Mindanao’s agriculture is more modern and more productive than Luzon’s, and life on the island is more peaceful, more affordable, and full of more opportunity than Metro Manila, making it the better place to live and work for any Filipino willing to go back, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol said Wednesday.
Piñol made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 9, encouraging Mindanaoan professionals and students living in Metro Manila to return home.
He was direct in his assessment, setting aside any false modesty about the comparison.
“You know, I will tell you in all honesty, inikot ko ang buong Pilipinas. Kinukumpara ko ang agriculture sa Mindanao and other parts of the country. And modesty aside, sorry na lang, pero masasabi ko pagdating sa agrikultura, you’re years behind Mindanao,” Piñol said.
The former Agriculture chief said the presence of large agricultural corporations in Mindanao has modernized the farming mindset across the island in a way that has not happened in most of Luzon, where he observed large tracts of idle agricultural land in Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Hacienda Luisita that should be productive.
“Moderno yung aming agriculture sa Mindanao dahil maraming mga corporations doon, agricultural corporations. Inikot ko yung Nueva Ecija, pati Pampanga. Sa Mindanao, wala ka nang makikitang nakatiwangwang na lupain na malalawak, na agriculturally productive dapat, na hindi ginagamit,” Piñol said.
Piñol said the difference is significant and not even close: “Way ahead, apples to apples, Luzon to Mindanao.”
He also said life in Mindanao is less stressful, more affordable in terms of basic goods, and presents far more opportunity for those willing to work.
When asked directly whether Metro Manila is more stressful than Mindanao, Piñol did not hesitate.
“Oh yes, napaka-stressful ng buhay sa Metro Manila,” Piñol said.
He said Mindanao’s relationship with the national government is not one of anger but of disappointment, a distinction he said matters given how much the island contributes to the country’s food supply.
“Hindi naman siguro masabi nating galit, it’s more of nagtatampo. Pero right now, Mindanaoans are seeing a better future,” Piñol said.
Piñol said basic food needs are affordable in Mindanao, though he acknowledged that income from farming is still suppressed by the same import pressures and logistics failures he has been criticizing.
“Madaling mabuhay sa Mindanao kung subsistence lang,” Piñol said.
He directly encouraged Mindanaoan students and professionals in the capital to consider going home, saying the opportunities are there and the quality of life is genuinely better: “Mas mapayapa ang Mindanao. Mas maraming opportunity sa Mindanao.”
