Thank you very much, Mr. Senate President.  Fellow Members of the Commission on Appointments, magandang hapon po!

Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary William Dar announced that beginning Monday, December 23, farmers in thirty three (33) rice producing areas, who are most affected by low palay prices due to the Rice Measure, will get an initial 5,000.00-Peso cash grant from the government.

Mas gusto naming tawagin itong cash compensation dahil bayad ito sa pinsalang hinaharap ng mga magsasaka natin ngayon.

This representation has sought various relief initiatives, including this much-needed compensation, starting August - when we delivered a privilege speech, on the plight of the men and women who feed the country, here in the Senate.

From four (4) months ago, we have repeatedly called the attention of the calamitous effects of the Rice Tarification Law in two (2) resolutions, a supplemental budget bill and a number of public statements, all seeking to urgently address the emergency situation that has befallen our rice farmers.

This cash compensation is a good start and hopefully a start of much-needed inventions to support our farmers.  We thank the man of the hour, Agriculture Secretary William Dar, as well as Fiunance Secretary Sonny Dominguez, for sitting down with us several times to figure out where to get the money to address this crisis we now face and more programmatically later.  

We believe that Secretary Dar’s background, both in his personal history and his professional experience, would do well in his job for the benefit of million Filipinos who work in agriculture.

Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues in the Commission on Appointment, we stand here to co-sponsor the appointment of William D. Dar as Secretary of Agriculture.

Ipinanganak sa isang magsasakang pamilya sa Ilocos Sur at Tarlac si Secretary Dar.  Bunso ng isang tatay na nagtatanim ng palay at gulay, at isang nanay na nagbebenta ng mga inani nito.  The hardships and rewards of agriculture to the families who live off the land are in Secretary Dar’s blood.  Dahil galing sa pamilya ng mga magsasaka, may pagpapahalaga siya sa kalagayan ng ating mga nagbubungkal ng lupa at sa kanilang napakahalagang kontribusyon sa lipunan.

Nabanggit kanina ni Sen. Cynthia Villar na naghahanda at nagbebenta ng kamote, heto ang halimbawa ng isang nangangamoteng nagtagumpay.

Pero hindi lang nasa dugo ni Secretary Dar ang agrikultura, ito rin ay nasa kanyang isip at gawa, sa kanyang pinag-aralan at pinagtrabahuan.  

Secretary Dar graduated with a degree in Agricultural Education from the then-Mountain State Agricultural College now the “Benguet State University”.  Three (3) years later, he graduated with a Master of Science in Agronomy from the same university.  A mere four (4)  years later, he earned his PhD in Horticulture from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños - the youngest PhD graduate of UPLB at the age of 27.

Secretary Dar is both a teacher and a public servant.  He started his career in government service as management technician for the DA’s Bureau of Agriculture Extension in Benguet province, where he was also hired as a teacher at the Baguio City High School from 1973 to 1975.  He likewise spent twelve (12) years as a faculty member of his alma mater, the Mountain State Agricultural College.

Malayo ang narating ni Secretary Dar sa agriculture research and development.  His background in the academe fostered an appreciation and expertise in research and development.  He became the first research coordinator and consortium director of the Highland Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (HARRDEC) of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development of PCARRD, where he served for nine (9) years.

He was also the first director of the Philippine Bureau of Agricultural Research.  Reportedly, then Agriculture Secretary and now Finance Secretary, Sonny Dominguez, was so impressed by him, he was hired after a five-minute interview.  In his seven (7) years of service at the Bureau, he has effectively directed the flow of the science of agriculture both as input and output.

He eventually returned to PCARRD and served as its fifth Executive Director.  In this post, Secretary Dar became the godfather of the Magsasakang Siyentista or the Farmer-Scientist Program that empowers farmers as co-developers of technology.  Kinilala niya ang angking kaalaman at talino ng ating mga magsasaka, at hindi ito ang unang pagkakataong naging pinuno si Secretary Dar ng Department of Agriculture.  He served as Acting Secretary from 1998 to 1999, whereby, as earlier mentioned and we would reiterate, Philippine agriculture grew by an unprecedented 9.6%, as well as experienced a commendable 87% drop in graft and corruption incidence at the department.

Pero hindi lang Pilipinas ang bansang nakinabang sa kahusayan ni Secretary Dar.  He was named the fifth Director General of the International Center for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India, where he served for fourteen (14) years.  He is the first Filipino and the first Asian to hold the said position, and he is the only Filipino who served as the head of a global agricultural research institute.  As Director General of ICRISAT, Secretary Dar rebranded the center from being under the bottom to a top-performing institution, receiving an outstanding over-all performance rating from the World Bank.  World Bank took notice of ICRISAT's quadrupling of income and investments from 21 million US dollars in 2000 to 85 million US dollars in 2014.  Sama-samang pagkilos at agham ang basehan ng mga solusyong isinulong ni Secretary Dar.  At ICRISAT, he championed inclusive market-oriented development for the benefit of smallholder farmers, 'yung pinaka maliliit. He also advocated for a Grey to Green Revolution through Science with a Human Face in the semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia.  Kung kaya n'yang magpatubo, magtanim at makapagpatubo sa Africa and Asia na semi-arid, na halos walang tubig, sa palagay natin dito sa Pilipinas mas marami s'yang aanihin, ika nga. 

He strengthened strategic partnerships with national agricultural research systems, research institutes, NGOs, development agencies and the private sector.  His stint in ICRISAT benefitted millions of farmers in India, Africa, and other dry land countries in the world including some areas in the Philippines.  Because of his service and dedication to the sector, Secretary Dar has received many awards including The Outstanding Filipino or TOFIL award in 2016. 

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, the good secretary's requests for legislative support for his agriculture paradigm in increasing the incomes of farmers and fisher folk, an advocacy that we both share and believe, will be the key in addressing poverty in the countryside.

Since his appointment, we have worked with the DA under him for the Implementing Rules and Regulation of our Sagip Saka Act of 2019 at pareho kaming naniniwala na walang ibang batayan ng tagumpay sa agrikultura kundi ang pagtaas ng kita at kalidad ng buhay ng mga nagtatrabaho rito, ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda, na s'yang nagpapakain sa ating bansa.

Like a nurtured plant, this experience strengthened our belief that we can work closely and effectively with Secretary Dar as we aim to rebuild Philippine agriculture; secure the livelihood and increased income of our farmers, fisher folks, and agriculture workers, and ensure that no Filipino family will ever go hungry.

With this, we support wholeheartedly the confirmation of Sec. William Dar.  

Thank you.