{ "hearing": { "hearing_id": 25, "title": "House Committee on Appropriations: DA and NIA Part 2 - September 1, 2026", "hearing_date": "2026-09-01", "official_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lva8nUWvOg" }, "digest_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/digests/h25/", "notice": "AI-assisted working draft. AI can make errors. Always verify consequential interpretations and wording against the cited transcript and official video.", "at_a_glance": [ { "label": "DA and NIA funding priorities", "text": "NIA warned that its reduced irrigation allocation could delay ongoing work, while PFDA sought money for both existing and new fish ports. DA presented a prioritized set of farm, fisheries and food-system additions. Members asked for ranked proposals for amendment review; none was appropriated in this hearing.", "citations": [] }, { "label": "Irrigation flexibility with safeguards", "text": "NIA asked to return to a program-based budget format and to relax a 2026 special provision that it said made it difficult to shift from stalled projects to ready work. Members recognized implementation constraints but insisted that any new rule retain validation, transparency and accountability safeguards. The committee requested NIA’s proposed language and prioritized list for later budget-amendment review.", "citations": [] }, { "label": "Food security, rice buying and market logistics", "text": "Members examined palay buying under EO 100, NFA storage, Sagipsaka implementation, farm-to-market roads, food hubs, KADIWA and the role of public markets. DA described available rice-purchase funds, expanded warehouse capacity, food-hub plans and KADIWA sites, while several requested reports, cost details, supplier inquiries and a broader food-logistics plan remained pending.", "citations": [] }, { "label": "Climate resilience, fisheries and local production", "text": "The discussion linked drought and disaster recovery to crop insurance, replanting inputs, soil testing, solar irrigation, fish ports, cold storage, seaweed, aquaculture and coastal market access. Agency officials described ongoing work, proposals and expected future facilities in Eastern Samar, Palawan and other areas, but many district-specific projects, funding levels and delivery dates remained conditional or unfunded.", "citations": [] }, { "label": "Animal health, commodity support and oversight", "text": "Members pressed DA on ASF-vaccine evidence, backyard-hog recovery, coconut replanting, sugarcane pest control, ube planting material and fishery exports. The agencies described clinical documentation to be shared, prospective vaccine and recovery support, coconut-fund legislation, chemical and biocontrol responses to RSSI, and planting-material expansion. The record preserves material differences in figures and leaves clinical, funding, market-access and implementation outcomes open.", "citations": [] }, { "label": "Closing action", "text": "After the final member remarks, Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez moved to terminate the DA and NIA budget hearing. The chair’s closing procedure then suspended proceedings until September 2, 2026 at 9 a.m.; it did not convert agency requests or member recommendations into approved FY 2027 appropriations.", "citations": [] } ], "method_note": "Based on the 21 frozen, accepted source-linked digest units for Hearing 25 at review revision 40. Figures, allegations, budget requests, plans, clinical claims and intended actions remain attributed to the speakers. Requests, proposed appropriations, future facilities, conditional deliveries and follow-up reports are not presented as completed outcomes; unresolved transcript gaps and conflicting source figures are not filled with outside facts.", "sections": [ { "key": "budget-comparison", "label": "Budget proposal and requests", "items": [ { "label": "FY 2027 agency budget requests and NEP amounts", "text": "For FY 2027, NIA had about PHP 46 billion in the NEP against a roughly PHP 233 billion request, compared with nearly PHP 64 billion in FY 2026. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen warned that reduced funding could delay ongoing irrigation work and sought restoration, a return to program-based PREC-C presentation and a larger Quick Response Fund. PFDA had PHP 3.8 billion in the FY 2027 NEP for ongoing fish-port projects against a PHP 8 billion proposal covering old and new ports, according to Acting General Manager Glen A. Pangapalan. Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing requested ranked proposals for budget-amendment review. The DA department-wide FY 2027 NEP total and original DBM request were not established in this Part 2 hearing. No increase was approved.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001604", "start_seconds": 9519.16, "clock": "02:38:39", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001604" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001605", "start_seconds": 9524.66, "clock": "02:38:44", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001605" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001612", "start_seconds": 9555.04, "clock": "02:39:15", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001612" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000344", "start_seconds": 2826.45, "clock": "00:47:06", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000344" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000358", "start_seconds": 2882.03, "clock": "00:48:02", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000358" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000364", "start_seconds": 2898.85, "clock": "00:48:18", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000364" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001768", "start_seconds": 10108.58, "clock": "02:48:28", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001768" } ] }, { "label": "NIA and fish-port restoration requests", "text": "NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen asked for restoration toward the bureau's original irrigation request, a higher Quick Response Fund than the 2026 allocation and a return to program-based PREC-C budgeting. PFDA Acting General Manager Glen A. Pangapalan sought funding for new fish-port work as well as ongoing projects; Rep. Howard A. Guintu urged BARC to add fish-port funds. Rep. Carl Nicolas C. Cari heard that a district irrigation request of PHP 2.8 billion had received PHP 66 million, with typhoon repairs referred to OCD. Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing requested a prioritized NIA list and special-provision language. No increase or format change was approved.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001603", "start_seconds": 9508.7, "clock": "02:38:28", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001603" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001625", "start_seconds": 9637.42, "clock": "02:40:37", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001625" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000364", "start_seconds": 2898.85, "clock": "00:48:18", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000364" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000468", "start_seconds": 3383.82, "clock": "00:56:23", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000468" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000613", "start_seconds": 4137.26, "clock": "01:08:57", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000613" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000614", "start_seconds": 4138.4, "clock": "01:08:58", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000614" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000617", "start_seconds": 4141.4400000000005, "clock": "01:09:01", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000617" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001768", "start_seconds": 10108.58, "clock": "02:48:28", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001768" } ] }, { "label": "DA productivity, infrastructure and food-system additions", "text": "Responding to Suansing's invitation, DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. cited a July 7 request for additional fertilizer assistance of PHP 8.7 billion; corn post-harvest facilities PHP 1 billion; composting PHP 1.1 billion; farm transport/support infrastructure PHP 300 million; farm-to-market bridges PHP 9.2 billion, with a separate cited PHP 3 billion government-equity gap after PHP 1 billion NEP ODA funding; food-safety and quarantine labs PHP 300 million; solar irrigation PHP 1 billion; and agricultural food hubs PHP 1 billion. He also sought more farm-to-market-road funding without an amount. These were requests, not appropriations; Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing asked for prioritization within limited fiscal space.