Following the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, the Philippines elected senators and congressmen in May 1987. The elections took place more than a decade after the abolition of the bicameral legislature and the establishment of a unicameral body under a parliamentary government as provided for under the 1973 Constitution. Lawmakers elected in 1987 were known as members of the 8th Congress as the old congressional count was maintained.
Before 1986 Philippine GDP contracted by 7.324 percent in 1984 and 7.307 percent in 1985, according to data from the World Bank. The Philippine economy recovered in 1986, when GDP grew by 3.417 percent. When the 1987 Constitution was ratified, hopes were high that this would pave the way for a more prosperous Philippines. This is because Article II, Section 9 of the Constitution indicates that the State “shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.”
Three decades after the 1987 Constitution was ratified and the Filipinos were again given the power to elect their lawmakers, the Philippines has yet to see poverty incidence fall to a single digit. Many of the poor are in rural areas and according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the poorest Filipinos are farmers and fishermen. Despite its contribution to Philippine economy, the agriculture sector did not get the attention it deserved, even if Article II, Section 21 of the Constitution stated that “the State shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.”
This lack of focus on the agriculture sector is also evident in terms of legislative priority. Among the most significant measures enacted for the sector in the last three decades are Republic Act 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996; RA 6657, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law; RA 8435, or the Agricultural Fisheries Modernization Act (Afma) of 1997; and RA 10000, or the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009.
RA 8178, which was enacted after the Philippines joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, converted the quantitative restrictions on farm goods, except for rice. The Afma sought to provide the legal basis for modernizing the farm sector and included provisions aimed at developing rural areas and organizing these into Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones. The Agri-Agra law wanted to expand the access of fishermen and farmers to loans from the banking sector.
Unfortunately, loopholes in these measures were exploited. This is evident in the Agri-Agra law, as banks were allowed to tap other mechanisms so they can comply with the provisions of the law. As for Afma, its provisions were simply ignored by government. Until now, government is not funding initiatives to implement the law.
As for the accession of the Philippines to the WTO, the promised gains of open export markets were not realized by local agricultural producers. This could have been remedied by Congress by putting in place the necessary safety nets for farmers to help them become more competitive. RA 8178 prescribed the set up of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which would consist of tariffs collected from the importation of farm goods but many farmers could not tap the Acef.
Need we wonder then if the sector could not jack up its contribution to Philippine GDP? In fact, agriculture’s share to GDP has declined in recent years. It took spikes in inflation last year for bureaucrats to realize the importance of agriculture, particularly in easing supply-side pressures, to temper price increases.
Because inflation remains a popular issue, many candidates running for the midterm polls have started parroting economic managers who harped about the importance of agriculture to the economy. But lawmakers should not just stop at parroting economic managers. Rhetoric will not make crops grow and shield the Philippines from the ill effects of climate change. Voters have the power to choose candidates who can give the agriculture sector the attention it deserves.