A FARMERS' organization asked the government to protect the welfare of farm workers following the extension of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine until April 30.
Unyon Ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) chairperson Antonio “Ka Tonying” Flores urged the government to uphold the welfare of the people at all times.
Flores said the government must ensure that the mass testing start earlier than April 14 on frontliners, PUMs, PUIs and in communities where there are already confirmed cases of Covid-19.
He also cited the economic support to the people through financial packages, providing relief goods, condoning land rent among the peasants, providing farm inputs to farmers.
Aside from these, agricultural workers and farmers should have unhampered movement from one barrio to another to harvest crops and work on their fields unlike what is happening now in many parts of the country, according to Flores.
The government should also not hinder farmers from selling their products to the markets, he added.
"The government should also buy the farmers excess products for food distribution and at the same time to protect the farmers from being at the mercy of traders who buy their products at very low prices," Flores said.
Flores also stated that not all of the 18 million target household for financial assistance by the government would benefit from the program.
Aside from families and individuals included in the 2015 census, there are many others who are excluded from the list of beneficiaries, Flores said.
"These include seniors with pensions even if they get a paltry monthly sum from the SSS. And farmers with one hectare and above. A number of farmers including Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in sugar areas have rented their lands back to their landlords or financiers since they were not given financial assistance by the government for farm inputs," the UMA head said.
Most farmers cannot sell their crops to the market because of stringent security personnel manning checkpoints and traders buy their products at very low prices, Flores claimed.
"This is not just being plain insensitive to their plight, but the people’s wrath would explode if their welfare is not ensured," he added.