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001509", "start_seconds": 9013.82, "clock": "02:30:13", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001509" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001510", "start_seconds": 9022.78, "clock": "02:30:22", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001510" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001511", "start_seconds": 9027.26, "clock": "02:30:27", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001511" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001513", "start_seconds": 9040.24, "clock": "02:30:40", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001513" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001517", "start_seconds": 9058.9, "clock": "02:30:58", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001517" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001518", "start_seconds": 9067.18, "clock": "02:31:07", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001518" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001519", "start_seconds": 9076.74, "clock": "02:31:16", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001519" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001521", "start_seconds": 9086.2, "clock": "02:31:26", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001521" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001522", "start_seconds": 9092.9, "clock": "02:31:32", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001522" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001541", "start_seconds": 9179.34, "clock": "02:32:59", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001541" } ] }, { "label": "DA fisheries, commodities and restoration qualifications", "text": "DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. sought PHP 192 million for hybrid solar ice plants, PHP 700 million for solar aquaculture and water impounding, PHP 500 million for sugarcane, PHP 300 million for ube export development and PHP 200 million for dairy. Coconut planting needed PHP 2.5 billion only if coco levy funds were not unlocked. He proposed restoring NMIS and NDA operating budgets by realigning about PHP 20 billion of ANSEF funds, which was not a stated net addition. He corrected his Rice for All PHP 4 billion addition because it was already in the NEP and restored to PHP 10 billion. Separately, BFAR requested a rise from PHP 10 billion to PHP 12 billion for El Nino resilience; the committee did not approve it here.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001523", "start_seconds": 9096.12, "clock": "02:31:36", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001523" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001524", "start_seconds": 9100.02, "clock": "02:31:40", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001524" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001529", "start_seconds": 9117.2, "clock": "02:31:57", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001529" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001530", "start_seconds": 9130.44, "clock": "02:32:10", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001530" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001532", "start_seconds": 9142.82, "clock": "02:32:22", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001532" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001535", "start_seconds": 9150.86, "clock": "02:32:30", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001535" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001536", "start_seconds": 9158.94, "clock": "02:32:38", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001536" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001537", "start_seconds": 9162.84, "clock": "02:32:42", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001537" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001538", "start_seconds": 9167.94, "clock": "02:32:47", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001538" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001514", "start_seconds": 9045.96, "clock": "02:30:45", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001514" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001515", "start_seconds": 9051.2, "clock": "02:30:51", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001515" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001516", "start_seconds": 9056.2, "clock": "02:30:56", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001516" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001581", "start_seconds": 9400.08, "clock": "02:36:40", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001581" } ] }, { "label": "Vaccines, PAF and local production proposals", "text": "Rep. Carl Nicolas C. Cari asked about ASF preparedness, and DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. described a PHP 1 billion DA request for ASF or avian-influenza vaccines supported by Rep. Nicanor M. Briones. Cari also proposed a Leyte swine-recovery grant; DA agreed to coordinate training and consider Inspire 600, without an approved grant. Rep. Joseph S. Tan sought expanded ube planting material; Laurel said DA could use 2026 money and seek more in 2027. Rep. Christopherson \"Coco\" M. Yap supported a larger DA budget without an amount. Presiding Rep. Jose \"Bong\" J. Teves Jr. urged restoration of PAF, which had zero FY 2027 NEP allocation, and prioritization of PAF, fertilizer and BFAR El Nino items; DA promised details, with no recorded funding approval.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000520", "start_seconds": 3720.99, "clock": "01:02:00", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000520" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000528", "start_seconds": 3798.38, "clock": "01:03:18", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000528" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000648", "start_seconds": 4447.26, "clock": "01:14:07", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000648" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000475", "start_seconds": 3434.76, "clock": "00:57:14", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000475" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001557", "start_seconds": 9236.18, "clock": "02:33:56", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001557" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001585", "start_seconds": 9422.22, "clock": "02:37:02", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001585" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001598", "start_seconds": 9483.84, "clock": "02:38:03", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001598" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001558", "start_seconds": 9246.08, "clock": "02:34:06", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001558" } ] }, { "label": "Sugarcane pest-response funding need", "text": "Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona said DA/SRA had already provided PHP 209 million for RSSI response, with PHP 10 million more from DA for chemicals, and cited a PHP 35 million initial Negros LGU release. It estimated approximately PHP 120 million more for initial coverage and said Luzon and Bukidnon would also need funds. A PHP 300 million laboratory/biocontrol amount was described as already earmarked. No additional appropriation was adopted during this exchange.