popnews.online

GOVERNMENT leaders need to work harder to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the economy, the health sector and the people.   Stressing her earlier statements were NOT aimed at medical frontliners who have called for a two-week break and proposed that Metro Manila revert to enhanced community quarantine, Senator Cynthia Villar said: “We have to work harder and better, but I am not referring in particular to the medical workers--our frontliners. We are referring to all of us and DOH and Philhealth in particular. There is so much room for improvement in the government’s response to curb the transmission of the disease.”   “Alam ko po ang sakripisyong ginagawa ng ating mga health frontliners.  Buhay nila ang nakataya sa ginagawa nilang pag-aalaga sa ating mga kababayan na nagkaroon;   “We in Congress have just passed the Bayanihan package 2, after intense debates, to provide health and financial support to the people.  The government’s economic team wi...

Sen. Cynthia Villar welcomed the agriculture program that will encourage more people to grow their own food and asked the Department of Agriculture to make sure that the ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program includes a training component in order to be effective. Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, has been pushing for home gardening and urban agriculture as a food security strategy that will make sure people have sources of food in times of calamity or health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic. “For this program to be effective, we cannot just distribute seeds and let the people plant on their own. We should also have a program that will teach them the know-how of planting. The strategy is to let people see that growing food is a joyful undertaking by helping them make their planting projects thrive,” Villar said. Villar said DA should tap the more than 20,000 farm schools all over the country to train the people how to plant. She said training programs like the Ag...

          Senator Cynthia Villar welcomed the call of President Rodrigo Duterte in his State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) to utilize the coconut levy fund “for the welfare of coconut farmers and the development of the coconut industry”.             Villar has also been pushing for the release and utilization of the coco levy since 2016. The coco levy refers to the taxes imposed on coconut farmers from 1971 to 1983. The amount collected is now estimated to be P105 billion.             “Like the President, I believe that the the urgent utilization of the coconut levy fund will help uplift the lives of coconut farmers. It is long overdue, the monies of our coconut farmers, which they rightfully own, will also benefit the coconut industry, not only the 3.5 million coconut farmers,” said Villar.             In his 5th SONA, the President also urged “both Houses of Congress to pa...

As quarantine restrictions relax in many areas, Sen. Cynthia Villar reminded the public not to be complacent and stressed the need to continue to practice protocols prescribed by the health department to stop the spread of COVID-19. “As we begin to adjust to the new normal way of life, we should not put our guards down. Alalahanin natin na nandyan pa rin ang virus at wala pang bakuna laban sa COVID-19 kaya kailangang sumunod sa health protocols,” Villar said. Villar also said the growing body of evidence saying that face masks and cloth face coverings help prevent the spread of the virus proves that we can defend ourselves against the virus while waiting for the vaccine. Together with her daughter Camille, who sits as Representative of the lone district of Las Pinas, Villar distributed 2,000 tarpaulins in the different barangays of the city to remind residents of the needed health protocols such as the wearing of face mask, practice of physical distancing and frequent hand-washing. “We...

Fifteen owners of farm schools and learning sites in Luzon attended the "Training of Trainers on Production of High Quality Inbred Seeds and Farm Mechanization" program held at the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG) Farm School in Bacoor City. Conducted by the Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center IV-A, Philippine Center for Post-Harvest Development and Mechanization, and Philippine Rice Research Institute-Los Banos, the training course aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of participants on modernized production technologies.  Sen. Cynthia Villar, director of Villar SIPAG, said the course is part of the program under Republic Act 11203 or the law which created the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, where a pool of trainers will take the lead in teaching farmers in different parts of the country how to improve their yield and increase their incomes by lowering the cost of producing palay.  At th...

Sen. Cynthia Villar announced the launching of the updated version of the directory which will guide farm enthusiasts, trainees and tourists about farm destinations and learning sites in the country.   The 466-paged 5th edition of Directory of Farm Schools, Tourist Farms and Learning Sites in the Philippines contains photographs and contact details of these sites from all the 17 regions in full color.   “This book is part of my efforts to promote farm tourism and the farm schools in our country. I continue to urge farmers to follow the example of others who have since become more profitable. They have tripled their income sources—from their crops or harvests, from tourists who visit their farms and from trainees who enroll in training programs,” Villar said.   Villar principally authored Republic Act 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016 which paved the way for an increasing number of farmers, farm owners and farming communities to enjoy the benefits of conver...

