Rice and Shifting Rage

The Philippines failed to buy 675,000 metric tons of rice - News

In panic for the loss of rice in local stalls and, consequently perhaps, her hold on the country, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the President of a rice producing country, is virtually forcing other countries to sell her rice by offering outrageous prices. Now, she placed the Philippines on the map not only as the biggest importer of rice but also as the country that raised the price of rice worldwide. Anyway, it’s not her money.

She, a PhD in economics is simply beyond comprehension. Stalls sell rice at P40/kilo or less. NFA begs to pay more than P50/kilo for imported rice. This is the equivalent of P25/kilo of palay. It is willing to buy locally palay at only P17/kilo. Rice traders pay much more. She threatens to sue rice hoarders, but didn’t file charges against bodegas where sacks of NFA rice were found illegally stored.

In her campaigns she promised more food on our tables. Now she is desperately trying to put some rice back on our tables by importing the staple commodity, instead of helping local farmers produce enough of it.

Senate Inquiry failed to connect PGMA to the CTE-NBN anomaly – Bunye.

He may be right. It may not be necessary though.

The President’s men already implicated her by sending Jun Lozada abroad to avoid a Senate inquiry, by kidnapping him allegedly for his safety, and by carrying out an intensive but bungled cover-up operations that included a gift of P50,000 from a jobless man; Executive Undersecretary Manny Gaite, by gifting a nonentity a hefty sum of P500 thousand just to lessen his discomfort in a land where most of us can visit only in our dreams; Chairman Ben Abalos, by being omnipresent in CTE affairs even at the height of the 2007 elections; and Neri, by running to the Supreme Court instead of answering simple questions.

Even PGMA incriminated herself by firing Jun Lozada for being too talkative and not pliant enough and by giving him something to chew about at CHED, presumably, so he can’t talk; by not canceling the contract immediately; and by admitting that she knew that the contract was flawed even before she signed it. This list should include the nine associate justices of the Supreme Court by… well, just by being lucky. Jun Lozada is not in the list. His feather differs.

Now that the truth is out, the question that confronts us all, the Senate and the CDCP in particular, is what now? Ok, so the CTE-NBN anomaly is just the tip of the iceberg because of the Jocjoc Bolante Fertilizer scam, the P5 billion swine scam, the NFA imported rice found in bodegas of rice traders, the South Railway project, etc. The question is still, so what? What can we do about it? What are we doing about it? Incessant bootless Gloria bashing and investigations may only shift the rage.

2002 SONA. PGMA Said So.... Part 2

“Before I became president, we had the second most expensive power rates in asia. Now we have gone down to number 6. This is the first fruit of a comprehensive ten-point plan we have put in place to reduce power costs.”

She said so 6 years ago.

“You have seen political will in the harsh interpretation of command responsibility with regard to illegal gambling. That draconian application was a dress rehearsal for enforcing command responsibility in the even more difficult challenges of kidnapping, drug-dealing, and smuggling.”

“At dahil ako ay naluklok sa pagkapangulo dala ng malawakang galit sa anomaliya, alam kong kailangan wakasan ang katiwalian. Naniniwala rin ako na pinahihina ng katiwalian ang daloy ng puhunan sa ating bansa.”

She said so 6 years ago.

"My working agenda for the coming year will focus on creating and improving job opportunities. Citizens with rewarding jobs paying decent wages constitute not just a stone in the edifice but the very foundation of a strong republic.

The basic macro signs indicate that things are under control. Inflation is at a low, driven down by stable food prices and now by declining power costs.“

She said so 6 years ago.

“Nang ako ay naging pangulo, ang presyo ng galunggong ay otsenta pesos ang kilo. Noong isang linggo , nakabili ako sa palengke ng sesenta pesos lamang. Ang presyo rin ng bigas na binibili ng mahihirap ay nananatiling p16 ang kilo sa palengke, at p14 sa mga rolling store , gaya pa rin nang isang taon.”

She said so 6 years ago.

“This year, what used to be camp abubakar became an authentic community of new hopes and dreams, where our flag flies and our soldiers protect those who have returned to their homes.

Beyond the symbolic significance of these accomplishments, we have brought back inter-faith solidarity, energized by the invaluable initiative of speaker jose de venecia, and sealed peace agreements with the moro islamic liberation front.”