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001395", "start_seconds": 7321.34, "clock": "02:02:01", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001395" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001397", "start_seconds": 7339.52, "clock": "02:02:19", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001397" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001441", "start_seconds": 7544.86, "clock": "02:05:44", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001441" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001449", "start_seconds": 7586.9, "clock": "02:06:26", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001449" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001467", "start_seconds": 7658.28, "clock": "02:07:38", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001467" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-christopher-sheen-p-gonzales", "label": "Rep. Christopher Sheen P. Gonzales", "items": [ { "label": "Guiuan fisheries research center rehabilitation", "text": "Rep. Christopher Sheen P. Gonzales asked about the promised rehabilitation of the Region 8 fisheries research and training center in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, saying it had not been fully rehabilitated since Typhoon Yolanda. BFAR Director Elizer S. Salilig said rehabilitation was ongoing. National Fisheries Research and Development Institute Executive Director Maria Theresa M. Mutia said about P10.6 million had been allocated for the facility and BFAR would provide about P2.5 million as counterpart funding; she said the work would improve research facilities, a laboratory, dormitory, abalone hatchery, and other facilities and was expected to finish in October. Gonzales said that was only phase one, asked for the total rehabilitation plan for the regional research and training center, and Mutia agreed to submit it.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000022", "start_seconds": 910.56, "clock": "00:15:10", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000022" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000023", "start_seconds": 925.28, "clock": "00:15:25", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000023" } ] }, { "label": "Dolores Valley irrigation rehabilitation", "text": "Gonzales asked NIA to include Dolores Valley, also called the Sikonton Valley irrigation facilities, in its rehabilitation work. He described it as a rice granary for Eastern Samar and formerly for wider Region 8. Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said NIA had a proposal and plan for the area that it hoped to implement the following year, and said it was also looking at incomplete irrigation projects across Samar. The source records a proposal and intended implementation, not an approved budget or completed rehabilitation.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000040", "start_seconds": 1023.0699999999999, "clock": "00:17:03", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000040" } ] }, { "label": "Eastern Samar field visit and continued DA support", "text": "Gonzales asked DA to continue its programs in Eastern Samar, where he said people depended on fishing and farmland. Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said he would personally visit Eastern Samar in October with BFAR and other DA team members to provide additional support and assess conditions on the ground.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000069", "start_seconds": 1214.01, "clock": "00:20:14", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000069" } ] } ] }, { "key": "deputy-speaker-ferjenel-g-biron-m-d", "label": "Deputy Speaker Ferjenel G. Biron, M.D.", "items": [ { "label": "Dumangas rice-processing facility and equipment rollout", "text": "Deputy Speaker Ferjenel G. Biron, M.D., said a rice-processing facility promised for Dumangas three years earlier had still not been implemented, despite the local farmers' organization and cooperatives completing the required feasibility study and audited financial statements. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. acknowledged the delay and said a rice-processing system had been allocated. PhilMech Director Dionisio Alvindia said the planned warehouse would have a 1,200-square-meter floor area, its bidding had been posted that month, and it would include 12-ton dryers; after the warehouse, a Rice Processing System 2 with a 3-ton-per-hour input capacity would be installed. He said contractors had 150 days for the warehouse, and Tiu Laurel stated a June 2027 commitment for the RPS. Alvindia confirmed the requested tractors, combined harvesters, dryers, forklifts, and other equipment, but said hauling trucks still lacked DBM clearance. He said bidding for tractors and combined harvesters was complete and distribution was scheduled for October through December that year. Tiu Laurel said those machines would come first, while the RPS was committed for June 2027.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000102", "start_seconds": 1378.0, "clock": "00:22:58", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000102" } ] }, { "label": "ASF vaccine safety and efficacy documentation", "text": "Biron asked whether the DA had completed a conclusive clinical trial demonstrating the safety and efficacy of its ASF vaccine. DA Undersecretary Constante Palabrica said 500,000 doses had been distributed, reported 85% to 90% efficacy, and said vaccinated pigs had responded well. Biron said the clinical-trial documentation was necessary, citing what he described as an earlier non-recommendation by two FDA veterinary experts and emphasizing the stakes for the pork industry. Palabrica said the Bureau of Animal Industry had capable veterinarians, maintained the vaccine was sound, and agreed to send Biron's office all documents intended to show the vaccine's effectiveness.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000169", "start_seconds": 1770.44, "clock": "00:29:30", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000169" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-carl-nicolas-c-cari", "label": "Rep. Carl Nicolas C. Cari", "items": [ { "label": "Climate adaptation and limits on government response", "text": "Rep. Carl Nicolas C. Cari asked whether DA programmes and resources were keeping pace with the risks that climate change and global warming posed to farmers. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said climate change was already being felt but admitted that government could not react quickly enough because lessons from current events had to be funded for implementation in the following year. He said DA was applying lessons from an earlier El Niño through mega and modular cold storage, NIA and DA solar irrigation, and solar pumps replacing engine-driven pumps, while cautioning that catching up remained difficult.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000209", "start_seconds": 2037.85, "clock": "00:33:57", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000209" } ] }, { "label": "Farm recovery after floods and other disasters", "text": "Cari asked what immediate financial assistance was available after floods, landslides or other severe-weather damage, and how quickly it reached family farmers before the next planting season. Laurel cited Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation coverage, for which farmers must apply each cropping season, and said indemnity checks normally issue within 21 days of a farm being hit, although verification can cause delays. He said regional centres pre-position seeds and fertilizer for replanting, including in flood-affected Region III, and cited SURE low-interest loans up to PHP 35,000, loan restructuring and, in worst cases, presidential assistance for farmers and fisherfolk.