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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Rice Solutions
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on April 23, 2008 For the Standard Today, April 24, 2008 Like most consumers, taxpayers and harried citizens of this country, I am depressed that we are once again immersed in another crisis of epic proportions that threatens to disturb the peace and fray our nerves, perhaps to a point of no return. I believe my friend Ernie Ordonez � in his article "How to balance farmer and consumer interests" in the April 12 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer � that we do not have a rice supply crisis. According to him, we have a 54-day buffer stock, on-going harvests, and rice importations, presumably those that are expected from Vietnam and the US. But suppose the rice importations do not materialize in the quantities expected � so far agreements to sell by Vietnam have fallen short of our offers to buy � do we then have a rice supply crisis three, four, five months from now? What does the Arroyo government plan to do if and when that situation develops? So far, its proposed measures have not been encouraging. They want to give away P500 cash each to 10,000 poor families in Abra and Apayao provinces, which impresses me as a panic measure that will create more problems than it solves. Why only Abra and Apayao provinces? Do they plan to go down the alphabet until Zanbales and Zamboanga provinces will have had their poorest families receive these P500 dole-outs? And are these one-shot deals, or are they monthly stipends? Obviously a one-shot P500 dole-out is not going to make a dent on the rice problem. More likely, it will be squandered away on non-stop drinking and gambling. So for how long does the Arroyo government intend to keep on giving out P500 bills to the poor? Who identifies the poorest of the poor, in the first place? Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral was interviewed on TV the other day, and she said that President Arroyo had ordered her agency, the DSWD, to survey the poor communities in Metro Manila to determine who the poorest of the poor are, and she was given two weeks to complete that survey. This is ridiculous. There are at least three million squatters in Metro Manila. How can anyone possibly survey such a humongous community, spread out in 17 towns and cities, in only two weeks, to determine who among them are poor enough to receive P500�a month? This is similar to a proposed plan four years ago in which some government agency was going to give away P2,000 worth of free food to the 20 poorest families in every barangay.. This plan had a proposed budget of P2 billion a month, or P72 billion a year. I shot down that plan in my article Garcia's Millions, Hernando's Give-Away (Nov. 12, 2004) because of the unlimited opportunities for corruption at the very top of the food chain, and for impossible-to-control favoritism and petty graft at the barangay level. Who is going to determine who the poorest families are in each barangay? In my neighborhood and its attendant squatter colony, there must be at least 200 families who must believe they are the poorest and thus deserve those free food parcels worth P2,000 each. Who is going to referee the inevitable inggitan and scuffles and even neighborhood riots every time those free food parcels are handed out? Mercifully, that plan was scuttled after my critique. But now it is being revived, albeit with a much smaller hand-out. It may have something to do with buying votes in the 2010 elections and/or buying signatures in the ChaCha referendum that will precede it. However, the Arroyo government is to be commended for deciding to use the parishes of the Roman Catholic Church to distribute bags of P18.25-per-kilo rice to the poorest of the poor in Metro Manila. At least, the incidence of favoritism and corruption would be minimized if the parishes were handling the distribution. But why only the Roman Catholic parishes? Why not also the parishes � or whatever they are called � of the Iglesia ni Kristo, the Muslim community, the Born Agains, the mainstream Protestant churches, the El Shaddai? Don't they eat rice also? Some bishopss have been heard to grumble that distributing rice was not part of their job description. Maybe so, but if they had not opposed artificial methods of birth control, the poorest of the poor would not have multiplied so fast to so many, and there would have been no cause to ration rice. . . According to Ernie Ordonez, the Philippines plans to import 2.2 million metric tons of rice this year � making this country the biggest rice importer in the world - compared to only 0.6 million metric tons imported in 2000. Perhaps in his next article, Ordonez can list down the annual rice importations made by this country since 1986, so that the public can see which president was responsible for how much rice imports during his or her term. Rice self-sufficiency should be a goal for every administration, a more tangible measure of successful governance than GDP, especially since this country hosts the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, where visitors from all over South and Southeast