MANILA — Days before he took office, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. announced that he would lead the agriculture department, in a first for a Philippine leader.

"I thought it is important that the president take that portfolio so that not only to make it clear to everyone what a high priority we put on the agri sector but also as a practical matter so that things move quickly because the events of the global economy are moving very quickly," Marcos said in a June 2022 press conference.

Following the agency's warning of a possible food crisis, Marcos' first orders for the agriculture department included boosting local production of commodities and uplifting the lives of farmers and fisherfolk.

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However, several issues have hounded Marcos' leadership of the department, including a spike in onion prices and alleged irregularities in sugar importation.

As Marcos marks his first year as president on Friday, here's a look back on these agricultural issues.

SUGAR MESS

After sugar prices shot up due to a supposed shortage in August 2022, the Sugar Board convened and came up with an order to import 300,000 metric tons of the sweetener.

But the Palace called the move "illegal" given that Marcos, chairman of the board, did not authorize the meeting.

The issue resulted in the resignation of then Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Hermenegildo Serafica and his board members.

"Today, I am officially leaving my post with a light heart and clear conscience knowing that I performed the functions of my office consistent with, or within the bounds of the law," Serafica said in a statement.

Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez also resigned from his post weeks after the sugar order fiasco.

It was Rodriguez who "issued the order to create an importation plan," then Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said. But the Palace later defended Rodriguez and said he had nothing to do with the botched importation plan.

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A Malacañang investigation later "absolved of any liability" the SRA officials who were tagged in the fiasco.

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Malacañang also appointed a new set of officials at the SRA. The importation eventually pushed through, with only half the volume of sugar originally planned.

But another round of importation was hounded with controversy early this year.

Sugar Order Number 6, signed by Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, led to what Sen. Risa Hontiveros called "state-sanctioned smuggling."

Hontiveros pointed out alleged irregularities such as the arrival of imports before the order was finalized. She added that the import was limited to three seemingly handpicked sugar traders.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee launched an investigation on the issue.

"Hindi ba ang talo dito ay ang mamamayang Pilipino? Dahil pag pinayagan natin ang asukal na pasukin ng mga cartel, pinapayagan natin na kontrolin nila ang presyo nito. At kung di natin ito papalagan, ano pa ang ibang agricultural commodities na pwedeng pasukan ng kartel?," Hontiveros said.

(Won't the public lost here because we allowed cartels to import sugar and control its price? If we don't oppose this, what other agricultural commodities will they bring in?)

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Panganiban explained his side several times on the issue.

"I acted with haste and interpreted the memorandum of the Office of the Executive Secretary as an approval to proceed with the importation," he told Palace reporters.

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The SRA is preparing another sugar order for another batch of importation, as of this writing.

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ONIONS

Aside from sugar, onions became a controversial commodity in the past year.

Towards the end of 2022, onions retailed for as high as P700 a kilo.

Several factors were blamed for the eye-watering prices, from the alleged meddling and control of middlemen to the government's supposed lack of foresight in importation.

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The House of Representatives conducted a series of lengthy hearings, tagging a so-called "Sibuyas Queen" in the alleged onion smuggling.

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In January this year, the government was forced to import onions, only to be criticized by farmers due to supposed bad timing. Harvest season was expected to kick in by the time the imported onions arrived in the country.

Addressing the criticism, Marcos said, "Paano naman hindi kailangan mag-import? Tingnan mo yung production ng Pilipinas, tingnan mo yung demand, malayo talaga."

"Sinubukan nating makuha lahat ng mga smuggled, pero kulang pa rin. Talagang we are forced to import, so that is what they are doing," he said.

(Why would we not need to import? Look at the production, then look at the demand, the gap is huge. We tried to get all the smuggled onions, but these were not enough. We were really forced to import.)

• READ FULL STORY: The Onion Story

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RICE

Issues also plagued other commodities such as rice and vegetables.

Cathy Estavillo of Bantay Bigas pointed out that the Marcos' campaign promise of lowering the price of rice has remained empty, as retail price of the staple remained high.

"Nangako siya na malapit na ang P20 per kilo na bigas...hanggang ngayon wala tayong naaaninag na P20 per kilo. Bagkus ay napakataas ng presyo ng bigas," Estavillo said.

(He promised that we are near to achieving P20 per kilo of rice. But we have yet to see a shadow of that until now. Instead, rice prices remain very high.)

The National Food Authority floated the idea of importing rice to boost its buffer stock for calamities, a proposal that was criticized as unlawful.

Under the Rice Liberalization law, the NFA can only source rice from local farmers. Eventually, the DA said it would not import rice for its buffer stock.

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A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR AGRICULTURE

American Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee Chair Christopher Ilagan said the past year was "challenging" for the agriculture sector.

"I think when it comes to where we saw that the most, it would probably be where food inflation is concerned. We've seen it in sugar, we've seen it on onions," he said.

The average Filipino family devotes a big part of their budget to food, and that if not averted, food inflation will continue hurting the pocket of local consumers, Ilagan said.

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Aside from supply issues, the Marcos administration had to contend with outbreaks of the bird flu and African swine fever.

But Ilagan pointed out that there were also some positive notes, including the drastic increase in the agriculture budget.

"Having those additional resources obviously means the possibility to spend more on improved productivity. It's a huge jump from where we are coming from the past administrations," he said.

Ilagan also argued that with Marcos as agriculture chief, it was easier to pass difficult policies, such as lowering the tariff on corn.

"It does provide the political clout for additional budgets as we have seen in the last calendar year to be able to push some difficult policies," he said.

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But for Bantay Bigas' Cathy Estavillo, there is not much hope in her outlook for the sector.

"Sayang yung one year na pag-upo niya talagang wala tayong nakita at naaaninag na positibo nya bilang DA secretary," she said.

(His one-year stint as agriculture chief was a waste and we did not see any positives.)

Despite the challenges, the Department of Agriculture said it would stay focused on its mandate. It also asserted that some changes had been put in place since the Marcos administration took over.

"Maraming pagbabago, on the food security, ang ating tinututukan lagi, dapat may pagkain sa mesa ng mga Pilipino," said Estoperez.

"We're trying our best with our president and secretary, gagampanan natin ang dapat gampanan, para ito ay maayos lahat sa direktiba ng ating Pangulo," he said.

(There have been many changes on the food security. We are always focused on providing food for every Filipino household. We are trying our best with our president and secretary, we will fulfill our duties.)

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