Second Panglantaw Policy Forum Draws Overwhelming Support
Participants engage in another interesting session for the 2nd Panglantaw Policy Forum.
The second Panglantaw Policy Forum, organized by the Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Inc. (PAA) in partnership with the DA – Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), held last 21 March 2024, drew overwhelming support as it tackled the implications of the Memorandum Circular No. 12, Series of 2022 to Local Government Unit (LGU) staffing pattern and the proposed national and local government staffing pattern based on the Philippine Agriculturists Bills (House Bill 9725 and Senate Bill 2535).
Dir. Shiela G. Acuña, Director of the Human Resource Policies and Standards Office under the Civil Service Commission Central Office, served as the forum’s discussant, providing valuable insights and perspectives on the preparation of the devolution transition plans of the LGU.
The term “devolution” refers to the “act by which the national government confers power and authority upon the various local government units to perform specific functions and responsibilities.”
On August 11, 2021, the Committee on Devolution, the Department of Budget Management (DBM), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued a Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2021-1 for the “Guidelines on the Preparation of the Devolution Transition Plans”. Following the said Guidelines, each LGU is responsible for the design, approval, and implementation of its own Organizational Structures and Staffing Patterns (OSSP). However, it was stated in MC No. 12, s. 2022 under Section 4, Mandatory and Optional Local Appointive Positions, that City and Municipal Agriculturists are only classified as optional appointive positions unlike the Provincial Agriculturist which was listed under mandatory appointive position. This is a growing concern for every Filipino agriculturist that a Register Agriculturist position is not considered a priority in the LGU OSSP.
In addressing these concerns, Dr. Karen S. Bautista, PAA National President, reported the efforts of the Association in lobbying legislative support to regulate the practice of the agriculture profession in the country through filing of parallel Philippine Agriculturists Bills, and hopefully, they will be enacted into law.
The forum’s reactants - Dr. Dario A. Cidro (Associate Professor, UPLB-ASI); Mr. Ruben S. Santos (Municipal Agriculturist, San Manuel, Isabela); and Ms. Milagros C. Urbano (Division Chief, DA-ATI) - represented various sectors and voices to share their experiences and perspectives on the key issues affecting the functions, recruitment and retention, and professional development of agriculturists in the Philippines. The forum highlighted the need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to address the staffing patterns in the municipal and city government offices.
According to Dr. Cidro, the absence of mandatory positions of a Municipal/City agriculturist “is a testament of how shallow our understanding of agriculture is” and that Agriculturists are “the main bridge between research and farmers”.
The open forum attracted various opinions from both online and onsite participants which was moderated by former UPLB Professor on Agricultural Extension, Dr. Virginia R. Cardenas. To summarize the agreements and ways forward, Mr. Jim Leandro P. Cano provided the synthesis. In his closing message, PAA National Vice President Fernando C. Sanchez Jr, emphasized that “agriculturists are essential, not optional” in all levels of the government, the academe, and the private sector.
The policy forum served as an avenue for a productive dialogic communication to tackle certain issues and concerns pertaining to MC No. 12, s. 2022. The 2nd Panglantaw Policy Forum is available for viewing at the PAA Facebook Page at https://facebook.com/paa.org.ph.