Asia learn the most modern techniques of rice-growing. The irony of the host of IRRI becoming the biggest rice importer in the world is not just an idle curiosity. It speaks volumes of the mentality of the individuals and their retinues who have inflicted their presence on this country as its pre-eminent leaders. Who has forced us to import the most rice? Was it Aquino or Ramos or Estrada or Arroyo? And what do the eager presidential pretenders have to offer in the matter of rice self-sufficiency? What does Roxas or Villar or Legarda or Gordon or Lacson or de Castro or Arroyo (again) propose to do to make this country self-sufficient in rice? Media and concerned citizens should press them on what tangible and doable measures they intend to take in this matter. Rice should be one of the major issues in 2010. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com.. To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Rice Solutions� More Reactions to �Too Many People� More Reactions to �Let Them Eat Bio-fuels� CJ Reynato Puno and Freemasonry Desperate Housewife GMA This Rice Crisis is nothing more than a quick and convenient way for everyone to forget about the Senate Probe on ZTE-NBN, on Hello Garci, on Fertilizer Scam, on Macapagal Avenue scandal, etc. etc. etc. Lawrence C. See, (by email), April 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony. It appears that the news of rice shortage has Asians in America pushing the panic buttons and buying as many sacks of rice with the intent of hoarding them. Many Asian and regular grocery stores have gently imposed limitations coupled with the assurance there is no rice shortage of rice in America . . In spite of the assurance, older Asians ignore it. It is ironic and somewhat surprising to see people resorting to basic fear of hunger in the riches country in the world. I can imagine the fear felt by people of the third world countries if this kind of fear is happening in America . I have been thinking that Asians have never developed a secondary staple food in their diet. As you know a great many countries of the world have adopted beans, corns, potatoes, yams and others as main staple substitutes when there is a crises or shortage. I think if the mind set is not focused to one main staple food, there would be less fear and panic among the people. A variety of staple substitutes will embolden farmers to cultivate as many variety of substitute staple foods. The number of staple varieties will help regulate the price too. I recall during WWII the people in our barrio mixed rice and ground corn to make ends meet. It did not taste good at first but we got used to it after a while. At the very least having food fill the stomach clears the hunger pang. The government should promote the idea of staple substitutes. It makes sense and it is a win-win situation in the long run. Dependency on a single staple food is short sighted. Thank you, Tony. Oscar Apostol, (by email), Roseville , CA , April 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: There are no quick-fix solutions to the rice crisis now confronting not only Filipinos but also hundreds of millions more of the world's rice-eating population. We should take note of the fact that southern Australia used to produce enough rice to feed 20 million people. But no longer, because an unusually long drought has devastated the land to such an extent that rice no longer grows on it. Take note of the other fact that the civil strife in many parts of Africa has pretty much prevented farmers from planting grain, exacerbating the demand for cereal from those areas of the globe which are still able to produce it. The fact that a high percentage of the global production of corn is now converted into ethanol is one more significant cause of demand beginning seriously to outstrip the supply of cereals. India is already limiting the exportation of rice, in an effort to ensure that its people will not have to go through a rice crisis. Vietnam may still not go India 's way for now--and that will make it possible for the Philippines to get all the rice that it is seeking to buy there--but there is no assurance that as the world's supply continues to contract, Vietnam will not be compelled to limit or altogether stop the exportation of rice as a measure of self-preservation. There are now bread riots in Egypt and rice riots in Haiti . There are bound to be more food riots sooner rather than later. Millions are bound to go hungry; more still will very likely starve. Even here in the United States , Sam's Club (which is owned by Walmart) and Costco, two of the U.S. 