AGRi Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee has called for the strict implementation of the food security roadmap for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in order to sustain the continued decline of poverty incidence in the region. “As we celebrate Eid’l Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, I call on the government for the swift passage of measures that will guarantee help in ensuring food security for our Muslim brothers and sisters,” Lee said in a statement Wednesday, June 28. One such measure according to the neophyte solon is House Bill (HB) No.1299, or the proposed Right to Adequate Food Act. Lee filed the measure during the first regular session of the 19th Congress. It seeks to establish the framework for addressing hunger and provides the means through which the country can comply with international obligations with regard to the right to food. The Sorsogon native said the bill will address "the constant change of priority platforms in every administration transition’ as noted by the food security and nutrition roadmap developed by the BARMM, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)". According to the roadmap, "the integration of food security and nutrition (FSN) in programs and policies remains as a challenge in the national, regional, and local government, considering the dynamics in each government agency and other related sectors working on the implementation of various government programs in grassroots level". The lawmaker said the government should pull out all the stops to help BARMM’s target of lowering poverty incidence by 2025. “Malaking bagay po na bumaba ang poverty incidence sa rehiyon, ayon na rin sa huling tala ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), pero kailangan pa rin tandaan na 37.4 percent ng populasyon ng BARMM, o katumbas na 1.71 milyon na pamilya, ay naghihirap,” he noted. (It’s a big deal that poverty incidence in the region is going down according to the latest figures from the PSA, but we still need to keep in mind that 37.4 percent of the population of BARMM or equal to 1.71 million families are still living in poverty.)
Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/28/cong-lee-highlights-bill-in-bid-to-boost-barmm-s-food-security)
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