Author: Hon. Francisco M. Mendoza
Date Filed: June 2, 2026
This ordinance establishes the “Tabang Paraoma – Tabang Kooperatiba (Tapat Ko) Program,” a strategic partnership utilizing a “Big Brother-Small Brother” framework to support small-scale local rice farmers in Naga City. Recognizing that the lengthy government voucher system forces small farmers to wait weeks or months for payouts, this measure integrates local cooperatives as intermediaries to facilitate immediate cash payments at harvest time. By creating an institutional cycle of initial credit, guaranteed purchasing, processing, and localized crop protection, the ordinance aims to eliminate predatory farmgate prices, ensure fair local income, and secure the city’s overall food reserve.
Highlights of Proposed Ordinance
- CREDIT & DEDUCTION-AT-SOURCE MECHANISM: The City Government extends input credit (seeds, fertilizer, or cash) to farmers at the start of the cropping season. Upon harvest, the partner cooperative acts as a collection agent—deducting the farmer’s debt directly from their crop proceeds and remitting it to the City Treasurer in exchange for an immediate Official Receipt issued to the farmer.
- COMPREHENSIVE AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT: The City Agriculture Office (CAgO) and Agricultural Biosystems Engineering Division (ABED) will actively screen beneficiaries, distribute high-quality seed support, manage planting calendars, provide continuous technical field monitoring, and enroll all farmers in the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to manage climate risks.
- COOPERATIVE INTERMEDIARY & LOGISTICS ROLES: Selected through community or negotiated procurement under RA 12009, the partner cooperative receives preferential access to Naga City’s milling and drying facilities. They process the purchased palay into milled, repacked rice, and sell it back to the City Government, which guarantees payment processing to the cooperative within three (3) weeks.
- SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM FUNDING: The program’s operations and rice buy-back cycles are structurally integrated into and funded by the regular rice procurement appropriations of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), the Education, Scholarship and Sports Office (ESSO), and other city departments that utilize rice for social programs.
- Proposed