's biggest retailers, only recently started to limit the amount of rice a customer can buy. The food outlook appears not only bleak. It is grim. Mariano Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers , NY , April 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww This so-called rice supply crisis was the creation of the Arroyo�s special ops people to make more money in commission from their importation of rice and to divert the attention of the people from the left and right scandals involving this immoral and illegitimate administration. One knowledgeable person on this issue is Jaime Tadeo of the National Rice Farmers Council who described Gloria Arroyo as having "gone mad" where " instead of instituting measures to develop self-sufficiency in rice production, she has increased the country's reliance on food imports by lifting the quantitative restrictions on rice imports." This would make Gloria Arroyo in the category of Nero and Hitler. Narciso Ner, (by email), Davao City , April 25, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, One of my staff when I was with the DA (and who is still there) informed me that our strategic rice reserve right now is only good for 30 days. This is a far cry from the time of Secretary Bong Tanco when we were holding a 90 day strategic reserve of rice for the country's food security. And this was at the time when local rice production was significant and out population was much less. This 90 day buffer stock represented the amount held by the government and did not include the stocks held by the private sector. I don't know if Mr. Ordonez' 54-day buffer stock includes the amount being held by the private sector. The sad truth, according to my source, the DA does not have a clue as to how much rice is in the hands of the private sector (farmers and the rice traders/merchants). I was also informed that Mr. Yap was alerted by the NFA of the impending rice shortage many months ago but it was assumed that if the problem materialized, the government will just import the rice needed. Of course they assumed that there will be rice to import. And I am also informed that there is an "incentive" to import. I don't want to speculate on what this "incentive" might be. Best regards, Ed Quisumbing, (by email), April 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Sir, Your avid German reader is still in Australia at this time, but I just can't keep my mouth shut on this topic. Not enough food, huh? Perhaps this has something to do with the number of people, trying to live in a given space? In a space, or country for that matter, that is managed by a bunch of crooks that couldn't care less if the people have enough to eat or not, as long a s they have. I predict that it won't be long now that the Catholic Church is awakening to the stark, new reality - new to them at least - that you can feed only so many off the land. Probably when Sunday's collection in the parishes does not produce anymore any significant amount of money, it will dawn upon the bishops in their ivory towers that times are tough? But even then, the problem of Philippine food security runs deeper. I have been in many Asian countries around the Philippines , and almost anywhere you can buy decent produce in the supermarkets or the markets. Only here you get vegetables that look so pathetic that you hesitate to put that on the table. Why is this so? This country has enough rainfall and fertile soil that it should easily be able to compete with its neighbours around. However, it must be understood that agriculture is a science, not a subsistence. Elsewhere, governments put out incentives for research into better crops. Here the farmers can barely survive on their earnings, leave alone invest into new techniques or better seed stocks. Yet, when one goes to the market, the prices for vegetables are skyrocketing because of well-established dealer rackets. The government, if it pays any attention at all, turns a blind eye to such practices. Hey, it�s a free market, isn't it? I work since almost a year in Queensland , Australia and can tell you that in spite of a prolonged drought, you can still find the supermarket shelves are stacked with produce of a quality that would be the envy of every Filipino farmer. And here comes the news: At half the price that you pay for that paltry crap that they try to pass on as vegetables at home. And that has nothing to do with agro chemicals. Australia is as green as it gets, organic is the rage here. Produce is fresh and succulent and affordable. The truth of the matter is that those at home who should govern us couldn't care less about this malaise. They buy their imported fruits and vegetables from the big supermarkets, while the rest of the people have to make do with what is available. The farmers are at the mercy of their buyers who finance their fertilizer and pesticides or the rice millers and warehouse owners. I find it always incredibly sad, when I go to farmers market in Cubao, that more than 80% of the produce there is not grown on Philippine soil. The coming decades will see an enormously increased competition among nations for resources. Loosing the ability to feed yourself will put you at the mercy of your neighbours. Regards Ulrich Bosse, (by email), Antipolo, Rizal, April 27, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I do not believe in Ernie's observation about rice hoarders and greedy businessmen causing much of the "rice price crisis". It is the prospect of an actual rice shortage that is driving the prices up. Ernie suggests a very simple solution to the problem - shift to planting of certified and hybrid seeds. If it was that simple, why has the government decided to do this only now? -- after coming up with most comic pronouncements and solutions, such as distributing cash in Abra to the "poorest of the poor" (I