to them,

04:35and it is not moving,

04:37this is what is called a sleeping fund.

04:39So, because the fund is sleeping,

04:41it needs to be moved

04:43because we know how important

04:45it is for our countrymen

04:47to use it on time.

04:49The problem is

04:51the timely usage of the fund.

04:53If it is in an agency,

04:55okay, it is in an agency,

04:57the fund is there,

04:59but if they are not using it,

05:01the problem is the time value of the money.

05:03And those agencies that need it

05:05and they do not have enough funds,

05:07there will be an imbalance.

05:09So, because of this,

05:11the Department of Finance

05:13and our entire economic team

05:15are working together

05:17to make the use of our fund more efficient.

05:19And we are pleased with the work

05:21done by the President and Secretary Chula Aurel Jr.

05:23because they gave

05:25importance and priority

05:27to our projects.

05:29There are many more, right?

05:31They have a lot of Unprogrammed Appropriations.

05:33Maybe this is where

05:35one of the things that was discussed recently

05:37is the subsidy

05:39that was given to PhilHealth

05:41that needs to be returned to the DOF.

05:43So, this is where we can see

05:45where these funds

05:47are going.

05:49Correct.

05:51If there are subsidies that are not being used,

05:53there are other opportunities

05:55that need to be used

05:57in other occasions

05:59for the efficient use

06:01of our fund.

06:03Okay. In other talks,

06:05Secretary, excuse me,

06:07Francisco Chula Aurel,

06:09the movement

06:11of more than 700

06:13container vans

06:15with imported rice.

06:17What are the details and updates here?

06:19How long have these container vans

06:21been in our ports?

06:23First, we would like to thank

06:25the Philippine Ports Authority

06:27led by General Manager

06:29Jey Santiago

06:31for the swift move

06:33based on the information

06:35given by Secretary Chula Aurel

06:37on the PPA

06:39because there are 888

06:41or almost 1,000

06:43container vans that contain

06:45more than 20,000 metric tons

06:47or 20 million kilos

06:49of rice

06:51in our ports,

06:53especially here in Manila,

06:55that will not be exported.

06:57So, we would like to thank them again

06:59because this was prioritized

07:01and hopefully, the export will continue

07:03because it is possible

07:05for this to become a hoarding

07:07because there are some

07:09that have been there for 9 months.

07:11So, that's why

07:13we are thankful so that

07:15more than 800 container vans

07:17can be exported.

07:19They're taking up space

07:21and they're just there.

07:23Shouldn't there be

07:25well, you're not a PPA member,

07:27there's a time frame that you're just here.

07:29How many months are they there?

07:31PPA says that after 5 days,

07:33it should be exported.

07:37Apparently,

07:39these consignees

07:41want to

07:43wait for the price of rice

07:45to increase

07:47so that their income will increase.

07:49So, that's not right and that may constitute

07:51a hoarding or

07:53there are other cases that

07:55they can face because

07:57these are agricultural goods

07:59and perishable and we know

08:01that if this doesn't get exported,

08:03we can also have problems

08:05with our food supply

08:07especially when it comes to rice.

08:09We expect that there should be a timing.

08:11We have a timing for harvest,

08:13we have a timing for import.

08:15If they don't follow

08:17the importation, release, and distribution,

08:19our food balance

08:21will have problems.

08:23Hopefully, it will be exported

08:25in the near future.

08:27When will it start?

08:29Our Bureau of Plant Industry

08:31will go there to open

08:33some container vans

08:35because we are also concerned

08:37about food safety.

08:39There may be problems later

08:41especially those that have been

08:43impacted for a long time.

08:45And hopefully,

08:47it's all rice.

08:49But it's good

08:51so that we can know

08:53what's inside those containers.

08:55Well, good luck

08:57on the part of DA

08:59so that we can avoid

09:01the increase in the price of rice.

09:03Now, let's talk about

09:05Secretary Francisco T. Laurel's

09:07strategies for

09:09modernization of the agri-sector

09:11in the country and to strengthen

09:13food security.

09:15How is our modernization going?

09:17It's going well. Let's start with irrigation.

09:19We have a lot of programs

09:21for irrigation.

09:23What's good about this is

09:25that next year,

09:27we have programs for solar-powered

09:29irrigation. We also have

09:31a new program called

09:33Philippine Pipe

09:35Irrigation Network System

09:37where all of our conveyance

09:39systems are piped.

