The Interviewer Presents Senator Cynthia Villar Cynthia Aguilar Villar is a Filipina politician currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the Lone District of Muntinlupa from 2001 to 2010 before winning a seat in the Senate in 2013, placing tenth. #MisisHanepBuhay

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Let's keep talking!

Kaibigan, tuloy ang usap!

Rice tarification. What has it done to the country?

Ano pa ang na-achieve ng rice tarification?

Paano niyo nilalabanan yung inyong mga kalaban noon?

As a person, as a government official, what is the most fulfilling part about what you do?

Magandang araw po, Sen. Villar.

Sen. Cynthia, maraming salamat na tayo'y nandito na naman at magkukwentuhan.

Thank you, Renz.

Maraming maraming salamat din.

Pag ako'y nabibigyan ng pagkakataon na dumalaw dito sa lugar ninyo, sa Las Piñas.

I take the chance because nagagandaan ako.

Lalo na nung nabalitaan ko na merong Children's Farm.

Itong kinururunan natin ngayon.

Ang kwento nito, ano? Kanino hong plano ito? What is the vision?

It's a beautiful place.

Kasi ito, boy, this is a farm school.

I started this in 2016.

So ang farm school po ay ano? At ang Children's Farm na ito ay bahagi ng farm school?

Kasi nung matapos na yung farm school, after seven years, last year, ito nagsimula lang ito, December of this 2022.

I want to make the farm more interesting.

So nilagyan ko ng coffee shop.

A bar.

But in the middle, I did a children's farm.

You know, when you have something like this, you develop a love for children.

Yes.

Ngayon, kung nakakakita ko mga bata, ito, entuwa ako.

Nakatawa mga bata.

May mga bata nag-go horseback riding.

Riding, yes.

Natutuwa ako sa mga bata kasi gusto ko maaga pa sa buhay nila, ma-encourage na sila sa agriculture para naman may future on agriculture sa Philippines.

So I thought that if I establish a farm school and young children will be exposed to a farm in their early years,

baka mas maraming maging farmer in the future.

You can actually feed?

Yes, yes.

Ano yan? Napier. Napier.

Oo.

High protein rat.

Ano po, senador?

Nakipilagay mo lang dyan pagkakaguluhan na yan.

Oo, tino.

Ayan.

Ah, okay. Oy, pigyan niyo naman yung isa.

Oo.

Sino mo nagkakagulo na? Tuwa na sila.

Kami nagtatanim niyan eh. We have a plantation on the other end.

So andito na lahat?

Oo. Kasi para hindi kami bibili.

Kung mapapalaki ko kita ng farmers at ang agriculture will become a business and they will be agripreneurs,

then maya-attract natin ang mga bata.

So itong farm school na ito, para maintindihan po ng ating mga kababayan, senador, ano po ito?

I'm teaching farming to the farmers, especially those coming from the provinces.

I have a dorm here that they can live here for the duration of their training.

Usually, two weeks ang minimum. Kasi I wrote the law, the farm tourism law,

which provided that we will encourage farm schools in every town in the Philippines.

And then we have six courses here.

One is rice farm mechanization, inbred rice seed production.

Then we have vegetable farming.

Then we have dairy.

We have coconut intercropping with cacao.

We have aquaculture.

And final, the farm business school.

Tinuturoan yung mga farmer to operate their farm as a business.

Hindi na lang farming. Pwede mong gawing tourist farm para may dadating na mga tourist,

makakainin mo, kikita ka doon, tapos pagbibilhan mo ng uwi.

And then at the same time, farm school. Magtuturo ka sa mga farmer,

hindi mo sisingelin ng farmer, free yun, walang pambayad yun.

But TESDA and the Agricultural Training Institute will pay for all the tuition of the farmers

who are studying in your farm school. Marami ka ng income.

Senador, you have the plans of replicating this idea around the country?

Yeah, we have replicated. We have 3,000 farm schools and tourist farms in the country.

I passed the law in 2016, tapos promote namin, meron ng 3,000.

Sa aming foundation, talagang ang aming aim is poverty reduction.

Ito yung sipag?

Oo. And I think it is in the agriculture that poverty is very rampant.

Mahihirap ang nasa agriculture.

Kaya I thought that if I'm going to improve the lives of people in the Philippines,

I have to do it in agriculture because that's the only way I can do it.

I have to do it in agriculture because napakaliit po ng kita ng mga farmers natin.

