WHY is there no groundswell of support for these farmers? Did they really have a right to the land they are claiming or are they squatters who claim they are of indigenous ancestry and are entitled to the land?
Regardless of the nature of the claim the President should settle this now, give the peasants or pawns cash compensation from Pagcor [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) or the PCSO [Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office] just like she does the bishops, the knights, and the rooks.
This is a monumental game of chess and right now it is a stalemate, but the positions could change any minute and the game will be over.
– Alfonso DeMayo, Vancouver, Canada (via e-mail)
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April 14th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
i think for one, villar should be held accountable too. alex reyes has written about his mega billion dollar subdivision devt. business. ask henry sy and his mega-malls….also, ask the cbcp re the population explosion problem and the outdated methods that they espouse..
ask cory and other landowners, like the arroyos too, on how they “trick” farmers to avoid carp..
the “rice problem” has been a problem since marcos days. irri officials have blamed govt. for lack of research. perhaps these people are busy with “something else!” and not solving the problem…
we can go on and on and it will boil down to bad governance and corruption pa rin.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
i agree, there really is no shortage, it is artificial…abbygail
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A balikbayan was alarmed when she visited her province. The fields that once surrounded her town are no longer there. In placed are developed residential homes and more are being built. Meanwhile the population is growing. So, is it too hard for anyone to figure out why there is increasing shortage of rice? And it is not only in the Philippines. In Haiti the people rioted. They could not afford to buy rice anymore. Vietnam and Thailand skipped exporting rice because they have shortage of rice themselves. The same is happening to them. The land acreage for farming is dissappearing and being replaced by residential development and commercial manufacturing firm. How much farmlands have been covered by commercial buildings and plants in Marilao, Maycauwayan? These factories, residential properties and commercial buildings like malls are inching closer to the next province. Soon the whole of Bulacan will no longer have any farmland. True, the profiteers are racking up profit in this kind of scenario while the kurakot penoys who are in-charged of importing rice are racking up untold commissions!
April 13th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
i agree, there really is no shortage, it is artificial. one lady pres of the rice traders group said on anc that the people lining up for nfa rice are the ones creating the shortage by hoarding, by letting even kids line up to buy rice, so for a family of six, everybody lines up!
i remember one sociology prof. of mine said the one negative trait of filipinos is their LACK OF SENSE OF NATIONHOOD. in this instance, she is correct. they don’t care if everybody else goes hungry as long as their family eat first. some people even denounce that the peso should not be strong because the value of the dollars goes down! they do not realize that when the peso gets stronger, it is good for our economy and external debts. they do not realize that the dollar is sinking.
why is there corruption in govt., esp. from our leaders whom we have voted upon to serve? because they lack a Sense of Nationhood, what is pervading is their being ” makasarili para sa pamilya at kaibigan”. never mind if the country goes to the dogs, as long as they get what they want. that for me is the root cause, its behavioral. it’s really sad…
April 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Of Farmers and Rice Problem
The Philippines is a TRADITIONAL IMPORTER of cereal (rice, corn, wheat) so this rice shortage is nothing new and abnormal. For and against, the hypes in Media made it easy for what Traders want…jack up prices of agricultural commodities, riding the global trend even before its actual effect has reached this shore. With the mind of consumers already preconditioned, price increase, not only of rice, has never been this accepted by the public without much uproar. Squeeze the masses right on, they’ll always somehow find something to buy food!
Food price increase has already been happening in countries with biofuels industries in place but it should be noted that in the Philippines the program is barely in the drawing board to possibly actually affect everything at present.
Bandila (ABS-CBN) reported last night that it is now farmers that dictate price to traders. This is ridiculous distortion, a myth being hyped. Maybe media should always add “allegedly”, “reportedly” or the likes in their reports instead of being unwittingly (?) becoming party to disinformation and/or distortion.
People were not born yesterday. Rice trading in this country is an established system and order. When a poor farmer brings one or two cavans of Palay to the market, whether he likes the price or not, he must sell. He cannot afford to bring the Palay back to the farm, or go home without salt, vetsin, dried fish, kerosene, matches, tobacco, and other basics that you can imagine poor family needs. It’s all traders’ (sometimes series of middlemen) game from there and NOT farmers. This is the general situation of Filipino farmers.
The observations by no less VP Noli de Castro and Agriculture secretary Arthur Yap that there is no rice shortage, in fact, is never been wrong. People can see it everywhere; there is plenty of rice stock in market places. Why people line retail outlets, it is because of CHEAPER NFA rice and not because of no more rice. [Even NFA support palay price for farmers is mostly availed by traders DISGUISED as farmers. Check that out and learn why!]
Hype or no hype I think we had these price increases coming, sooner or later. We are a free economy and there is nothing legal to stop traders except NATURAL LAW of SUPPLY AND DEMAND, which is effective only in situations where there is free, wide and true competition. This economic policy, as people see now, is inutile where there exist monopolies and cartels.
The government is never wrong about activating the NFA more in the retail of rice. It has somehow helped stabilize the price of rice. This has somehow provided competition in the business. Question is how long government can sustain the operation that maybe it should push further to be felt in the market. NFA is the only thing that stands between the already miserable Filipinos masses and the Pinoy trade ‘MAFIA’ today.
NFA to save the day, Ningas Cogon or real?
April 5th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Right Tolits! Any comments from our lovely Anti-Arroyo kababayans? Or maybe waiting for another mistake from GMA?
Tolits Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Now that Sumilao Farmers got what they wanted, is there anybody out there who should congratulate GMA for having the political will to make this a reality? Let’s give credit to whomever it is due. I don’t even read one of the farmer recipient that appreciates what she did. ARE THEY WORTHY OF THIS GOOD ENDEAVOR OF GMA? My guess is as good as yours.