A tit-for-tat then ensued when Marcos cited Masagana 99, an agriculture program of his father, late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., as a project the Duterte government can copy to help farmers. The suggestion did not sit well with Dominguez, who said he was left to “clean up the mess” left by Masagana 99 as agriculture secretary during the Corazon Aquino administration. A day after the Senate hearing, and before this invitation for a seminar from the finance chief, Marcos also berated Dominguez. “What our country's chief economic manager is really saying is that rice farmers are a pain in the budget and are not worth subsidizing,” she said. Philstar.com reached out to Marcos’ office for a response to Dominguez’ invitation, but the senator’s media relations team said she is yet to have an official reply.

Source: Philippine Star May 27, 2020 09:22 UTC