Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas called out the recent statement of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who suggested that Filipinos should simply change their diet to adapt to the situation of increasing food prices.

“We cannot dismiss the fact that workers and farmers heavily rely on rice and other staple food items to sustain their energy levels, considering the physically demanding nature of their labor,”said Rep. Arlene Brosas.

“Wala na ngang makain ang mga tao, sasabihan pang mag-diet na lang. Imbis na ang mga Pilipino ang himukin na mag-adjust, dapat ang gobyerno ang gumawa ng paraan upang mapababa ang presyo ng bilihin.”

“Telling people to alter their diet while President Marcos Jr.’s commitment to affordable rice is unmet is insensitive. The current administration is worsening Filipino hardships instead of fulfilling campaign pledges,” Rep. Brosas said.

The rising cost of rice and other basic commodities has put a strain on the budgets of Filipino households. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the needs of the people are met, rather than shifting the burden onto the already struggling population.

As of last week, locally produced rice is sold from P34 to P60 per kg, compared to P38 to P50 per kg a year ago, based on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA’s) price monitoring. Local well-milled rice is now priced at P38-P49 while in several public markets in Metro Manila, the price of rice per kilo starts at P50.

Gabriela Women’s Party calls on the government to enact Makabayan Bloc’s House Bill 405, the Rice Industry Development Act (RIDA), which seeks a comprehensive transformation of the rice sector, backed by sufficient public investment, support, mechanisms, and infrastructure.

“The current crisis of high prices and low wages should be the government’s top concern. Kung meron man dapat mag-adjust, ito ay ang gobyerno. The government needs to prioritize providing sufficient budget to ensure food security and stop alloting more budget for corruption-prone infrastructure projects and lavish travel expenses,” concluded Rep. Brosas.