Nation
Politics, governance and communities across the Philippines.
Nation Page 6 of 60
Mindanao is years ahead of Luzon in agriculture, says Manny Piñol
Mindanao’s agriculture is more modern and more productive than Luzon’s, and life on the island is more peaceful, more affordable, and full of more opportunity than Metro Manila, making it the better place to live and work for any Filipino willing to go back, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel…
It is cheaper for Mindanao to ship bananas to Japan than to Manila, says ex-DA chief
The Philippines’ chronic failure to solve its geographic fragmentation has produced one of the most absurd realities in Philippine agriculture: it costs more to ship bananas from Mindanao to Metro Manila than to export them to Japan and China, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol…
With two years left, BBM must stop imports from flooding markets before they wipe out what’s left of PH farming
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. still has two years to act on the most urgent threat facing Philippine agriculture: the flood of imported food that is wiping out local farmers one sector at a time. This was the assessment of former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol, who stressed that the…
Former Duterte cabinet secretary says PH’s corruption crisis requires a president willing to play hardball
Corruption in the Philippines has penetrated every layer of society, from the lowest traffic enforcer to the highest offices, and the only way to reverse it is a president with no corruption record, strong enough not to be influenced by vested interests, and willing to enforce accountability…
PH’s real agriculture crisis is logistics and connectivity, not production capacity: ex-DA chief
The Philippines can produce enough food to feed its entire population, but the real crisis is that tomatoes rot in Cavite while sardine makers in Zamboanga import tomato paste from China, and fish pile up unsold in Tawi-Tawi while the same island lacks vegetables and chicken. This is because no…
Duterte’s greatest legacy in Mindanao was peace with MILF, says Manny Piñol
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s greatest and most lasting legacy in Mindanao was not just infrastructure or economics but peace—specifically, the framework peace agreement he reached with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that has since undergirded the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, former…
Manny Piñol warns PH hog industry is dying under import pressure
The Philippine hog industry is collapsing under the weight of imported pork from Brazil flooding the local market, with live hog prices crashing from over ₱200 per kilo to ₱110-130, and former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol is warning that when hog raisers quit, the corn farmers who…
Manny Piñol bets on wagyu beef and breadfruit to future-proof Philippine food supply
Former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol is promoting two unlikely food crops as the future of Philippine food security—wagyu beef cattle, which he says can be raised profitably even in backyard farms, and breadfruit, a native tree that provides food for generations from a single…
Manny Piñol accuses Marcos economic team of ‘miscounting’ agriculture’s contribution to the Philippine economy
The Marcos administration’s economic team is systematically undercounting agriculture’s contribution to the Philippine economy by ignoring food processing and manufacturing, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol said Wednesday. Piñol claimed that this error that makes the Philippine…
‘Pinatay natin yung ating mga magsasaka’: Manny Piñol says Rice Tariffication Law not only failed to bring down rice prices, but also killed Filipino farmers
The Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) did not bring down rice prices as promised, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol said Wednesday. In fact, Piñol said it drove them higher, while simultaneously killing the livelihoods of Filipino rice farmers by surrendering the country’s rice…
The Philippines is headed toward becoming a failed state if it keeps depending on food imports, says former DA chief
The Philippines is on a path toward becoming a failed state in terms of food security if it continues to rely on importation rather than boosting local food production, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol warned Wednesday. Piñol made the statement in an interview on DZRH News…
1987 Constitution’s multi-party presidential system is the root of PH’s governance dysfunction, says Erice
The fundamental source of the Philippines’ governance failures, from Metro Manila’s flooding crisis to the national budget’s political distortions, is the 1987 Constitution’s multi-party presidential system, a combination that Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar “Egay” Erice said…
Education, health take major hits in 2027 budget in favor of ‘presidential pork barrel’: Erice
The proposed 2027 national budget cuts funding for school buildings by 64%, slashes the school-based feeding program by 55%, reduces textbooks and instructional materials by 66%, and completely zeroes out the human resources for health program—all while allocating ₱58 billion in discretionary…
‘Presidential pork barrel’: Erice slams ₱58B local government support fund as discretionary spending with no plan
Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar “Egay” Erice is calling the ₱58 billion Presidential Assistance to Local Government Units fund in the 2027 national budget a form of “presidential pork barrel,” or discretionary spending with no development plan behind it that he says is designed to…
Marcos-Duterte conflict is costing the Philippines its economic future: Erice
The ongoing political war between the Marcos and Duterte camps has consumed all governance energy that should have gone to economic reform, policy-making, and investment promotion—and the economy is now paying the price, Caloocan City 2nd District Rep. Edgar “Egay” Erice warned Tuesday. Erice made…