Senator Cynthia Villar continues to enhance the capabilities and responsiveness of Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center (LPGH & STC) in dealing with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. She recently turned over five units of hospital equipment to LPGH & STC received by Dr. Rodrigo Hao, Medical Director. These include a passbox, biological freezer, biological refrigerator, autoclave sterilizer and ventilator. “Now, more than ever, it is crucial for our local hospitals to have the necessary equipment and facilities to cope with COVID-19 cases on top of their regular patients. The ongoing pandemic is putting so much pressure on hospitals and frontliners, we need to support and equip them,” said Villar, who has been supporting her home city’s hospital since she was a congresswoman. Photo shows Dr. Rodrigo Hao receiving one unit of laboratory ventilator. Sen. Cynthia Villar said the testing center in Las Pinas will cater to patients in the South of Manila and Cavite. She...

Fifteen participants coming from Laguna, Bacoor and Las Pinas completed the Agricultural Crops Production Training/ Urban Gardening Program at the Villar SIPAG Farm School in Bacoor.  The participants learned the basic knowledge and skills on vegetable production, including land preparation, harvesting, urban gardening and nutrition education.  Sen. Cynthia Villar, director of the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance, stressed the need to have a ready source of food especially in this pandemic where the food supply chain was disrupted.  

          Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said waste management should not take a backseat during the pandemic but instead it should be prioritized to prevent the spread of diseases.           “We all know that a clean environment is a healthy environment. Improperly disposed wastes can cause infection and contamination. So, we should to take proper waste disposal and management even more seriously,” said Villar.              According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “If solid waste is not dealt with quickly, serious health risks will develop which will further demoralize the community already traumatized by the emergency”. Moreover, the International Solid Waste Association cites that “Waste Management is one of the most important sanitary barriers to prevent dissemination of illnesses and diseases”.         ...

Sen. Cynthia Villar has asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to recall the issuance of the environment compliance certificate (ECC) to the 320-hectare Bacoor reclamation project initiated by Bacoor City government together with the owner of Erabelle Fishing Corporation as it threatens to result in a host of serious problems among them the destruction of legislated protected area and massive flooding in communities surrounding Manila Bay.   “The reclamation project will potentially cause irreparable damage to the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park. The project will be building on the buffer zone of this protected area and will destroy the landscape in which the wetland now thrives,” Villar said.   Under Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act or E-NIPAS Act, the 175-hectare Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park is a declared protected area. It is also one of the seven areas in the Philippines listed as a Wetland of Interna...

Sen. Cynthia Villar, advocate of urban gardening, re-opened the Villar SIPAG Farm School Bacoor and resumed training for agri-crops production. It was stopped last March because of the quarantine measures. Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture and Food and director of the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG), built farm schools in Las Pinas and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan to promote agriculture in urban areas. The first Villar SIPAG farm school inaugurated in 2015 is located in a 4-hectare lot in the boundary of Las Piñas City and Bacoor. The San Jose Del Monte Farm School, which opened in October 2016, sits in a 4-hectare land in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. Both schools have training areas, dormitories, farm houses and kitchen areas. Also featured are vermi- composting facilities, kitchen waste composting facilities, greenhouses, spaces for livestock production aquaculture and cacao plantation under coconut trees.  The...

            Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, together with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), has set up an aquaponics facility to benefit a community in Las Piñas, where the senator has also put up a vegetable garden.           Urban aquaponics is part of BFAR’s Fisheries Resiliency Projects to address food-related challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Aquaponics or hydroponics is a way of growing vegetables without soil and at the same time growing fish in the same setup as well.           “It is really time for city dwellers to grow their own food even in an urban setting with limited space. Food self-sufficiency is very important especially during disasters or emergencies such as the ongoing pandemic,” said Villar, who has been advocating urban farming to beat food poverty.           The urban aquaponics an...

Saying more Filipinos should have access to healthy and safe farm products, Sen. Cynthia Villar has pushed for a system of organic products certification which small farmers can also afford.   In defending the Committee Report amending Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, the Committee on Agriculture and Food said "farmers find the cost of third party certification with the tag price ranging from 42,000 to 150,000 per crop, valid for only one year to be exorbitant."   "This amount is way beyond the purse of small farmers who have the perennial problem to access even a small capital for production. Only rich farmers or corporations can afford third party certification. The provision has become a deterrent and a disincentive for small farmers comprising a large percentage of the farming population," Villar said.   Villar authored Senate Bill 1911 which proposes the establishment of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) as an alternative to thi...

