PRESUMPTIVE president Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr., after his assumption to office, is expected to do a lot of things. Millions of Filipinos whether they voted for him or not, are expecting a lot of his performance as the highest leader of the land.
Although the final tally of his votes is yet to come, his overwhelming win is more than almost sure. Even if an election protest against him is to be filed, he will have the seat in MalacaƱang.
His presumptive office is a powerful one, imagine being the highest chief executive in the land. He, too, will have a great responsibility from June 30, 2022 up to six years thereafter.
As spiderman had said, "great power comes with great responsibility," the president is not spared from such. He will have great power soon. His incoming responsibilities are gargantuan too.
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One thing I wish the president would give priority and focus to is our agriculture particularly on land crops and livestocks. The improvement on our rice and corn production is a must.
During the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the older Marcos he is, rice production is at its golden. We have been exporting tons and tons of rice to other countries in the world.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) then is the center in Asia for studies in rice development and research. Many agriculturists from Asian countries came in the country to learn the techniques in rice production. It was in the Philippines where they learned.
The Masagana 99 is a program of the late strongman in 1973 that was aimed at addressing the worsening rice shortage then in the country. It was named "masagana" which means bountiful, to inspire Filipino farmers, scientists and agriculturists to solve shortage. The program was successful.
Now that we are to be ruled by the younger Marcos, I wish that he will continue the program on rice production and bring back the glory in it like the way it used to be. While we were once an exporter of rice, we are now relying much on rice importation.
We are again experiencing the shortage. Thousands of hectares of farm lands are being converted into subdivisions and industrial zones. The government should do something about this.
Farmers who have been tilling the land for decades are yet to have comfortable lives. They deserve much attention and help from the government.
When the younger Marcos assumes the presidency, we just wish that he will continue the good things, the programs and projects that his father has started. Let's wait and see.
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