Remembering Senator Butz Aquino
- Boss and Friend
Dr Abe V Rotor
Consultant (1989-1993), Committee on Food and Agriculture
Senator Butz Aquino, chairman
Senate of the Philippines
Dr Rotor served as consultant of the Senate's Committee on Food and Agriculture with the late Senator Butz Aquino as chairman (1989-1993). The committee stood vigorous against the abolition and privatization of NFA.
Outstanding accomplishments as senator may be gleamed from the bills he sponsored and co-sponsored, namely:
- Cooperative Law of the Philippines
- Magna Carta for Filipino Farmers
- Seed Industry Law of the Philippines
- Law Banning Muro-ami Fishing
- Law Establishing Carabao Research and Training Centers (Co-sponsor with then Senator Erap Estrada)
- Nagpandayan, Nueva Ecija (Cooperative)
- Tagudin, Ilocos Sur (Cooperative)
- Santiago, Isabela (Farmers Forum)
- Samboan, Cebu (Ban on Muro-ami fishing)
- Vigan, Ilocos Sur (Guest speaker)
- Concepcion, Tarlac (Butz hometown)
- Tel-Aviv, Israel (alone, sponsored by the Senate Committee)
- Helping a helpless motorist
- Butz double in a town's restaurant
- Endless requests into the night
- Defending the NFA in Senate debates
- Visit to Israel
- Representing Butz in a farmers' forum in Cotabato City
- 13 in a Helicopter at night (Siquijor to Cebu)
- Twice forced landing on a helicopter at Santa Fe Pass in Nueva Vizcaya
- Kamaro (fried mole cricket), anyone?
- Butz and Young Marlo (author's son) on a ranch in Batangas
- Driving at racetrack speed to Tagudin, Ilocos Sur
- Briefing over breakfast at his residence for the day's session
- Outdoor dinner. Getting rid of flies and midges. ~
In Defence of NFA
The National Food Authority was created through Presidential Decree No. 4 dated September 26, 1972, under the name National Grains Authority (NGA) with the mission of promoting the integrated growth and development of the grains industry covering rice, corn, feed grains and other grains like sorghum, including wheat which we had substantive success on the farm level.
Agapito "Butz" Aquino Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aquino-Aquino. He was the brother of former senators Benigno S. Aquino Jr. and Tessie Aquino-Oreta, as well as the uncle of President Benigno S. Aquino III as well as Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV.
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