Agri paradigm shift finds a leader

Reforming the country’s farm system requires a radical change in the mindset of both farmers, industry officials and other stakeholders.

This is what Asis Generoso Perez, the current Undersecretary of Policy, Planning, and Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (DA), aspires for.

Starting from helping farmers in his community in his youth, he now takes charge of the crafting of the blueprint for policies in the revamped agriculture sector which he hopes would benefit all key industrial players, from farmers to consumers.

Growing up on a farm

As early as the age of six, Perez had already been exposed to farm labor and aware of its realities.

Growing up in the simple town of Padre Garcia in Batangas Province with his grandfather, who was a subsistence farmer, he had an early understanding of what farmers’ lives and works are.

“Very early in life, I developed an understanding and respect for farmers. Because I saw in our time that the farmer lived a very simple life; they are very honest people; they toil from morning to evening, and they literally eat what they sweat for,” Perez told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

As a kid, Perez used to raise farm animals such as pigs and cows, eventually leading him to take veterinary medicine as his undergraduate program, even though he wanted to study law and take a course towards priesthood.

According to him, his work as a veterinarian in the 1980s exposed him to a lot of things, not only animal-related concerns but also introduced him to the system of government.

“Because at that time, in 1983, there was chaos. (Former Senator) Ninoy Aquino was assassinated. As a relatively average student, I became an activist. Because at that time, if you didn’t become an activist, you were either stupid or too stupid,” Perez said.

In 1987, he graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine from Francisco Balagtas College.

Taking up Law

Arguing for a particular cause was his passion.

Despite being in the field he loves, his aspiration of being a lawyer didn’t go away, and this was probably a result of growing up in a household where people were trained to speak up at a very young age.

“After vet school, I started helping the farmers, but my services were all free since the condition of farmers was pitiful.”

So my father said, “You won’t survive if you become a vet.”

Perez shared it was his father who pushed him to go to the best law school in the Philippines, which according to him was at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).

“Of course, the best school is Ateneo; UP people will not agree; it’s up to them.”

It was his father who sustained his studies, but Perez noted that he helped sustain the family through farmwork.

“I was managing the farm while I was in law school. Although we do not get salaries, the income drive in our family comes from all of us. [I] would say the family sustains us, and we sustained the family. We had shared burden and shared responsibility.”

Fighting for the IPs

While attending law school, Perez joined a human rights center, exposing him to the knowledge and challenges of indigenous peoples (IPs).

His entire summer vacations were spent on internships with the IPs in the Cordilleras.

“I said if I were to be a lawyer, I would spend just a year on the IPs. I developed a kind of affection for them. At that time, I was young and idealistic, and I wanted to help the sector. The IPs are what I wanted to help,” he said.

“I have a thesis on that; what happened was that the IPs owned land but were deprived of it. That’s a huger historical injustice, and at that time, I was really passionate. [I] wanted to work for the entire IP community. Because, at that time, their rights were not well recognized. They are still fighting for the land, and the people from the lowlands are deceiving them,” he added.

In 1991, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from ADMU.

Becoming a lawyer

As a lawyer, Perez said he would only practice law for a year.

“I said, I also want to get rich. but I’m very lucky because my father didn’t go to school, but I did. I went to a --- well for the sake of a better term; I went to an obscure college,” he said.

“I didn’t come from UP, Ateneo, or La Salle when I was in college. When you go to the Ateneo, it’s like they look at you and say, ‘What school is that?’ and my course was neither associated with law. So I consider myself lucky, and then I passed the bar. I said I really had to pay God for the blessings I received. I said just one year.”

Perez then worked for Tanggol Kalikasan (TK), a non-stock, non-profit, public-interest environmental law office, and was a counsel of the Haribon Foundation.

He said when he was interviewed by the TK’s supervising lawyer, he told her that he is good for one year.

“But I stayed there for more than 20 years until I was appointed in 2011. When I ended my term in 2016, I went back to Tanggol. And then I left Tanggol again because I’m back here. All my life, I have been there for farmers and fishermen, for the marginalized groups.”

Under TK, Perez shared that he established law enforcement actions, became a member of Task Force Matatag, and trained sea patrols.

He received the First Gawad Sagip Dagat Award in 2009.

According to him, working in a public-interest environmental law office is like waking up in the middle of the night and having difficulties going back to sleep.

“You wake up in the middle of the night, and it becomes difficult to go back to sleep.”

“So it hasn’t changed. It didn’t happen for only one year. My heart is there. I’ve seen how much I can do; you can’t abandon the sector now. Even though I’m no longer in the environment field, the capacity is just different. I’m already in DA working with the farms; it’s the same,” he said.

“Because once you opened your eyes, as I have told you, it was like in the middle of the night, it was very difficult to go back to sleep. It’s hard to go back knowing that the farmers are like this. You can’t get rid of it.”

With this eye-opener, he said he learned that his job is deeply rooted in experience, and a lot of his advocacy is intended to ensure social justice and equity.

Farmers to fishermen

During the administration of former president Benigno S. Aquino III, Perez said he was offered a position in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and was also invited to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) by former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, whom he said was a founding member of TK.

When asked if there were challenges he faced, he said, “Actually, none; public service work is easy. Because first, you have people. 4,000 under you. Second, you have resources, ships, and people. Number three, I know what to do because I’m from this field. I did not struggle, and I think at that time, I was blessed and was given the opportunity to serve.”

In 2011, Perez was tapped to be BFAR chief, serving until 2016.

Last February, he was named DA undersecretary for policy, planning, and regulations by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

Take aways in life

Perez said that there were two things he learned as he returned to government.

The first is the general view of people working in government as corrupt.

“I can say with honesty that more than 98 percent of those in the government are very good, hardworking people, but unfortunately there are a few, at least from my perspective, who are incompetent and sometimes not very good,” he said.

“The misconception that the government is weak and crooked needs to be changed. It’s not true,” he added.

Second, he said that working for the public service should be viewed as a rewarding experience.

“Not everyone, especially me; I’m not from the ranks, but I was immediately appointed to a high position. It is a rare opportunity and privilege to be appointed to such a position because you can do something and make a dent if you want to. We should not squander such opportunities.”

Almost three months after being reappointed to a government post, Perez expressed optimism about setting the right paradigm for farmers, who has a viewpoint of providing food solely for their families and not the nation.

“We are developing a budget that supports our farmers, and we are investing in the agriculture sector to make sure that there is the right paradigm. The paradigm before was that you turned your farmers and producers into aid recipients as you gave them assistance, which is very disrespectful. We are not helping the farmers; they are the ones helping us because the mandate to produce food and secure the prosperity of the nation is not the farmer’s duty; it is the government’s. That is the shift in paradigm — from a giver to a partner,” Perez explained.

He added, “Our current paradigm here is new; there will be respect for our farmers. They would be recognized the way they should be recognized.”

Leaving a legacy

His vision is for to see are the long-lived positive contributions of the DA’s collective efforts to improve the livelihoods of Filipino farmers and fishermen.

“I’m pretty secure in myself. I would be very unhappy if anything that happened was attributed only to one person because it could not be sustainable. But if you put together a system that ensures that everything in the sector is correct, then I would be very happy.”

In January, DA unveiled its three-year plan, “Para sa Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas,” which aims to modernize agriculture, reduce product wastage and increase production.

Last month, the agency finalized a proposal seeking an increase in its budget for 2025 from the current P208.58 billion to P513.81 billion, which will be used partly for the construction of additional farm infrastructure, including irrigation and postharvest facilities.