                The Talon 2 Senior Citizens of Las Piñas and the Apo, Sons and Daughters of World War II Veterans Association Incorporated of Las Piñas are thankful to Senator Cynthia Villar and Las Piñas Congresswoman Camille Villar for providing them with their new office headquarters complete with a vegetable garden, vermicomposting and waste management facilities. The new office buildings are located in Barangay Talon 2 in Las Piñas             “Our elders come from a generation which value simple and sustainable living. They are the first proponents of growing food in our own homes or backyards. Besides providing headquarters for their associations, we also want them to be productive. What better way to do that than through farming,” said Villar.             As the current chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, the senator has been advocating urban farming and o...

Senator Cynthia Villar has said that she will look into alleged overpriced fertilizer contract of the Department of Agriculture. “I will look into the issue but I have to file a Senate Resolution first in order to schedule an inquiry or investigation. Congress is in recess right now and will resume on the third week of July. So I would have to wait till then," said Villar in a statement issued on June 15. Villar added: “For the meantime, the agri groups and farmers can bring their concern or complaints to the State Prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DoJ); “Once the Senate opens, we will of course, look at all the sides to this issue. We have to ensure that the funds made available by the government to help our countrymen cope with the ongoing pandemic are being used for their intended purpose and beneficiaries, particularly the farmers," the senator said.

Senator Cynthia Villar has called on the people to rise to the challenge and make a difference in facing difficult days. Villar made the remarks in a message to commemorate the 122nd anniversary of Philippine Independence on June 12. Her full message: "I join the entire nation in commemorating the 122nd Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence; "Walang hanggan ang gating pasasalamat sa ating mga dakilang bayani at mga kababayan na nag-sakripisyo at nag-buwis ng buhay para sa kasarinlan ng ating mahal na bayan; "That is the essence of our commemoration of this occasion from generation to generation. This particular generation is facing a challenging period, a global pandemic. But it offers an opportunity to rise to the challenge and make a difference; "Our forefathers have fought and Won their own wars. This is this generation’s battle and it entails sacrifices, too. Together, we can win this battle and emerge as a more resilient race; "God ble...

            Senator Cynthia Villar said that besides health and hygiene, the environment also plays a crucial role in the prevention in the spread and minimizing the effects of the coronavirus or Covid-19. Thus a clean and green environment should be part of the “new normal”.            Villar cited that improving air quality is a good start. Emissions of a variety of gases related to energy and transport has been significantly reduced due to limited economic activity and mobility of people. Prior to the enhance community quarantine (ECQ) and lockdown, the Philippines ranked 57th out of 98 countries in IQAirAirVisual’s list of the world’s most polluted countries in 2019.             Level of concentrations of particulate matter called PM2.5 averaged 17.6 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) in the country last year, an increase from 14.6 μg/m3 in 2018. These exceeded the World Health Organization’s (...

Nakikiisa si Senator Cynthia Villar sa panawagan sa pamahalaan ng iba pang public officials at general public na agarang tugunan ang kalagayan ng mga stranded na manggagawa at taong mga nawalan ng trabaho sa mga lugar sa Luzon na nakararanas ng gutom at stress dahil rin sa malayo sa kanilang pamilya. Ayon kay Villar, karamihan  sa mga ito ay nasa sektor ng kontrusksyon. Hiniling ni Villar sa pamahalaan na buksan ang sektor ng konstruksyon, agrikultura at manufacturing dahil ang mga manggawa rito ang higit na apektado ng community quarantine. “I agree with those who say that there is a “humanitarian crisis in the making” in the current situation of those laborers who are not only stranded in their workplaces away from their families, but cannot help themselves and their families since they have no source of income. It’s doubly difficult for them,” ayon kay Villar. Bukod sa panawagang makauwi rin sa kanilang mga bahay sa lalawigan ang mga stranded na manggagawa, ipinanukala rin ng se...

Residents of Palo, Leyte are among the latest beneficiaries of the help extended by Sen. Cynthia Villar to areas affected by the COVID-19 health crisis. In solidarity with Mayor Ann Petilla's efforts to cushion the municipality from the adverse effects of the implementation of community quarantine, Villar sent rice for distribution to residents.

Sen. Cynthia Villar discussed with Department of Agriculture officials, including Asec. William Medrano and National Dairy Authority Adm. Marilyn Mabale the programs that should be implemented for the development of the livestock and dairy industry. During the hearing of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, Villar said the implementation of a carabao dispersal program in Ubay, Bohol should be replicated in many areas in the country as it succeeded to provide an additional source of income to farmers. Villar authored Senate Bill 139 or an act to restructure and rationalize the livestock industry in order to strengthen its development, protection and regulatory functions, including the promotion of dairy and native animals and to provide for a livestock development fund.