Councilor Phillip Zafra flagged that Cebu City’s five-year-old Food Security Ordinance, which included an initial P100 million budget and farmer subsidies, remains largely unimplemented.
Zafra highlighted that provisions for direct financial assistance to help farmers buy inputs and a 10-year agriculture scholarship program have yet to reach their beneficiaries.
The delay was raised during a City Council discussion regarding competition from imported meat, prompted by Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr.’s call for a congressional review of meat-importation policies.
CEBU City’s five-year-old food security ordinance promised direct aid to farmers and scholarships for agriculture students, but its key assistance provisions have yet to reach beneficiaries.
Councilor Phillip Zafra, who authored the measure, flagged the delay on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, during a discussion in the City Council on competition from imported meat. His point was the City has an existing ordinance meant to strengthen local food production that remains largely unimplemented.
What the ordinance covers
The Cebu City Food Security Ordinance was passed in June 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to support sustainable food production.
It provides an initial P100 million budget for programs, projects and initiatives on food production, agricultural education and local markets. Under the ordinance, programs and projects to be charged against that allocation must be submitted to the City Council for consideration before funds are used and implementation begins.
The ordinance also directs the city agriculturist to prepare its implementing rules and regulations within 30 days of its effectivity.
Funding and farmer subsidies
A central part of the ordinance is financial support for farmers. Zafra described one provision as requiring the City Government to allocate at least P100 million specifically for farmer subsidies.
The distinction matters because the initial P100 million allocation in the ordinance covers its broader programs, while Zafra framed a provision as mandating at least P100 million specifically for farmer subsidies.
He said the assistance was intended to help farmers buy farm inputs, till their land, acquire agricultural equipment and establish cold storage facilities.
According to Zafra, this subsidy provision has yet to be implemented.
Scholarship program for agriculture
The ordinance also directs the City to develop a 10-year scholarship program for qualified residents pursuing agriculture- and fishery-related degrees, with preference given to those from agricultural barangays.
While eligibility extends beyond farmers’ children, Zafra highlighted its intended benefit to farmers’ families.
“There is a provision therein that provides for a scholarship program for children of our farmers who will take agriculture-related courses and the like. But sad to say, it’s still pending for implementation,” he said.
The program is designed to sustain local food production through agricultural education.
Markets, manpower and land use
The ordinance also outlines how food will be produced, sold and protected at the barangay level.
Every barangay is to have a centralized Bayanihan Market. Farmers, fisherfolk and traders can sell produce and other products there, with priority given to local producers and small traders.
For market manpower, the ordinance calls for a Cebu City Food Army to be organized in each barangay. Members would be drawn from displaced workers and other residents willing to join food production programs, preferably those with farming or fisheries experience.
On the land use side, the city agriculturist is tasked to identify areas for designation as protected agricultural and fishery zones. Properties that qualify and are used exclusively for agricultural and fisheries production are entitled to tax incentives under the measure.
Zafra did not provide an update on these components. His statements on Tuesday identified only the farmer assistance and scholarship provisions as still pending.
Connection to the meat import issue
Zafra raised the unimplemented ordinance as the council took up Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr.’s call for Congress to review national policies governing imported meat and processed meat products.
Alcover said local meat traders had complained to his office about competition from imported products, including those they said came from China and other foreign markets.
According to Alcover, the traders said they were struggling despite investing in their businesses, creating jobs, paying taxes and complying with government requirements. He said they were seeking fair competition rather than an import ban, and called for strict compliance with inspection, certification, food safety and health requirements for imported meat.
“This is not about being against China. This is about being pro-Filipino,” he said.
Alcover asked Cebu City’s North and South district representatives to review meat-importation laws and their enforcement, and the council moved to transmit a resolution to the congressional offices concerned.
Zafra said that alongside seeking national action, the City needed to implement its existing food security measures that have been pending for five years. / CAV