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000241", "start_seconds": 2228.89, "clock": "00:37:08", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000241" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000254", "start_seconds": 2300.89, "clock": "00:38:20", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000254" } ] }, { "label": "Soil testing and post-flood technical support", "text": "Cari asked whether farmers could obtain free or subsidized soil testing and technical help to decide when land was ready to plant after severe flooding. Laurel said DA had 17 mobile soil laboratories in addition to fixed laboratories, up from about five previously, and that testing was free at the time of the hearing. He said capacity was still insufficient, but farmers could access the service. He added that land could normally be replanted once floodwater had receded, while soil testing could better identify nutrient needs and reduce costs.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000262", "start_seconds": 2344.89, "clock": "00:39:04", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000262" } ] }, { "label": "Palawan fish landing, cold storage and seaweed support", "text": "Cari asked what FY 2027 production and livelihood support would reach Palawan fishing communities dependent on West Philippine Sea grounds, including fuel, ice, gear, insurance and market support. Laurel described a PFDA port near Puerto Princesa, said to cover about 15 hectares and include an ice plant, cold storage and blast freezers, connected to Ulugan Bay so fish could be landed, moved by road, processed and sent to markets; he said completion was expected the following year. He also described a planned seaweed bioreactor for propagation material in Palawan. Cari raised the immediate lack of cold storage on the west coast, where fishers in barangays named in the source could lose catch to buyers before reaching the mainland. Laurel said the 2027 budget included solar-powered ice plants of five to 10 tons per day, with 10–15 units for North and Southern Palawan, plus cold storage and freezers near Puerto Princesa as part of a plan to move fresh seafood to processing and tourist markets.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000280", "start_seconds": 2424.89, "clock": "00:40:24", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000280" } ] }, { "label": "Backyard-hog biosecurity and swine recovery", "text": "Rep. Carl Nicolas Cari asked what 2027 funding would expand community pig-raising facilities, speed financial payouts for ASF-affected farmers, and teach low-cost farm protection. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA had requested an additional P1 billion for vaccines that could be used for ASF or avian influenza during an outbreak. Cari cited biosecurity guidance from Visayas State University and P4.9 million in indemnification aid distributed to neighboring hog raisers in Southern Leyte, and asked the DA to coordinate with the university, ATI, and local governments in Leyte's 5th District on low-cost training and a potential swine-recovery facility. Tiu Laurel agreed to coordinate on training and said the DA could include the district in its Inspire 600 program, which he described as biosecure designs for backyard-farmer or hog clusters at P12.5 million or P13.5 million per setup.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000520", "start_seconds": 3720.99, "clock": "01:02:00", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000520" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000527", "start_seconds": 3780.26, "clock": "01:03:00", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000527" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000535", "start_seconds": 3840.26, "clock": "01:04:00", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000535" } ] }, { "label": "Drought response for affected farms", "text": "Cari asked what direct financial and equipment support would be available for farmers affected by a prolonged El Niño dry spell. Tiu Laurel said that where soil moisture was completely exhausted and the area met an agricultural-drought condition, the DA had little it could do directly; DSWD and DOLE would provide interim help, including work preparing land for the next cropping season. For areas that could still be planted but not with usual crops, he said the DA would support alternatives such as corn for drier areas and malunggay, with other seeds and fertilizer for crops more resistant to drought and heat.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000540", "start_seconds": 3874.46, "clock": "01:04:34", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000540" } ] }, { "label": "Coconut replanting and access to Coco Levy funds", "text": "Cari asked how the PCA and DA would use the 2027 budget and Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund to reduce bottlenecks and deliver fertilizer and planting materials on time amid volatile copra prices. Tiu Laurel said the PCA's 2027 budget was mostly for replanting under a 100-million-tree mission, with about 40 million trees expected to be planted by year-end. He said the more important step was to unlock Coco Levy funds through a new bill being advanced in Congress and the Senate, so they could finance massive replanting, facilities, value adding, scholarships, and education for coconut farmers.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000548", "start_seconds": 3971.0, "clock": "01:06:11", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000548" } ] }, { "label": "NIA repair requests after typhoon damage", "text": "Cari asked what 2027 NIA funding and quick-release mechanism would let regional offices repair typhoon-damaged canals, intake gates, and water delivery before a planting season was lost. Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen said NIA had requested P2.8 billion for the district but only P66 million had been approved, citing a repair project whose name is unclear in the frozen source. He said NIA had also submitted requests to the Office of Civil Defense for repairs not funded in its allocation, including typhoon damage, and that several projects in Cari's district had been included in the OCD request.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000611", "start_seconds": 4132.4400000000005, "clock": "01:08:52", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000611" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000613", "start_seconds": 4137.26, "clock": "01:08:57", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000613" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000614", "start_seconds": 4138.4, "clock": "01:08:58", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000614" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000617", "start_seconds": 4141.4400000000005, "clock": "01:09:01", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000617" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-howard-a-guintu", "label": "Rep. Ivan Howard A. Guintu", "items": [ { "label": "Fish-port funding gap and call for higher PFDA allocation", "text": "Rep. Howard A. Guintu asked about FY 2027 NEP funding for fish-port construction. PFDA Acting General Manager Glen A. Pangapalan initially cited PHP 2.1 billion for ongoing work, then clarified that the full fish-port allocation in the budget account covered ongoing projects, with no DBM allocation for new ports. PFDA's original proposal covered both old and new ports. Guintu contrasted allocations of PHP 5.5 billion in FY 2025 and PHP 4.5 billion in FY 2026 and argued that the declining funding failed an archipelagic country and its fisherfolk. He asked appropriations members to add funding for PFDA and fisheries facilities.