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After Masagana 99 schooling, Imee Marcos says Dominguez 'has given up' on Filipino farmers

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/05/21/20200521-marcos-dominguez.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Sen. Imee Marcos and Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez. ABS-CBN News/file photo</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - Sen. Imee Marcos on Thursday said Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez &quot;has given up on our rice farmers&quot; after the latter debunked her claim that the Masagana 99 program - which provided loans for farmers in the 70s during her father&#x27;s term in office - was a success.Marcos had suggested to increase government&#x27;s stake in banks to extend loans to indigent families during the coronavirus crisis, saying her father former President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.&#x27;s Masagana 99 program was a &quot;very effective&quot; way of utilizing banks to extend aid to farmers.Dominguez - who was Agriculture Secretary during the Cory Aquino administration that succeeded the Marcos regime - contradicted the senator, noting that the program resulted in the bankruptcy of 800 banks.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/20/20/800-banks-bankrupted-dominguez-disputes-imee-marcos-claim-that-fathers-masagana-program-a-success">800 banks bankrupted&#x27;: Dominguez disputes Imee Marcos&#x27; claim that father&#x27;s Masagana program a success</a></li></ul>&quot;What our country’s chief economic manager is really saying is that rice farmers are a pain in the budget and are not worth subsidizing,&quot; Marcos said of Dominguez in a statement.&quot;He has given up on our rice farmers ever regaining their export potential and will let unregulated rice importation do the dirty job of snuffing them out,&quot; she said.&quot;Shame on you, Secretary Dominguez, give the Filipino farmer some credit! When supported by sound government policy and defended against rampant importation, we can feed ourselves.&quot;The Masagana 99 was a Marcos program designed to increase rice production in the country by giving farmers high-yielding rice varieties through loans. It was discontinued after being marred with corruption issues, leaving farmers in deeper debts. No less than President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech in April 2017, described the program to have &quot;deteriorated because of corruption down the line.&quot;In the May 20 exchange during the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing, Dominguez did not say that he was against programs for farmers.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WATCH: Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez disputes Sen. Imee Marcos&#x27; claim that the Masagana 99 program during the Marcos presidency in the 1970s was an &quot;effective use of commercial and rural banks,&quot; saying the policy left around 800 banks &quot;bankrupted.&quot; READ: <a href="https://t.co/vBJFBDQJZh">https://t.co/vBJFBDQJZh</a> <a href="https://t.co/ew20f5sfyW">pic.twitter.com/ew20f5sfyW</a>— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews/status/1263133775728308224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Sen. Marcos also refuted Dominguez&#x27;s claim that the Philippines was unable to export rice during the Masagana 99 program.According to her, the country exported some 89,000 metric tons of rice between 1977 to 1978 &quot;when farmers under Masagana 99 produced a surplus of rice,&quot; citing data from Dr. Emil Q. Javier, an agronomist and former president of the University of the Philippines.&quot;The Philippine Rice Research Institute also reported that rice exportation in 2013 was only the second time it took place since Masagana 99 was launched,&quot; her statement reads.Marcos accused Dominguez to have &quot;misled&quot; Duterte about the Masagana 99 program, noting that the chief executive initially wanted to replicate the rice production program.&quot;President Duterte was pushing for a revival of Masagana 99 early on in his administration, but maybe Dominguez misled his best friend too,&quot; the senator said.Dominguez has yet to respond to ABS-CBN&#x27;s requests for comment.In 2016, Duterte said he wanted to &quot;copy&quot; Marcos&#x27; Masagana 99 program, but a group of farmers opposed the proposed revival of the policy, saying only big companies profited from it.Then-Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol clarified that the president only wanted to increase the Philippines&#x27; rice production, and not mimic the entire Masagana 99 policy.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/10/26/16/farmers-oppose-revival-of-marcos-masagana-99">Farmers oppose revival of Marcos&#x27; &#x27;Masagana 99&#x27;</a></li></ul>

Sen. Imee Marcos on Thursday said Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez "has given up on our rice farmers" after the latter debunked her claim that the Masagana 99 program - which provided loans for farmers in the 70s during her father's term in office - was a success.

Sen. Imee Marcos on Thursday said Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez "has given up on our rice farmers" after the latter debunked her claim that the Masagana 99 program - which provided loans for farmers in the 70s during her father's term in office - was a success.

After Masagana 99 schooling, Imee Marcos says Dominguez 'has given up' on Filipino farmers

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After Masagana 99 schooling, Imee Marcos says Dominguez 'has given up' on Filipino farmers

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 21, 2020 03:25 PM PHT

Read More:

Imee Marcos

Carlos Dominguez

Masagana 99

rice

loans for farmers

loans during coronavirus crisis

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