The incoming Super El Niño poses a bigger threat to Philippine agriculture than the recently eased Iran conflict, Senate President Win Gatchalian warned Saturday, noting that several provinces have already declared a state of calamity due to severe drought conditions. Gatchalian raised the alarm in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on June 20, saying that even as the…
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz dealt a “double whammy” to Filipino farmers, driving up fertilizer prices on top of already elevated costs from the broader Iran conflict, Senate President Win Gatchalian said Saturday, warning that the agriculture sector has borne a disproportionate share of the crisis’s economic fallout. Gatchalian made the assessment in an interview on DZRH News program Special…
A Senate special committee formed to assess the economic impact of the Iran conflict has seen 22 of its 50 recommendations already implemented by the executive branch, Senate President Win Gatchalian said Saturday, as oil prices are expected to decline following a peace accord between Iran and the United States. Gatchalian, who chaired the panel known as the PROTECT Committee, made the…
The world has not yet reached the point of no return on climate change, but the window for meaningful action is narrowing with every passing year, Filipino physicist and Manila Observatory Executive Director Fr. Jose Ramon “Jett” Villarin said Saturday, offering a message of cautious hope nearly two decades after his team’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning work on global warming. Villarin, who shared…
With the perceived ouster of career health officials, Malacañang now stands accused of putting institutional stability and expert leadership at risk for political convenience. The uproar follows the exit of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire and other veteran DOH officials in what appears to be a politically motivated shake-up. About 55 professional medical groups signed a joint statement expressing concerns of what…
The Laguna Lake is fast deteriorating into the country’s “biggest septic tank,” Biñan City Rep. Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila Jr. warned on Saturday, August 2. In an interview on DZRH News’ Special on Saturday, Rep. Dimaguila urged the Marcos Jr. administration to take urgent and science-based action to rehabilitate the vital water body affecting millions across Southern Luzon and Metro Manila. “Magkakaroon na…
The Iran war is showing why the Philippines can’t afford to neglect its farmers
A war thousands of kilometers away is beginning to ripple through something as basic as the Filipino dining table. The conflict involving Iran has pushed oil prices higher, disrupted key shipping routes, and strained global supply chains—especially for fertilizer, a critical input for food production. Farmers are already feeling the pressure. Fertilizer prices have surged by as much as 30% to 40%,…