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000350", "start_seconds": 2845.87, "clock": "00:47:25", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000350" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000358", "start_seconds": 2882.03, "clock": "00:48:02", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000358" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000364", "start_seconds": 2898.85, "clock": "00:48:18", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000364" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000372", "start_seconds": 2927.83, "clock": "00:48:47", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000372" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000373", "start_seconds": 2935.61, "clock": "00:48:55", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000373" } ] }, { "label": "Blue swimming crab export access and dolphin-interaction safeguards", "text": "Guintu raised the U.S. denial of comparability findings for two blue swimming crab fisheries, identified in the exchange as fisheries 2129 and 2130, and asked what government was doing to protect exports and crab fishers. DA Undersecretary Drusila Esther E. Bayate said the issue arose under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act because crab gill nets, pots, and traps could interact with Irrawaddy dolphins. She said the blue crab meat export fishery was concentrated in the Visayan Sea, Guimaras Strait, and Malampaya Sound, with artisanal fishers under LGU jurisdiction. Bayate said the Philippines had issued a fisheries administrative order limiting gill-net length and was helping LGUs make local ordinances to reduce interactions; DA planned to report an update to the United States in the last quarter of the year. Guintu said Western Visayas had 6,500 crab raisers, including 2,600 in his district, and that the affected U.S. market represented 90% of their market, making restored access urgent.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000395", "start_seconds": 3043.29, "clock": "00:50:43", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000395" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-christopherson-coco-m-yap", "label": "Rep. Christopherson \"Coco\" M. Yap", "items": [ { "label": "Support for DA funding and soil laboratories", "text": "Rep. Christopherson \"Coco\" M. Yap supported the DA budget and said Congress should consider increasing it. He said he had seen more agency reform and effort in his province than in the prior year, while identifying funding as the constraint. He singled out the Bureau of Soils laboratory as an important investment, arguing that soil testing could make production and planning more scientific and improve productivity.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000474", "start_seconds": 3421.66, "clock": "00:57:01", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000474" } ] }, { "label": "Flexibility for irrigation response and rehabilitation", "text": "Yap said he had seen improvements in irrigation in his district but observed that the Quick Response Fund was not flexible enough. He argued that detailed restrictions could prevent the agency from shifting attention or funds to more urgent repair, rehabilitation or other projects, leaving officials unable to act quickly. He offered congressional support for changes that would give the agencies more usable flexibility. No specific amendment or administrative action was agreed in this exchange.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000488", "start_seconds": 3511.14, "clock": "00:58:31", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000488" } ] }, { "label": "Local food-security planning proposal", "text": "Yap linked food security to inflation and rising food prices and proposed asking the DILG to include a local food-security plan among LGU compliance requirements under the programme rendered in the transcript as “SGLJ.” He said food security was both a national and local responsibility and that wider local compliance could help the DA. The source records the proposal and Yap’s support for the budget, not a DA or DILG decision to adopt it.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000500", "start_seconds": 3582.14, "clock": "00:59:42", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000500" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-joseph-s-tan", "label": "Rep. Joseph S. Tan", "items": [ { "label": "Scaling ube planting material for Isabela growers", "text": "Rep. Joseph S. Tan urged DA to expand ube planting material, saying the initial plan was to multiply it three to four times and that growers faced a seedling shortfall. He cited a reported PHP 40 cost per seedling, strong demand for purple ube products, and production potential in Jones, Isabela; he said farmers there were being encouraged to shift toward ube and cited an expected 25,000 seedlings per hectare. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the department would use its own 2026 funds and seek larger 2027 funding to multiply planting material and distribute seedlings to small farmers. He said the high-value-crops head, Undersecretary Yang, would coordinate with Tan’s office, and that DA was promoting five selected ube variants, including purple ube.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000653", "start_seconds": 4455.86, "clock": "01:14:15", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000653" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000656", "start_seconds": 4462.76, "clock": "01:14:22", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000656" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000648", "start_seconds": 4447.26, "clock": "01:14:07", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000648" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-sarah-jane-i-elago", "label": "Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago", "items": [ { "label": "EO 100 palay prices, buying funds and storage capacity", "text": "Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago asked how Executive Order No. 100 would establish a palay floor price and protect farmers. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said its government buying-price application could not be imposed on the private sector. He said NFA was buying wet palay at PHP 21 per kilogram and dry palay at PHP 25–27 per kilogram depending on area. He cited PHP 9 billion for NFA buying and PHP 10 billion for Rice for All, or PHP 19 billion available for 2026 purchases. Elago asked about temporary storage and the use of public facilities. Laurel and NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson said LGUs, including Pampanga and Isabela, had offered warehouses; Lacson said more than 40% of NFA warehouses had been freed for the coming harvest. Laurel said NFA internal capacity had increased from about 500,000 to 800,000 tons, with rented and other warehouses available, and that continuing sales of PHP 20 rice would help move stocks.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000711", "start_seconds": 5310.09, "clock": "01:28:30", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000711" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000712", "start_seconds": 5317.29, "clock": "01:28:37", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000712" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000721", "start_seconds": 5349.45, "clock": "01:29:09", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000721" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000722", "start_seconds": 5352.63, "clock": "01:29:12", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000722" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000723", "start_seconds": 5354.53, "clock": "01:29:14", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000723" } ] }, { "label": "EO 101, Sagipsaka implementation and supplier concerns", "text": "Elago connected EO 100 to EO 101 and full implementation of the Sagipsaka Act, asking what DA would spend to require government entities and LGUs to buy food and agricultural products directly from farmer and fisherfolk cooperatives and to establish Sagipsaka desks. Laurel called the programme advantageous for producers but said DA was adjusting it because of reported abuse. He said DA was investigating rice suppliers to LGUs who may have sold imported rice as local, but the accounts still required validation. Elago requested a report to the Committee on Appropriations. DA Assistant Secretary Joycel R. Panlilio said the desks had an establishment budget for the current year and PHP 1.95 million in the next-year NEP for ICT equipment nationwide; she said current-year funding was available under the Sagipsaka budget.