She said so 6 years ago.

“Target natin: ibaba sa kalahati ang presyo ng gamot na madalas bilhin ng mahihirap. Nakamit natin: mahahanap ang mababang presyong gamot sa mga parmasya ng 80 hospital ng pamahalaan at sa mga outlet ng unilab. But sad to say, except for Unilab, the wider distribution network of commercial drugstores-under pressure from the multinational drug companies-will not sell our cheaper medicines. We are studying punitive measures to correct this unfair, unjust, and heartless situation.”

She said so 6 years ago.

Target natin: dalawampung bilyong piso para sa modernisasyon ng agrikultura. Nakamit natin: dalawampu't apat na bilyon.

She said so 6 years ago.

"Meanwhile, one shocking corporate scandal after another severely eroded public faith in the most promising system for conducting economic activity-the free market."

"Two essential features mark out a strong republic. The first is independence from class and sectoral interests so that it stands for the interests of the people rather than of a powerful minority. The second is the capacity, represented through strong institutions and a strong bureaucracy, to execute good policy and deliver essential services -the things that only governments can do."

"The results of these two features-good policies and empowered institutions-is faster economic development and social reform. A strong republic takes care of the people and takes care of their future. Thus, a strong republic is the bedrock of the victory we seek over poverty within the decade."

She said so 6 years ago.

2002 SONA. PGMA Said So.... Part 1

“the results of the review of the contracts of independent power producers are in. We have three months to carry out the concrete courses of action stemming from this review that will further ease the burden on our people.

"Soon we shall have the first-ever wholesale electricity spot market in Asia, without the pitfalls of California. In due time, we will give electric consumers the power to choose their electricity suppliers.. We are giving you the power of choice.

The power of choice will lead to lower prices and better service. With cheaper power will come a more competitive economy, and more investors."

She said so 6 years ago.

“Legions of ordinary Filipinos, many of them students, came, stood, and clamored at EDSA, for a better government. It is to them i look for validation.

I know that it is to me that those many Filipinos are looking for the vindication of their decision to go to EDSA. I shall not disappoint them.

It is for them that i am working hard on that stone that will fit just above my father’s, adding security to social justice, and prosperity to the promise of social equality in which he believed so much.

Ang malakas na republika ay para sa mahihina, para sa mahihirap, para sa walang trabaho, para sa nagugutom, para sa nanganganib ; para sa agrabyado, para sa mga api!”

She said so 6 years ago.

“I led our soldiers in defeating the Abu Sayyaf.”

She said so 6 years ago.

“Everywhere I go, I ask people about their electric bill. This is not just a pet concern for the moment. I think about it all the time.

You have seen your recent electric bills. You know they have gone down. Because I brought down the PPA.”

She said so 6 years ago.

Francisco Balagtas' Relevance

West Point classmate on Lim: He’s no rebel, just an idealist

Sa loob at labas ng bayan kong sawi

Kaliluha’y siyang nangyayaring hari

Kagalinga’t bait kimi’t nalulugmi

Ininis sa hukay ng dusa’t pighati.

McCain calls Obama insensitive to poor people

Not PGMA. They keep multiplying under her.

A Manila Times Editorial asks: WHAT if instead of lining up for rice and pushing against the crowd for one’s rations a person boycotts the grain? Or if a consumers group decides to call for a boycott? Or everybody?

Why not? Farmers would likely support the move, by not planting rice! Planting rice is never fun anyway. It is a losing enterprise. The more he plants, the more he gets into indebtedness. Try planting with capital borrowed from usurers. Try planting on land you do not own. Try selling to NFA that would rather buy from foreign sources.

Subsidies intended for farmers go to corrupt officials. Ask Jocjoc Bolante. Ask Quedancor. Rather than buy from local farmers, NFA would rather import rice and sell it to favored traders who make a killing by selling it as commercial rice. For years this has been the practice. Only the rice crisis exposed this anomaly.

Planting is an act of patriotism or plain stupidity. It raises the GNP, but not the farmers’ income. Let PGMA import rice at twice the cost it is willing to pay local farmers. Let’s plant and eat camote.