cannot imagine how this could be done on the day the President visited the place without causing a stampede) -- or was this all a photo-op for the President, just like the picture showing her harvesting cabbages (to insure more food on the table for Filipinos kuno) In Ernie's article that you cited, he says: "In fairness, the government did not give the Department of Agriculture (DA) an adequate budget during the past decade. Instead of providing the minimum P32.7-billion annual budget required by the Agriculture Fisheries Modernization Act since 1998, the DA received an average budget of only P16.7 billion, half the mandated amount. It is therefore most welcome that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has announced a P43.7-billion support for food supply." Why was the budgeted amount not released to the DA? The most plausible reply would be that we simply did not have the money. GMA came in as President in 2001. I am sure that in all of these seven years she was aware of the deficiency of the DA budget which was primarily aimed at food security. Is it only recently that this government had the money -- such that 43.7 billion could suddenly be released? I do not think that any government could be run efficiently by just clicking fingers for an instant solution and only when facing a crisis. Has someone been sleeping in the 'kangkongan' all this time? I knew Ernie towards the closing days of Erap's tenure. At that time he was at the DTI and I saw him as a technocrat trying to propose and implement well considered solutions to the problems brought to his office. We worked with his DTI office in trying to mount opposition to a plot by well-entrenched power brokers to monopolize the entire operations of ports in the Philippines . The monopolists had already acquired the President's signature for EO 59. This issue was one of those raised during the impeachment of President Estrada. At the last moment, the President rescinded his EO 59 but the implementing agency -- the PPA had the temerity to publish an invitation to bid, for the project to be started at the North Harbor . If I remember correctly, Ernie's transfer to the DA was partly due to the role he played in opposing EO 59. Even when he was already with the DA, Ernie continued to be interested in the cost of domestic sea transport. I still remember how GMA promised the farmers in Mindanao (April 2002) a reduction in the cargo handling cost when they complained about its exorbitant rate. Hearing this, we started to rejoice thinking that we had finally liberated the Philippine Ports Authority from "regulatory capture" (a term introduced by Romy Neri to our advocacy.) We received a copy of the DA Secretary's report to the President informing her of the steps taken to implement her order for a rollback in cargo handling rates from Ernie's office at the DA. However, our elation was short-lived because a few days later, we received another report of the DA Secretary to the President retracting the rollback. I was surprised to learn from your article that Ernie is still with the DA. (I did not write that he was still with the DA. ACA) All the time I thought he had distanced himself from a job which simply used him and his credentials for decoration or as a strong deodorant. His article indicates that nothing much has changed with him. I believe he knows much more about the cause or causes of our governance problems. My heart goes out to people like Ernie Ordonez and Romy Neri - dedicated and well-educated technocrats that are able to distinguish right from wrong policy but apparently are not bold enough to push for changes that they believe in. Tet Gambito, (by email), Cebu City , April 27, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, good evening, and more power to you and your timely articles. Indeed it�s ironical that our country is becoming a "big" importer of rice despite the presence of IRRI. Useless na ba ang IRRI ? Perhaps, dapat nang ilipat and IRRI sa iri! At ang NFA, is it the solution or the main problem? Why is it that big rice traders have NFA sacks in their warehouses? Nagbebenta ba ang NFA sa mga big rice traders at a profit? There were rice hoarders that were caught by NBIs and media personalities, but no one is charged with hoarding or economic sabotage! In the TV, there are shown rice rotting at rice warehouses of traders, but they are not charged with anything! As far as i know, subsidized ang NFA rice. But when NFA personnel sell the rice to big traders, this is economic sabotage, and a criminal offense. Perhaps COA should be authorized to investigate the NFA people as to why there are NFA rice in big traders warehouses. Then subsequently dismiss them and charge them with criminal offense. Re NFA distribution, para wala ng pila, allow grocery stores to sell the NFA rice. Also, government should also consider that the middle class and senior citizens need to buy also cheaper rice. The middle class are paying taxes, and the senior citizens had been paying taxes when they were working... the NFA rice is subsidized by taxes, so nararapat lang na makabili din ang mga middle class o senior citizen ng NFA rice. Hope you can publish my perception on our present "rice crisis" Avelino