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000864", "start_seconds": 5891.08, "clock": "01:38:11", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000864" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000866", "start_seconds": 5904.6, "clock": "01:38:24", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000866" }, { "stable_id": "asr-000868", "start_seconds": 5915.0599999999995, "clock": "01:38:35", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000868" } ] }, { "label": "Farm roads, public markets and food-logistics access", "text": "Elago asked whether farm-to-market-road selection ensured that roads reached markets, warning that public markets were declining while large retailers expanded. Laurel said the master plan is intended to connect to markets, but a PHP 16 billion allocation would only cover about 1,000 kilometres a year against a 55,000-kilometre gap. He cited road influence area, poverty incidence, beneficiaries, network distance, road condition, climate adaptation and traffic among the criteria, alongside routes opening production areas or serving isolated barangays. Elago argued that public markets support jobs, local agriculture and affordable food and asked for a stronger national role in their upkeep. Laurel welcomed the idea but said DA was then concentrating on mega food hubs that would link municipal trading areas and markets; Elago asked for the food-logistics plan and noted its three-year horizon and funding shortfall.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-000890", "start_seconds": 6039.58, "clock": "01:40:39", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-000890" } ] }, { "label": "Food hubs and KADIWA links for producers and buyers", "text": "Elago asked how a national logistics chain would connect farms and fisheries to markets and households beyond the Clark food hub, including Visayas and Mindanao. Laurel described 2026 food hubs in Clark, a location rendered as “Kawayan,” Isabela and Pili, Camarines Sur, and listed further 2027 locations and amounts in the source, including a nearly PHP 1 billion Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon hub. He said the hubs would converge farmer, fisher and livestock products with laboratories, cold storage and other storage, but these were an initial network rather than a completed nationwide system. On market-day access for small producers, Elago asked about DA coordination with DILG and LGUs. Laurel said KADIWA worked with LGUs to provide sites, had grown from fewer than about 20 sites when he entered office to around 800 largely fixed sites, and linked local cooperatives and farmers directly to buyers.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001000", "start_seconds": 6397.07, "clock": "01:46:37", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001000" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001021", "start_seconds": 6440.49, "clock": "01:47:20", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001021" } ] }, { "label": "Fishing restrictions during Balikatan and relief for affected fishers", "text": "Elago raised the effect of Balikatan exercises and associated fishing restrictions on thousands of fishers, asking whether BFAR funds had paid cash or non-cash aid. Laurel said the money was not from DA as far as he knew and that he was coordinating with DND after speaking with fishers in Zambales; he said DA would explore limited TUPAD support with DOLE. Elago said only about 200 people had reportedly received assistance and requested a record of all aid. BFAR Director Elizer S. Salilig then said regional offices had provided food packs for affected fishers, but not cash; Elago requested the count, spending and distribution report. When Elago asked DA’s position on holding exercises in areas that disrupted fishing, Laurel said military requests were normally treated as national-security matters but that DA would ask why the area had been chosen. Elago pressed DA to take a clear position and to pursue compensation for lost daily income, not food packs alone.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001118", "start_seconds": 6635.97, "clock": "01:50:35", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001118" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-jose-bong-j-teves-jr", "label": "Rep. Jose \"Bong\" J. Teves Jr.", "items": [ { "label": "Civil-society concern on chemical-intensive farming", "text": "Chair Jose \"Bong\" Teves Jr. read a question from Task Force Mapalad raising farmers' concerns that chemical-intensive farming harms soil health and water quality and may cause health problems for farmers and communities. The question also said these inputs damage natural systems important to long-term productivity and are expensive enough that some farmers sell assets to finance them. The frozen unit records the concern but contains no DA response, commitment, or stated program outcome.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001243", "start_seconds": 6900.72, "clock": "01:55:00", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001243" } ] }, { "label": "Deepwater-port implementation and farm-to-market roads", "text": "Rep. Jose 'Bong' Teves Jr. asked for the implementation status of deepwater ports for which funding had been added in the previous budget process. DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the Mindoro and Zamboanga del Norte ports were already in bidding and that construction could then proceed. He also asked that the farm-to-market-road budget be increased.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001545", "start_seconds": 9192.66, "clock": "02:33:12", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001545" } ] }, { "label": "Presidential assistance for farmers and fisherfolk", "text": "Teves noted that the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAF) had no allocation in the 2027 National Expenditure Program and asked whether its 2026 funds were almost exhausted, citing its role in the response to the Middle East-related fuel and energy crisis. Laurel reported 89.96% disbursement and 57.67% actual distribution. He expected the funds to be depleted by the following month because of additional habagat-related needs and said PAF needed a 2027 budget allocation as El Niño approached.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001557", "start_seconds": 9236.18, "clock": "02:33:56", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001557" } ] }, { "label": "El Niño contingency items and DA's promised prioritization", "text": "Teves asked whether the 2027 NEP already contained contingency funds for an El Niño response and said additional funding should be considered for quick assistance to farmers. Laurel said support for farmers was already included but that fertilizer assistance still lacked P8.7 billion. Teves later rounded the shortfall to P8 billion; no distinct second fertilizer request was established. For fisherfolk, he said BFAR had sought to increase its budget from P10 billion to P12 billion for measures including solar aerators and solar pumps for aquaculture and mariculture. Teves asked the DA to submit a prioritized wish list in a separate El Niño-response category, highlighting PAF, fertilizer assistance and the fisherfolk item; Laurel committed to provide the details.