Farmers: Probinsya nga ‘di naiangat, bansa pa? IMEE BILANG DA CHIEF UNCONSTITUTIONAL

MALALABAG ang Saligang Batas kapag nakinig si Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. sa rekomendasyon ni Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) Chairman Rosendo So na italaga ang kapatid na si Sen. Imee Marcos bilang Secretary ng Department of Agriculture (DA).

Ito ang bababala ng Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) matapos  aminin ni So na nagpapahanap sa kanila si Pangulong Marcos ng taong nais nilang maitalaga kapalit niya sa DA.
“Even if So is serious, appointing Sen. Imee, the President’s sibling, as the DA Secretary is unconstitutional. It violates Paragraph 2, Section 13, Article 12 of the Philippine Constitution, which states that “[t]he spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil degree of the President shall not, during his tenure, be appointed as Members of the Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the Ombudsman, or as Secretaries…” ayon sa grupo.

Sinabi ng grupo na pinamumunuan ni dating Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano na pabor sila sa pahayag ni So na kailangang may puso sa magsasaka ang susunod na DA Secretary.

Ngunit hindi umano nakikita ang katangiang ito kay Sen. Imee dahil naging bingi ito sa panawagan ng mga magsasaka na amyendahan ang Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) na kanyang sinuportahan.
“As a legislator, Sen. Imee has snubbed numerous pro-farmer proposals, such as the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, the proposed Rice Industry Development Act, the P750 National Minimum Wage Bill, or even the now-enacted Free Irrigation Services Act,” dagdag pa ng grupo ni Mariano.

Kinontra rin aniya ng mga magsasaka ang Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) subalit isinulong pa rin ito ni Marcos bilang vice chairman ng committee on food, agriculture, and agrarian reform.

“Moreover, Imee, with other Marcoses, has failed to significantly improve the lives of Ilocano farmers despite being in power in Ilocos Norte since 1998. The province remains the poorest in the entire Ilocos Region, having a smaller average farm size, worse farmer landlessness, and lower agricultural wages than national averages. Is someone unable to uplift a province capable of addressing our country’s historic crisis in agriculture?,” tanong pa ng KMP. (BERNARD TAGUINOD)

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