MANILA, Philippines – Senatorial candidate Richard Gordon slammed the government on Friday, April 15, over a deadly farmers’ protest linked to drought in the southern Philippines.‬

‪“That’s all lack of vision,” Gordon said during the second #TheLeaderIWant senatorial debate organized by Rappler. (READ: The Leader I Want: Richard Gordon’s to-fix list)‬

‪Gordon was referring to the Kidapawan protest that killed at least two people and injured hundreds. (READ: Kidapawan and the rice riots)‬

‪The farmers staged the protest to demand the release of calamity funds and 15,000 sacks of rice, among other things. ‬

‪Gordon, a long-time Olongapo City mayor who now chairs the Philippine Red Cross, said that “what happened in Kidapawan could have been predicted.”‬

‪To address the effects of the El Niño, for instance, the government could have “converted” the land.‬

‪Gordon hits ‘boutique politics’‬

‪“What we need is vision,” said Gordon, who said he authored the national disaster risk reduction law and put the words “risk reduction” there.‬

‪Gordon was later asked by senatorial candidate Leila de Lima, the Philippines’ former justice chief, what “legal infrastructure” he wants to put in place to address the problem.‬

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Gordon responded, “The problem with this government is they have all the laws and they don’t enforce the law.” ‬

‪He also criticized “boutique politics in our legislation.” ‬

‪The Kidapawan protest was tackled, too, in the first #TheLeaderIWant senatorial debate organized by Rappler.‬

‪In the first debate, senatorial candidate Lorna Kapunan said, “The Kidapawan incident will happen again because this government has not addressed the issue of climate change and climate justice.” – Rappler.com‬