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001580", "start_seconds": 9390.1, "clock": "02:36:30", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001580" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001581", "start_seconds": 9400.08, "clock": "02:36:40", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001581" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001587", "start_seconds": 9435.56, "clock": "02:37:15", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001587" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001591", "start_seconds": 9448.88, "clock": "02:37:28", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001591" } ] }, { "label": "NIA closing funding appeal and request for budget flexibility", "text": "After Teves invited NIA's wish list, Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen appealed for restoration toward the larger original request described in the budget account. He sought a return to program-based PREC-C presentation to address technical, right-of-way and site-readiness problems while retaining oversight, and asked for a larger Quick Response Fund ahead of a possible Super El Niño. These were funding and budget-format requests, not approvals.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001601", "start_seconds": 9493.26, "clock": "02:38:13", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001601" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-julienne-jam-l-baronda", "label": "Rep. Julienne \"Jam\" L. Baronda", "items": [ { "label": "Immediate chemical response to RSSI infestation", "text": "Rep. Julienne 'Jam' Baronda asked how many sugarcane farms were affected by red-striped soft-scale insect (RSSI), whether all affected farms could receive pesticides, and what funding was needed. She said a pesticide container could cost as much as P10,000 per hectare and urged cheaper, nature-based control. Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. reported 134,000 hectares affected as of August 14, with 67,000 hectares validated, and said the DA was providing funds to local governments for chemical control because biocontrol production was too slow for the current infestation. SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said chemical pesticide averaged about P2,000 per liter but cost about P1,000 per hectare per application, disputing the P10,000 figure. He said the DA and SRA had provided P209 million, including P23 million for chemical pesticides and the remainder for fertilizer for recovering fields, with a further P10 million from the DA for pesticides. He said chemicals sufficient for about 35,000 hectares had been distributed and estimated that another P120 million was needed for an initial application, which would require roughly two sprayings. Azcona later gave 134,000 reported hectares and 67,443 verified hectares.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001278", "start_seconds": 7007.24, "clock": "01:56:47", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001278" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001389", "start_seconds": 7274.64, "clock": "02:01:14", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001389" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001390", "start_seconds": 7279.92, "clock": "02:01:19", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001390" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001395", "start_seconds": 7321.34, "clock": "02:02:01", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001395" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001396", "start_seconds": 7328.56, "clock": "02:02:08", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001396" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001397", "start_seconds": 7339.52, "clock": "02:02:19", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001397" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001400", "start_seconds": 7357.5, "clock": "02:02:37", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001400" } ] }, { "label": "Biocontrol laboratories and regionally targeted quick response", "text": "Asked about lower-cost and nature-based options, Azcona said the SRA and DA had produced an RSSI-killing fungus since 2025. He described it as costing about P150 per hectare and then said it amounted to P1,500 per hectare when applied, while stressing that production was very slow because SRA laboratory capacity was limited. He said the Secretary had instructed DA and other government laboratories and state universities to help produce the fungus; Region 10 had done so successfully, and discussions with Negros local governments would lead to proposals for LGU-based laboratories. Azcona said the DA had earmarked P300 million to establish laboratories producing the agents. For immediate action before the 2027 budget, he said P35 million would be released directly to local governments for chemical control, distributed by verified affected area and limited to Negros Island Region; additional resources would be needed for Luzon and Bukidnon. He gave about P120 million as the initial first-response need across regions, with further quick-response funding from the DA and SRA as needed.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001419", "start_seconds": 7443.8, "clock": "02:04:03", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001419" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001441", "start_seconds": 7544.86, "clock": "02:05:44", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001441" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001449", "start_seconds": 7586.9, "clock": "02:06:26", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001449" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001459", "start_seconds": 7627.78, "clock": "02:07:07", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001459" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001467", "start_seconds": 7658.28, "clock": "02:07:38", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001467" } ] } ] }, { "key": "rep-mikaela-angela-b-suansing", "label": "Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing", "items": [ { "label": "Committee invitation for DA restoration priorities", "text": "Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing said the committee had heard extensive questions during more than nine hours of deliberations and invited DA and NIA to identify items for potential restoration or additional funding during institutional amendments. She asked for an immediate wish list, with further requests to be submitted in writing as deliberations continued.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001486", "start_seconds": 8897.1, "clock": "02:28:17", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001486" } ] }, { "label": "Productivity, post-harvest, and rural-infrastructure requests", "text": "Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. referred to DA's July 7, 2026 written request to the President. He listed P8.7 billion in additional fertilizer assistance for rice-producing areas to sustain productivity and mitigate El Niño effects; P1 billion for corn post-harvest facility systems; P1.1 billion for composting facilities for chicken-manure processing, organic fertilizer, and waste-to-energy; and P300 million for agricultural transport and support infrastructure. He also sought P9.2 billion for farm-to-market bridge development, saying only P1 billion had been included for an ODA-funded component and that P3 billion more was needed to complete the Philippine government's equity. Other listed needs included P300 million to upgrade food-safety and plant-quarantine laboratories and P1 billion for solar-powered irrigation.