Rappler Talk: Kiko Pangilinan on facing a food security crisis during the pandemic

For months now, Filipinos have had to deal with rising food costs in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed the lives of thousands. 

People are struggling to buy food and find jobs, while the agriculture industry faces the effects of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak and tropical cyclones that wiped out crops.

The double whammy of the ASF outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic made life even worse for Filipinos. For Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, one way President Rodrigo Duterte can address this is by placing the country under a state of national calamity to battle the “severe impact” of the food security crisis.

His resolution proposing to put the country under a state of national calamity was adopted by the Senate on March 15. 

Rappler reporter Mara Cepeda talks to Pangilinan to discuss how to address the ASF outbreak and help boost the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview also touches on the plans of the once-ruling Liberal Party – of which Pangilinan is president – for the 2022 elections.

Watch the interview live on Rappler on Monday, March 22, at 6:30 pm. – Rappler.com