09:41It's not an open canal anymore

09:43to make it more efficient and modern.

09:45And then, our farmers

09:47have a hydrant

09:49every one or two hectares

09:51so they can easily control

09:53their farms.

09:55Secondly, in our ports,

09:57our plan is to have

09:5917 ports nationwide

10:01to ensure that the distribution

10:03of key agricultural

10:05commodities will be more efficient

10:07and affordable.

10:09For example,

10:11the fertilizer that Mindoro

10:13will bring will go to Bataan.

10:15It will travel to Manila

10:17and Batangas. That's why

10:19Mindoro is very expensive.

10:21These ports in key strategic

10:23areas will be built

10:25to ensure that

10:27our production inputs

10:29from fertilizers

10:31to seeds

10:33and everything in between

10:35so that our farmers

10:37will earn more

10:39and our consumers

10:41will be able to ensure that

10:43our key agricultural products are cheaper.

10:45Our cold storages

10:47and our food terminals

10:49will all be funded.

10:51We also have new projects

10:53like our $1 billion

10:55in the Philippine

10:57Sustainable Agricultural

10:59Transformation

11:01which will focus on

11:03key policies and

11:05infrastructure requirements.

11:07You can expect that in the next

11:09two to four years, there will be

11:11significant change in our

11:13agricultural economy and landscape.

11:15How are the equipment

11:17of our farmers?

11:19Sometimes, they don't have enough equipment.

11:21Sometimes, it's just a geaning machine

11:23for the farmers or machines

11:25when they harvest coffee beans.

11:27Sometimes,

11:29it's expensive.

11:31You're right.

11:33In the Philippines,

11:35the horsepower rating is low.

11:37We average less than 3 horsepower

11:39per hectare.

11:41Other countries, especially Japan and China,

11:43have more than 10.

11:45Thailand has 5 or 6

11:47and Vietnam.

11:49We really need to focus as part of the modernization

11:51to increase our mechanization

11:53level from land preparation

11:55to crop establishment

11:57to processing and harvesting.

11:59For example,

12:01when there's a storm,

12:05our combined harvester

12:07can harvest

12:09one hectare in less than one hour.

12:11If you do it manually,

12:13the harvesters

12:15won't be able to harvest

12:17when there's a storm.

12:21Our mechanization

12:23and installation

12:25of machineries

12:27and facilities is very important

12:29to increase our level of

12:31horsepower rating.

12:33Do you have a specific budget for that?

12:35Right now,

12:37in the rice sector,

12:39we have a rice competitiveness enhancement fund.

12:41We're assured of 10 billion

12:43until this year,

12:45and 5 billion will go to mechanization.

12:47In the amendment of the Rice Tarification Law,

12:49the proposal is to increase

12:51that from 10 to 30 billion

12:53and half of that will go to mechanization.

12:55We're happy that

12:57that's what happened in the amendment.

12:59I hope it's not just for rice,

13:01but for other agricultural products.

13:03You're right, Nina.

13:05There's a new law

13:07passed by our Senate

13:09on corn competitiveness

13:11enhancement fund,

13:13and also on livestock and poultry.

13:15We're following that.

13:17We're following the high-value commercial crops.

13:19Okay.

13:21We'd like to know

13:23the importance of Ferdie

13:25and Habagat storms

13:27in the agriculture sector.

13:29Right now, the combined effects

13:31of the three storms

13:33Ferdie,

13:35Henera, Helen,

13:37and Habagat

13:39have reached 600 million.

13:41Excuse me.

13:43The combined effects

13:45of these storms

13:47mostly affected

13:49Palawan, Mindoro Occidental,

13:51Antique,

13:53Western Visayas,

13:55and Zamboanga Peninsula.

13:57Almost 528 million

13:59of damage is in the rice sector.

14:01Okay.

14:03How can we recover that?

14:05We have a so-called

14:07quick response fund.

14:09The funds are prepositioned

14:11for rice, corn,

14:13and vegetables.

14:15Once they're ready to plant again,

14:17they can plant for quick turnaround.

14:19Okay. Thank you very much,

14:21Asek Arnel, for sharing

14:23our updates with us

14:25from the Department of Agriculture.

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