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001509", "start_seconds": 9013.82, "clock": "02:30:13", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001509" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001510", "start_seconds": 9022.78, "clock": "02:30:22", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001510" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001511", "start_seconds": 9027.26, "clock": "02:30:27", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001511" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001513", "start_seconds": 9040.24, "clock": "02:30:40", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001513" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001517", "start_seconds": 9058.9, "clock": "02:30:58", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001517" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001518", "start_seconds": 9067.18, "clock": "02:31:07", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001518" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001519", "start_seconds": 9076.74, "clock": "02:31:16", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001519" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001521", "start_seconds": 9086.2, "clock": "02:31:26", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001521" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001522", "start_seconds": 9092.9, "clock": "02:31:32", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001522" } ] }, { "label": "Fisheries, livestock, and commodity-program funding requests", "text": "Laurel also listed P192 million for hybrid solar ice plants and P700 million for solar-powered integrated aquaculture and water-impounding farming facilities. He referred to restoring NMIS and NDA operating budgets through realignment of ANSEF funds and said DA could realign P20 billion. For the coconut planting program, he sought P2.5 billion if coco levy funds could not be unlocked in time to meet the President's target of 100 million trees by 2028. He also requested P500 million to enhance sugarcane production, P300 million for ube export development, P200 million for dairy production support, and P1 billion for agricultural food hubs, particularly in Bukidnon.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001523", "start_seconds": 9096.12, "clock": "02:31:36", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001523" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001524", "start_seconds": 9100.02, "clock": "02:31:40", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001524" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001530", "start_seconds": 9130.44, "clock": "02:32:10", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001530" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001532", "start_seconds": 9142.82, "clock": "02:32:22", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001532" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001535", "start_seconds": 9150.86, "clock": "02:32:30", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001535" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001536", "start_seconds": 9158.94, "clock": "02:32:38", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001536" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001537", "start_seconds": 9162.84, "clock": "02:32:42", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001537" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001538", "start_seconds": 9167.94, "clock": "02:32:47", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001538" }, { "stable_id": "asr-001541", "start_seconds": 9179.34, "clock": "02:32:59", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001541" } ] }, { "label": "Effects of restrictive project-modification rules", "text": "Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing asked NIA to distinguish its preferred PREC-C budget form from the new 2026 special provision governing project modifications, and to explain whether the provision’s detailed technical conditions had hindered implementation. NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen said the agency’s implementation had slowed because it could not move readily to other implementable projects when previously identified work encountered problems. He asked for less restrictive modification rules and said NIA would submit a formal request and proposed language, stressing that irrigation works face technical, right-of-way and site-readiness issues as well as seasonal limits on construction.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001631", "start_seconds": 9692.0, "clock": "02:41:32", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001631" } ] }, { "label": "Flexibility with validation and accountability safeguards", "text": "Suansing said Congress recognized that the special provision could create implementation challenges, but warned that a replacement could not remove safeguards or permit blanket modifications. She asked NIA to balance flexibility with validation, accountability and fidelity to the project funded in the GAA, allowing only bounded changes such as dimensions where appropriate. Guillen agreed that NIA did not seek to reduce accountability; he said its aim was timely and efficient use of appropriated funds under Congress and DBM policies. The exchange records a request for draft language, not an adopted amendment.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001677", "start_seconds": 9927.44, "clock": "02:45:27", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001677" } ] }, { "label": "El Niño resilience, solar irrigation and BARC submissions", "text": "Suansing said irrigation and solar pumps were important for responding to El Niño, noting that large dams and water sources could still experience low levels and needed a solar-pump backup. She said the committee would examine the separate DA and NIA solar-irrigation programmes and asked NIA to submit a prioritized list for the Budget Amendments Review Committee by the end of the week, including the modification request and special provisions, before the committee convened about a week later. This is a request for prioritized materials and consideration, not a funding approval.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001734", "start_seconds": 10040.7, "clock": "02:47:20", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001734" } ] }, { "label": "Committee support within constrained fiscal space", "text": "Suansing thanked the DA and NIA teams for the hearing and described them as partners in responding to farmers’ and fishers’ local needs. She said prior deliberations had added farm-to-market roads, deep-water ports, national and communal irrigation systems, and DA and NIA solar pumps, but said the current year faced constrained fiscal space and that the committee would make its best effort to consider the agencies’ wish-list items. Chair Jose \"Bong\" J. Teves Jr. welcomed the assurance. Suansing closed by saying the shared objective was to help farmers and fishers through the 2027 budget and beyond; no specific addition is decided in this exchange.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001781", "start_seconds": 10133.92, "clock": "02:48:53", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001781" } ] } ] }, { "key": "senior-deputy-speaker-ferdinand-l-hernandez", "label": "Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez", "items": [ { "label": "Motion to terminate the DA and NIA budget hearing", "text": "Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez thanked DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. for assistance to his district and South Cotabato and NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen for NIA's help. He then moved to terminate the committee hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2027 budgets of the National Irrigation Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and their attached agencies and corporations.", "citations": [ { "stable_id": "asr-001942", "start_seconds": 10464.85, "clock": "02:54:24", "transcript_url": "https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/25/#asr-001942" } ] } ] } ] }