FORMER Agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor on Saturday urged Congress to investigate the failure of the Land Bank of the Philippines to release P2 billion in income support for 400,000 rice farmers nationwide under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In a radio interview, Montemayor, chairman of the Federation of Free Farmers Board, said for 2021 alone, the LandBank's backlog covers all regions across the country, including 80,000 farmers each in Regions 1 (Ilocos) and 6 (Western Visayas), and 70,000 in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).