CEBU CITY, Philippines — A five-year-old Cebu City program meant to strengthen local food production is facing renewed scrutiny after a city councilor said key provisions—including financial assistance for farmers and an agriculture scholarship program—remain unimplemented.
Councilor Phillip Zafra, who authored the Cebu City Food Security Ordinance, raised the issue during a City Council discussion on September 8, saying the measure passed in 2021 was supposed to provide concrete support to farmers but has yet to deliver some of its most important benefits.
The controversy comes at a time when local producers are already facing pressure from production costs, market competition and imported agricultural and food products.
And for Cebu’s farmers, the question is increasingly straightforward: If the city already has an ordinance and funding framework for food security, why are some of its promised programs still waiting to be implemented?
The P100-million question
The Cebu City Food Security Ordinance, approved in June 2021, established a sustainable food production program designed to make the city more self-reliant in agriculture and fisheries.
The ordinance provided an initial P100 million budget for food-production programs, agricultural education and local markets. It also required programs and projects charged against the allocation to be submitted to the City Council before the funds could be used.
But there is an important distinction in the funding provisions.
The ordinance’s overall initial allocation was P100 million, while a separate provision cited by Zafra calls for not less than P100 million in subsidies for farmers’ associations. Zafra said this farmer-subsidy component remains unimplemented.
The intended assistance was supposed to help farmers with needs including farm inputs, land cultivation, agricultural equipment and cold-storage facilities.
That gap between what was legislated and what farmers have actually received has become the heart of the latest criticism.
The scholarship promise is also still pending
The ordinance was designed to look beyond immediate farm subsidies.
It also called for a 10-year scholarship program for qualified Cebu City residents pursuing agriculture- or fisheries-related degrees, with preference for residents of agricultural barangays.
The program was intended to build a new generation of agricultural professionals who could eventually serve their communities and help sustain local food production.
But Zafra said the scholarship component also remains pending.
That means a program designed during the COVID-19 crisis to strengthen Cebu’s long-term food security is still facing implementation questions five years later.
This isn’t just about giving farmers cash
The 2021 ordinance was considerably broader than a simple subsidy program.
It envisioned Bayanihan Markets in every barangay, where local farmers and fisherfolk would receive priority in selling their products. It also called for a Cebu City Food Army, potentially involving displaced workers and other residents with farming or fisheries experience.
The measure also directed the City Agriculture Office to identify potential protected agricultural and fishery zones, while qualifying agricultural properties could receive tax incentives.
The ordinance further required the City Agriculturist to formulate implementing rules and regulations within 30 days of its effectivity.
In other words, the legislation envisioned an entire food-production ecosystem—not simply a one-time payout.
The issue was already raised before
The latest controversy did not come out of nowhere.
In November 2024, The Freeman reported that Cebu City councilors were already urging the executive department to implement the Food Security Ordinance after concerns over underutilized programs intended to support farmers.
Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. argued at the time that upland farmers needed stronger support, including transportation, farm equipment, irrigation, quality seeds and farm-to-market infrastructure.
Another councilor, Jocelyn Pesquera, said the City Agriculture Department had received substantial funding but that some programs previously submitted had not been implemented as expected. She cited at least P80 million in agriculture-related allocation while raising concerns about utilization.
The council subsequently approved a motion asking the executive department to consider implementing the Food Security Ordinance.
Nearly two years later, the issue has resurfaced.
Why farmers’ support matters now
The timing is significant because Cebu is simultaneously confronting broader questions about food supply and competition.
The latest council discussion was triggered partly by concerns over imported meat and the impact of foreign products on local traders and producers. Councilor Alcover called for a congressional review of policies governing imported meat and processed meat products, while stressing that local businesses were seeking fair competition rather than an outright import ban.
That debate puts the city’s own food-security policy under a brighter spotlight.
Protecting local agriculture isn’t only about restricting imports. It also means ensuring that farmers have the equipment, financing, infrastructure, technology and market access needed to compete.
And Cebu already has an ordinance intended to provide some of those tools.
Other cities are showing what direct assistance can look like
The situation also stands out against other local government efforts to deliver agricultural assistance.
In August, for example, 2,300 farmers in Tayabas City, Quezon received agricultural inputs, including foliar fertilizer and crop-protection supplies supplied through cooperation between the Department of Agriculture and the city government.
In May, 268 farmers and fisherfolk in Isabela City, Basilan received ₱2,325 each under the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk program, demonstrating another model of direct support for registered producers.
These programs are not identical to Cebu’s ordinance, but they illustrate the difference between having a policy framework and actually delivering assistance to beneficiaries.
Cebu’s food-security problem is bigger than one subsidy
Cebu City has faced other agricultural challenges as well.
Earlier in 2026, The Freeman reported criticism over the city’s preparedness for drought conditions, including concerns over irrigation facilities, agricultural supplies and the availability of equipment for upland communities. The report said only part of the city’s irrigation facilities were operational at the time, although the reported number was later revised.
The episode highlighted a recurring problem: farmers need sustained systems, not occasional emergency interventions.
Irrigation, transportation, farm machinery, post-harvest facilities, market access and production financing all determine whether farmers can actually turn their land and labor into stable income.
The bigger question: where does Cebu go from here?
The latest criticism does not establish that every provision of the 2021 ordinance has failed or that its entire P100-million framework remains untouched. The most recent reporting specifically identifies the farmer subsidy and agriculture scholarship provisions as still pending, while other components were not given a current implementation status.
That distinction matters.
But after five years, the concern is difficult to ignore.
Cebu City already has the legislation. It has already identified food security as a policy priority. What remains is translating those promises into programs that farmers can actually see and use.
Because when agricultural support stays on paper, the consequences do not stay there.
They can eventually appear in higher production costs, weaker local supply, lost livelihood opportunities and greater dependence on food coming from outside the city.
For Cebu’s farmers, the next question is no longer whether the city recognizes their importance.
It is whether the long-promised support will finally reach the farms.
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