The Department of Agrarian Reform has issued Memorandum Circular No. 140, directing all its officials and select employees to strictly follow health protocols in issuing quarantine accreditation passes to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) nationwide.
Secretary John Castriciones has been authorized by Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to issue quarantine accreditation passes to farmer-beneficiaries so they could supply agri-food products to critical areas affected by the Enhanced Community Quarantine.
This developed as militant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas alleged that the Department of Agriculture must clarify and release actual guidelines on how to avail the P5,000 cash aid from the agency’s Rice Farmers Financial Assistance Program and Land Bank of the Philippines’ Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers program.
In the DAR memorandum, Castriciones urgently reminded selected DAR workforce to follow the required health protocols issued by the Department of Health.
“To continue the DAR’s service to the ARBs, non-ARBs and to the community, the issuance of quarantine passes must be done properly and with utmost care by protecting the employees first. They must adhere to health protocols so they will not get infected by the virus and spread it to the ARBs and to others,” Castriciones said.
The DAR workforce are instructed to follow health protocols that only designated personnel issued with quarantine passes would be allowed to leave their homes, and that they must wear a face mask, face shield and gloves.
Under the directive, they must desist from touching their face, eyes, nose and mouth, and that they must observe proper hand-washing and carry alcohol to disinfect their hands.
Upon returning home, they must dispose their used protective gears, change clothes and disinfect the clothes and shoes they wore.
Bathing is also required for disinfection.
The memorandum also states that it is the duty of the DAR personnel and the concerned DAR official to ensure that ARBs, agrarian cooperatives and agrarian reform communities, in any DAR activity, should comply with the health protocols.
“At present, we are focusing our efforts within the national emergency situation, to ensure the welfare of ARBs, farmers’ cooperatives/organizations and agrarian communities. We want them safe and at the same time, earning for their families,” the DAR chief said.
He said the IATF-EID issued Resolution No. 21, series of 2020 which states that “All agriculture and fishery stakeholders must be considered front liners and their movement shall remain unhampered.”
“As the ARBs stand in the frontline of the battle against COVID19, we at DAR, stand united in helping the famers provide food to the people and support the government in their aim to sustain food security in the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, KMP leader Danilo Ramos said that the DA is keeping mum on how the agriculture department will provide cash aid and actual production support to farmers affected by the lockdown.
“Our food security frontliners also need help. They need immediate production support and subsidies,” Ramos said.
Both the FSRF and RFFA are ongoing DA programs which covers farmers that till up to two hectares of land.
“What about more farmers and farm workers that are not covered by these existing DA programs? How can they avail of cash aid and social amelioration from the government? They are also severely affected by loss of income and livelihood as a result of the prolonged ECQ,” Ramos added.
According to President Rodrigo Duterte’s third report to Congress last Monday, the DA, as of April 8, has released an unconditional cash transfer to a total of 300,994 rice farmers out of the targeted 597,404 rice farmers.
The LandBank also reportedly distributed unconditional cash transfer to 18,495 qualified farmers out the 591, 246 targeted farmer-beneficiaries or those located in provinces not covered by the RFFA.
“DA has a long way to go in aiding an estimate of 9.7 million farmers, farm workers and fisherfolk in need of assistance during the Enhanced Community Quarantine and beyond.”
“Five weeks into the lockdown, we are still getting numerous reports that farming households in rural barangays have yet to receive any form of assistance or relief from the government. These are valid grievances from farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihood were disrupted by the ECQ,” said Ramos.
DA has a whopping P31-billion budget for its ALPAS-COVID or Plant, Plant, Plant Program.
KMP said based on Agriculture Secretary William Dar’s recent pronouncements, DA is leaning towards massive promotion of urban and community gardening as an intervention to help ensure food availability.
“While urban farming can help in the interim, it is not a viable long-term strategy to ensure food security. We must strengthen the domestic rice industry, increase our local rice productivity and do away with dependence on rice imports,” said Ramos.
“The government is projecting a prolonged pandemic. Health and nutrition must go hand-in-hand as these important socio-economic factors can be effective shields in our fight against COVID-19,” the peasant leader added. With Willie Casas and Benjamin Chavez