Imagine ang coconut farmers, 1,500 a month, ang rice farmer, 5,000 a month.

Ikita ba yun? Iwala ba yun sa minimum wage?

At least dapat, mga minimum wage man lang para naman makasupport sa kanilang pamilya

na magandang pakakain nila sa kanilang mga anak.

Pag-usapan natin yung ating huling pinag-usapan.

Dalaga, dumalaw ko dito noong 2019.

Napag-usapan nga natin yung rice tarification.

Kumusta na po yan?

What has it done to the country at update lamang sa ating mga kababayan?

It came about because, di ba, pag nag-i-import tayo ng rice, Vietnam.

And they pay tariff, they pay for transportation, mas mura pa rin sila.

Kasi based on a PIDS study,

ang Vietnam produces palay at 6 pesos per kilo, tayo 12.50.

So inaralan nila, ano ba ang cost ng 12.50 versus 6 peso?

Bakit?

So nadiscovered nila,

na-mechanize sila, ang labor nila lower by 3.50 per kilo.

Kaya napansin nyon, kasi biglang tumaas ang bigas

from 32 to 40 per kilo noong 2018,

naging 48 to 60.

E di syempre, alam mo, yung pagtaas ng presyo ng bigas

na nagkoko-cost ng abalone,

E di syempre, alam mo, yung pagtaas ng presyo ng bigas

na nagkoko-cost ng abalone,

kaya na-alarm ang administration.

So they talked to me to pass the rice tarification law.

Ili-liberalize ang importation of rice.

But I agreed to do that.

But they will give all the proceeds of the tariff to the farmers.

Kasi ano isasama ng law,

lahat ng pera makukulekta, ibabalik sa iyo.

We created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

Ang una nilang sabi sa akin, makukulekta daw 12 billion.

So yung 10 billion, nilagay ko na agad para sigurado

dun sa Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund,

na mamibigay yung 5 billion,

mamimigay ng machinery to mechanize rice farming.

Ito yung tractor, transplanter, harvester, milling, at saka drying.

So mula nung ito'y naging batas noong 2019,

noong kapanahonan ni President Duterte,

Hindi na tumahas ang price.

Hindi na tumahas ang price ng rice.

At saka ano pa ang na-achieve ng rice tarification?

Sabi ng PhilRice kasi sila ang may productivity per hectare.

Before that daw,

ang productivity per hectare is 3.7 metric tons per hectare.

Ngayon daw nasa 4.4 na tayo.

Tingin nila kaya nila by 2024, 5 metric tons per hectare.

And if I extend the rice tarification law,

they can hit 6 metric tons per hectare.

Paano niyo nilalabanan yung inyong mga kalaban noon?

Dahil nung nag-usap tayo,

there was some resistance to the rice tarification.

Eh kasi nung una, siyempre hindi nila alam.

Nung namimigay na ng equipment, na namimigay ng rice,

dito ang tuwa na mga farmer.

Iwanan natin ang rice tarification.

Puna naman ho tayo sa composting.

Dahil nabasa ko ito that Las Piñas just won a global award

given by one of the most prestigious environmental award-giving body sa Austria.

Yes.

Oo.

Pwentuhan mo kami, Senador, tungkol dito sa composting.

Ano ito? Ano ang nagagawa nito sa environment at sa kasabayan?

Kasi itong composting ko started when I became congresswoman of Las Piñas.

So, yung maganda dito sa composting,

yung mga kitchen and garden waste natin,

nagiging organic fertilizer.

Noon, mura pa fertilizer.

So that was not very before.

But naisip ko, kesa naman kukunin pa ng baso,

di gawin na lang fertilizer.

Anong masama na may fertilizer ka?

Tapos malinis.

Kasi 50% of our waste are kitchen and garden waste.

Kung hindi mo yan ibibigay sa basorero,

edi nakatipid ka ng 50% of your expense, di ba?

Oo.

Tapos pinabangan ko pa,

naging organic fertilizer pa.

Hindi na tayo bibili ng fertilizer,

yun na lang ang gagamitin natin.

So, syempre noong una,

e ako hindi ako masyado nadidiscourage agad.

Di kung ayaw nyo, di wag kayo.

Kung yung may gusto, may gusto.

So, nag-start ako dahan-dahan.

Yung may mga gusto, pinibigyan ko.

Ako nabili through our foundation

kasi wala pa naman gano'ng program ang government.