Lagman, Jr., (by email), April 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Good evening, Sir Tony, I couldn't sleep so I opened my email and browsed the internet, finally landing on your blog to read up on interesting comments from your readers aka fans... Then it hit me - maybe its too much of a conspiracy theory on my part because I know the rice shortage or crisis is serious IF IT IS TRUE because I go around the metropolis and I see a lot of rice outlets selling rice - of course at its current high price of P32 to P5/kilo depending on the type of rice one is buying. Now I can't clearly define if it�s a "shortage" or a "crisis"... maybe both as far as NFA rice is concerned. Like I said I was reading your articles and the commentaries and I was thinking cynically - maybe this 'rice' issue is just something being played up to distract the masses from the ZTE, Loazada, Neri and Senate inquiries, the Supreme Court's unpopular ruling regarding Neri, plus a host of other issues plaguing the current administration. It�s a sick joke if you asked me but given the track record of this current administration, they've lied through their teeth once too many times already, even to the UN Human Rights Committee and delegates. Scenario play - after all the brouhaha about the ZTE and this never ending issues on corruption and unpopular decisions, the media is taken into a false report of a rice shortage and the need to import rice. The crisis gets played up to a critical level then all of the sudden, the administration finds a solution to it. The NFA is reorganized and priorities are changed. The focus is to distract the people and the masses from political upheavals to this 'false report' and like what is normal in our society - the events that happened prior to this critical crisis - will be forgotten and lost in translation. By the time the people settle down, the ZTE issue has lost it's momentum, Lozada will be forgotten into obscurity, the SC's decision on Neri will be played down, General Garcia will get back his millions and the Oakwood mutineers will have a field day somewhere.... well, like I said, it was just a thought of my cynical mind. Unless public unrest was the main objective - played up to a critical point wherein rallies will become daily and more violent - then Martial law will be declared... it could happen because it's been done before. I just hope I'm wrong in both counts and that I simply just have a suspicious mind. Either that or those in government are just incompetent enough not to have enough foresight to have seen the imbalance of food sources versus population growth. No one knows the term 'long-term planning" as far as resources are concerned because their 'long term planning' sessions are all focused on 2010. If you don't mind - I think long-term planning sessions should focus on water supply and recycling programs, food supply and food chain management, alternative sources of energy, environmental planning, garbage planning, population control programs and incentives - just to name a few things that I feel should be attended to NOW instead of waiting for the problems to hit us when we least expect it. Good evening and God bless, Jenifer Xavier, (by email), April 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, I was in Manila when the rice "shortage" mess hit the fan last month. It happened on the heels of the Swine scandal. There were bodegas that were confirmed to have hoarded rice, exacerbating the already severe rice supply problems. As far as I know, no charges were being filed against the alleged perpetrators. Without a rice shortage, there would be no need to import 1.2 million tons of the staple from Vietnam . Without those imports, there would be no opportunity for people to earn certain commissions. This is the classic syllogism at work: Rice trader A is a Filipino. Rice shortages are good for Rice trader A. Therefore, rice shortages are good for Filipinos. It seems to me, we can never have rice self-sufficiency because if we have sufficient stocks, the price of rice will tend to be lower, which means less profits for rice traders. Also, those who earn commissions from rice imports will lose an important source of their income. I generally am a free trade advocate, but in rice distribution, I wouldn't mind seeing the government nationalize that business for a period of, say, five years, clean up the distribution process, compensate farmers more for their crops, and then turn it over once more to private industry. A friend of mine has another suggestion. He says that if farmers cooperatives are set up to run their own rice silos, they will not need to sell their rice all at once - after the harvest season - at very low prices because all the harvested rice are hitting the bogeas at the same time. They could sell their rice to the traders in installments, insuring that they get good prices for their rice. Because farmers are assured of higher, fairer prices for their production, they will tend to produce more. In today's environment, any increases in rice production will mean corresponding decreases in the need for rice importation. It is time we as a nation put the rice shortage profiteers out of business. Cesar Lumba, (by