Here’s the reaction of Winnie Monsod on the land conversion debate of Raffy Tulfo and Cynthia Villar
WINNIE MONSOD – The former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary said Senator Raffy Tulfo did the right thing when he confronted Senator Cynthia Villar about the work of real estate developers to convert farmland into subdivisions and commercial spaces.
Tulfo and Villar had a heated argument during the plenary deliberations of the Department of Agriculture’s 2023 budget proposal on Thursday, November 17 after the former asked what the agency was doing about farmland depletion caused by property developers.
Villar denied that they were buying agricultural land. The Villar Family owns the real estate conglomerate Vista Land and Lifescapes
She stated that their company only purchases properties in urban areas due to their high resale value. Villar asked Tulfo where the people would live if no subdivisions were built. To which he responded, “Marami pong ibang lugar na puwede pong pagtayuan ng subdivisions. ‘Wag lang po i-take over ‘yung mga farms.”
Winnie Monsod reacted to their argument through a tweet. She said: “Senator Tulfo has the right of it in this argument. Senator Villlar, because of her family’s real estate activities, should know more than most that when farm lands are ‘converted’ the ones who benefit are the original owners of the land and not the farmers/workers. Shame on her.”
Monsod served as Minister of Economic Planning, Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning, and concurrent Director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) from 1986 to 1989, during President Corazon Aquino’s administration.
Monsod ran for the Senate of the Philippines in the 2001 national elections under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration party, People Power Coalition, but lost.
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Kailangan na po natin marealizena ang mga subdivision na yan ay nakakasira sa kalikasan hindi lang dahil sa mga paggamit ng mga semento at iba pang environment non-friendly materials kundi yung mga lupa na sisipsip sa tubig sana kung sakaling may malakas na ulan ay nawawala na kaya nagkakaroon ng malalaking pagbaha sa ibang mga lugar. Ganun din po yung mga punong sinisira para magawa ang mga subdivision na yan. mas malaki po ang nasisira kesa sa natutulungang magka trabaho, at yung magkabahay na mga middle at upper class lang naman at pinapayaman lang ng husto ay mga developers. Mas malaki ang economic cost kesa sa economic gain. Parang awa na po!
Okay lang yan.
Build, build, build..
We don’t need the lands for crops anyway because we
IMPORT. IMPORT, IMPORT!
When we finally run out of farmland, people can then grow onions, garlic, rice, tomatoes and other basics. In their backyards.
When we finally run out of soil, we can import,, import and import soil from the deserts of Africa and Saudi Arabia.
We see that most, if not all, subdivisions are located in prime lots not really suited for agriculture. The problem of low agri-production is not due to lack of arable space. There are vast of untapped arable lands in the countrysides. This is where we need government support to make these lands productive so that they add to the contribution of the agri sector to our GDP.