00:00The government is preparing to expand the country's major food hub for agricultural commodities to boost market access and ensuring a more stable food supply for consumers.
00:09This and more in tonight's Business Wrap from the Philippine News Agency.
00:13In our business news, the government has marked 47 hectares in property owned by Clark International Airport Corporation to be used for a planned food hub for agricultural commodities.
00:34The Department of Agriculture said the development of the initial 12 hectare section will cost some 2 billion pesos.
00:42Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tulaurel Jr. said the project may be operational within 18 months from the start of construction.
00:51Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said the food hub is a potential game-changer for agriculture and food logistics given Clark's strategic location near the Subic-Clark Expressway.
01:05The DA is looking to establish other food hubs across the country to boost farm output, stabilize food supply and prices, increase farmers' income, and generate jobs.
01:17Meanwhile, the Department of Agrarian Reform has forgiven nearly 41 million pesos in unpaid debt owed by more than 1,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Mulanay, Quezon.
01:29Dar's Calabar Zone Regional Office distributed certificates of condonation with release of mortgage to 1,124 ARBs with outstanding amortizations and interest with the Land Bank of the Philippines.
01:45The condonation covers 1,390 collective certificates of land ownership awards over 1,662 hectares of agricultural land.
01:55This is made possible by the new Agrarian Emancipation Act signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in July 2023.
02:04The law is expected to benefit over 610,000 farmers and write-off 57.5 billion pesos in land-related debts.
02:14In 2024, Marcos reaffirmed his commitment to completing the government's agrarian reform agenda by the end of his term in 2028.
02:23And that's the latest business news from the Philippine News Agency.