email), April 27, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, In the light of rising global food shortages and spiraling food prices, where we are in the cutting age of technology, it is unimaginable to see people starve and go to the streets to riot in a very desperate attempt to get a grain of cereal. Food riots have been reported in Yemen , Morocco , Haiti , Senegal , Mauritania , Burkina Fuso , Indonesia , and amongst tortilla-eating Mexicans. Too many people to feed, climate changes (drought or flooding), consumption outpacing production, conversion of acreages to feed biofuel plants (25% of maize or corn production in the US goes to ethanol), speculation in commodities market, higher oil prices, weak dollar, etc. have all contributed to unprecedented rise in food prices (grains, poultry, fish, etc). Moreover, we are in a global market. For years, agricultural lands in the Philippines have gone from farmers to land developers. The agricultural practices have not really changed much even if high yield rice seeds have been developed by IRRI. Farmers are still dependent on rain to grow rice instead of using the more efficient drip irrigation where water is directed to areas where the need is more acute. The government has not taken a lead role in instituting good agricultural practices and in adopting policies that focuses more in promoting food production instead of controlling consumption; going local instead of global in rice production, coming to the aid of rice importers first more than local growers; overcompensating lower rice production by massive rice importations; misallocating financial resources to government agencies without punishing the culprits. Under such conditions, the country is truly in sync with the YEAR OF THE RAT! (The fat-cats in the Executive and Congressional branches are enjoying the sight on the sideline.) Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, (by email), New York City , April 28, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, According to published data from the US Department of Agriculture, the rice consumption of the Philippines was 9.7 millions metric tons in 2003/2004. If the population growth rate is about 1.75%, we could project that per capita rice consumption is some 0.15 kilos per day. A family of 6, therefore, needs at least a kilo of rice per day to be served on the dining table. Projecting these numbers will indicate a total rice consumption of 10.4 million metric tons of rice in 2008 to meet the needs of some 90 million people. Rationing NFA rice and giving raises to private and government employees (as part of GMA�s economic stimulus package) will only fuel inflation; the economic benefits from pay raises to employees are minimal since they will just go to pay for food. Global rice prices have gone up 30-50%. The Jasmine rice I used to buy (in New York City ) for $12.99 (20 pound a sack) some months ago is now being sold for $18.99 (up by 46%). Big retailers (like Costco) have imposed a limit of 4 sacks per customer. Since everything people buy are denominated in US dollars (as a result of global trading), a weakened dollar brings only a temporary relief. If the US dollar bounces back, where will the Philippine peso be? Higher prices Filipinos pay for the food they grow locally and buy from others globally and for everything else are here to stay; predictably, undies in all sizes and forms are meant to fall thus sustaining still a robust population growth! Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, (by email), New York City , April 29, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �Too Many People� (April 17, 2008) Yes, it looks ugly for our children. Mrs. Rebecca Thompson, (by email), New Zealand , April 26, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww More Reactions to �Let Them Eat Bio-fuels� (April 10, 2008) Hi Tony! Please let me explain what i meant. The 3M vacant land we have can be used primarily for Bio Fuel crops. What about rice? There is ENOUGH area for rice. I think Government and our People look at it wrongly, re: rice crises. The problem with our rice crop is ECONOMIC. Why economic? Because we continue to CONTROL the prices of palay, the small farmers do NOT have the incentive to continue planting. What do they do? They shift to other crops! Example, palay prices has risen by 300% compared to say 5-7 years ago. But do you know fertilizers and chemicals have risen 1000%? Pray, tell me how can a farmer realize profits from their crops when the disparity in inputs and prices of palay is unbalanced? The reason for controlling palay prices is always: with higher palay prices, rice increases also - making it difficult for consumers to buy because of its high cost. Consumers don't realize rice farmers and the small farmers not the big - corporated ones! That is the problem in our rice industry now. Even with high yielding varieties the inputs are just high which makes it difficult for farmers to survive. Even with a billion hectares, if the US continues to convert corn to ethanol there will be a problem because as i mentioned corn is both feed and food. Lets see what happens if gasoline prices rises to P100 or P150 per liter. I hope congressman