So, kinontinue ko yun hanggang ngayon.

Today, I have 89 composters.

And each composter is producing

1,000 kilos of organic fertilizer every month.

Oo.

E ngayon, tuan-tua sila sa organic fertilizer

kasi nagmahal, nag-triple ang fertilizer.

So, may extra, ano,

may extra income.

Tapos, alam mo ba,

since it's 50% of the waste,

we have brought down the,

expense of Las Piñas

to bring their waste

into the landfill in San Mateo

from P400 million a year

to P100 million a year.

Kasi we are recycling 75% of our waste

kasi yung plastic, 15% yan.

Ginagawa akong school chair.

And then, yung paper,

binibili yan ng ano eh,

ng junk shop

kasi there is a recycling paper factory in Pampanga

and the owner told me

na even if we sell to them all our waste paper,

they still import waste paper.

Oo.

Oo.

Oo.

Oo.

Oo.

Oo.

Oo.

Oo.

They still import waste paper.

Oo.

Kaya, between the two of them,

15% din yun, di 80%.

So, kami ngayon,

tinatanong ko itong aking munisipyo,

P100 million lang kami a year.

Instead of the P400 million.

Oo.

Munti mo savings yun.

Sinator, ito ba'y pwedeng magawa ng buong?

Yeah.

In fact, because I'm successful,

I'm giving every year

to the Bureau of Soil and Water Management

money so that they will distribute

composting machine in all the towns and cities

in the Philippines.

This year, I gave them P3 billion

so they can distribute P3,000.

Ang towns and cities natin,

P1,600 lang.

Di pwede pang tigda dalawa.

Oo.

Ako, pinipilit ko sila

kasi ano masama na

meron ka ng organic fertilizer,

malinis pa bayan mo.

Ilalagay mo lang naman sa tabi ng palengke.

Nandun lahat ang kitchen and garden waste.

Tapos, libre na sa farmer yun.

Kesa ang iniimport natin yung fertilizer,

P20 billion na yun.

Sinator, when you introduce

new concepts like this,

ano yung mga karanasan nyo po

on the ground

doon sa pagtanggap

o di kaya resistance?

May resistance.

Pero that doesn't mean stacking.

That doesn't deter.

Basta sa mind ko, tama siya.

I-continue ko.

Kung sila ayaw nila,

ito bigay ko doon sa may gusto.

After a while naman, gusto na rin.

Pag naprove nila na maganda,

naingit din e, humihingi din e.

Munti mo kami ngayon 89,

barangay based.

Tama.

Barangay based.

And munti mo naman nakikinabang sa amin

yung lahat ng humihingi sa akin ng seeds.

Kasama, fertilizer,

binibigay ko.

Nagdi-distribute ako ng seeds,

para ma-encourage ang vegetable gardening.

Kasi minsan,

pag tinatamaan yung northern luzon ng bagyo,

nagmamahal sa Maynila

at sa ibang neighboring cities

ang vegetable.

O di kung nagtatanim tayo ng vegetable,

wala tayong problema.

We produce our own.

In fact, in Las Piñas,

we have a contest every May.

The best vegetable garden

in a school,

in a barangay,

and in a subdivision.

Three categories.

Ngayon, taon,

ang sumali, limang po.

O.

Kasi ini-encourage ko na,

lalo na yung mahihirap na lugar,

para pag nawala ng trabaho,

e di kumain ng vegetable.

Diba?

Ang vegetable, mas healthy pa yan.

That's right.

And you even cover backyard farming?

Yes, yes.

Which I think is very important.

Kasi nasanay din po ako

doon sa amin

na halos bawat bahay

ay merong tanim.

O, yeah.

Napanggulay.

What is most fulfilling about this, Senador?

As a person,

as a government official,

what is the most fulfilling part

about what you do?

Kasi you must be remembered

for something good.

And you want to be remembered

for this.

Yeah, I want to be remembered for this.

Oo na.

I made a difference

in the lives of farmers

and fishermen

and the poor people

in our locality.

I'm happy.

If I were to ask you

how much you have in cash

sa wallet mo,

magkano ko ang naman?

Pero between the two of you,

kayo ni Sen. Manny,

who holds the purse?

Senator,

ano po ang inyong dasal gabi-gabi?

You're at the entrance of heaven

and God is there

and He says,

My daughter Cynthia,

what was the best thing

you did for me?