Golez' rides the bike or walks with the rest of the populace when fuel becomes unaffordable. He says the money is in the equipments for Ethanol. But isnt money flowing from the oil companies to stop ethanol? And with high fuel, fertilizers will also be so high we wouldnt be able to afford growing rice, sugar, corn or any crop. The simple solution to rice as former agr- head Escudero said: Subsidize the price of rice to make it viable for the rice farmers and affordable for the consumers. But will Govt have the funds for that? Your guess is as good as mine. Gerry Delgado, (by email), Changmai , Thailand , April 27, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Freemasonry and Chief Justice Reynato Puno Mabunying Ka Tony Abaya: Maligayang araw ang sumainyo! Nasundan ko po ang mga pahayag sa New Order 1 & 2; sa Why Only Now?; sa Revolutionary Junta; at yung ilang mga nauna pa. Sa ngayon po ay nais kong magpahayag tungkol sa New (kungdi Old) Order. You surely know that the early democratic republics were founded by leaders in freemasonry. In France for instance, the Masonic motto of liberty, equality and fraternity propelled the French revolution. The Filipino propagandists in Spain were all freemasons; and the primemovers for the establishment of the first democratic republic in Asia were freemasons. General EmilioAguinaldo, the leader of the First Philippine Republic, was a freemason. Manuel L. Quezon, our Commonwealth President, was a freemason. President Dr. Jose P. Laurel of the Japanese-sponsored Republic was also a freemason. And the first President of the Third Republic , Manuel A. Roxas, was also another freemason. Sometime in 1989, a collegue in government whispered to me: "Kailan kaya ulit magkakaroon ng Presidenteng Mason ang Pilipinas; saka pa marahil titino ang ating gobyerno." I would not know how true, or how valid such assumption could be; but surely, it could be food for thought. Several elections have passed since 1987, and each time around, I always heard the same refrain, more particularly from my wife, and her circle of friends. During the Trillanes-Danny Lim standoff at Manila Peninsula , the Catholic leaders proposed that if a caretaker-government administration would ensue, Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno should be the care-taker. To the credit of this fraternal organization, Chief Justice Puno reportedly declined. In a way it was puzzling, because Manong Rey Puno was a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines , aside from his being also a Past Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Republic of the Philippines . Only very few in the Masonic fraternity could hold that distinction. Puzzling, I said, because ever since, Philippine masonry is anathema to the Catholic Church in this country. And besides, the Chief Justice is a towering pillar of the Methodist Church . Now, back to the New (or Old) Order. A dedicated leader and member of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines could be offered by this fraternity as a SACRIFICE to become the next leader of our suffering Motherland. I shall be prepared to discuss this in detail, if this idea would be welcome. �Kung saan tayo nadapa ay duon din tayo babangon." Maraming salamat sa inyong abala, Ka Tony. Irineo Perez Goce -- a.k.a. Ka Pule2 , (by email), Lipa City , April 09, 2008 Laong Laan Lodge No. 185, Quezon City -- (Mother Lodge & life member) Lodge Perla del Oriente No. 1034 (Grand Lodge of Scotland ) -- Affiliate member wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Desperate Housewife GMA Dear Tony: Here is my post Arroyo scenario: As Arroyo desperately tries to maneuver and pushes all the panic buttons to survive I visualize a similar quick exit of Malacanan as the deposed Marcos and cohorts. No, there will be no people immediately dancing on the streets in Makati and Manila . Not just yet, until a plane taking Arroyo and his cohorts to an unknown destination in the Middle East . Say like Iran ? She can consult with Imelda. She has been there. USA will not be a safe haven for them having spurned the administration. GMA left a very bad taste in Georgie's mouth. No, Hawaii will be off limit. Sorry no paradise for the poor little rich girl. With the down grading of our economy. high gasoline prices, reduction in the value of the dollar in the world market and problems in the housing market, we Americans are not in the mood to host a plunderer, much less a fat husband. On second thought, China may reconsider to keep the desperate housewife GMA as a house guest to ensure leverage of the Spartley agreement. Sleazy, mind set China would herald a strong approval. Ah, so! God does not dispense divine graces to bad people. GMA and her fat husband are first rate bad people. When conscience has no place in their hearts and everything they do is for political expediency and fatten their pockets, then what you see is an empty capsule, a vacuum and nothing else. One cannot be sentimental about nonsensical things, right? This is my take on post Arroyo. Good riddance. We all should be laughing our way to a new Philippines ! Oscar Apostol, (by email), Roseville , CA ,. April 09, 2008 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. |