DDS vloggers vs BBM

Facebook note 

UNFOLDING. fascinating drama ng ilang vloggers who are out to bring down bbm for drugs, or something like that. over the holidays the leader of the pack promised the release of incriminating video that could be grounds for impeachment daw, or something like that. nasaan ang video? apparently napigil ng palasyo? so now nagteam-up na ang tatlong dds vloggers, crying foul! and freedom of speech! dahil na-takedown ang fb account ng isa. who’s next daw kaya. bakit hindi daw icategorically deny ng palasyo kung di totoo ang tungkol sa drugs at iba pang mga pasabog nila ng kung anoanong anomalies. most fascinating is that they actually think they can bring down bbm because the people are with them daw. totoo ba.  #notes2024jan #b4i4get

Atin ang Ayungin!

`ATIN ITO’:  The birth of active citizenship
Randy David

The English translation “This is ours!” doesn’t quite specify the addressee. But the original Tagalog “Atin Ito!” does—it is addressed to Filipinos. As Edicio dela Torre, one of the leaders of the new advocacy group “Atin Ito Coalition” makes clear, this is a call to deepen Filipinos’ awareness of the contentious issues surrounding that portion of the South China Sea (SCS) we call the West Philippine Sea (WPS). China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost the entire SCS, including many features that are several hundred miles away from the Chinese mainland.

With growing awareness and understanding of what is at stake in that body of water we regard as part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the hope is that a new generation of Filipinos will learn to value their country’s patrimony and play a more active role in shaping and protecting the nation’s future. This is a goal that cannot be overstated, especially in a society that has tended to cultivate greater loyalty to family and clan than to the abstract entity called the Filipino nation. Not surprisingly, Akbayan is the lead convenor of this new movement, for active citizenship has always been its core advocacy.

In many ways, the coalition breaks fresh ground. It is the first time since the Japanese Occupation that a Filipino nationalist movement is directed not against the United States or its puppet regime but against an Asian power. Atin Ito! actively supports the Marcos government’s opposition to Chinese aggression. More significantly, it shows that it can work closely with the country’s defense establishment in the pursuit of a shared goal—the assertion and protection of the country’s maritime rights in the SCS.

No other progressive group that has been a mainstay in anti-government protest movements has dared to take such a move. Working with state forces even on a limited basis has never been in the DNA of Filipino social movements. Doing so is fraught with risks, not the least of which is how to maintain the movement’s autonomy and credibility while pursuing effective areas of cooperation and resistance in the face of a bullying foreign power.

This is an improbable relationship that has been forged on the anvil of many ironies. The spokesman of the new coalition, the former radical priest Ed dela Torre, once headed the Christians for National Liberation, an underground organization that had links with the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines. He was detained for six years in the jails of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the father of the current president.

Many leaders of Atin Ito! cut their activist teeth in the historic movement to kick the American bases out of the country, culminating in the 1991 Senate vote to reject a new bases treaty with the United States. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, no activist seriously believed the claim that the Philippines needed the American bases in Subic and Clark as a deterrent to Chinese aggression in the SCS. That was a different time. Given its own internal problems, China then was in no position to be an aggressor. In contrast, the US bases had been the main driver of American intervention in Philippine affairs and a source of unceasing irritants between the Philippines and its former colonial master.

Following the departure of US troops from Philippine soil, the country’s defense now became its own responsibility. Yet, notwithstanding President Fidel V. Ramos’ program to allot to military modernization the bigger portion of the wealth unlocked by the bases’ conversion to civilian use, there was no urgency to upgrade the country’s defense capabilities. Our military’s dependence on US assistance was so chronic that new agreements had to be devised to allow American troops to return to the country without violating the letter of the Constitution. With that intent were the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreements conceived.

China, in the meantime, was quietly building its military power to match its phenomenal economic growth. Far from projecting its ambition to become a military superpower, however, it peddled itself as an eager player in the global capitalist system. Before long, it became the destination of choice of foreign companies that sought to maximize profits while freeing themselves from their countries’ restrictive labor and environmental laws.

All that changed when Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and concurrently the chair of the Central Military Commission in 2012, and China‘s seventh president in 2013. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Scarborough Shoal standoff, the first serious confrontation between the Philippines and China, happened in April 2012, soon after Xi became China’s “paramount leader.”

The Atin Ito! coalition acknowledges the futility of engaging China in the military arena. But, by providing the Filipino youth concrete opportunities and occasions to reach out to and manifest their solidarity with fisherfolk and frontliners in the WPS, the movement aims to raise a generation that values peace but does not cower in fear before a foreign bully.

public.lives@gmail.com

 

 

Rice and (r)evolution

May tatlong buwan ko nang nire-research at binubuno in my head itong problema natin sa supply at presyo ng bigas. Di ako matuwa sa mga panukala na bawasan na lang natin ang konsumo natin ng kanin — either haluan ng corn grits (70% rice – 30 % corn) or “Let them eat kamote?” na mas healthy daw.

PHILSTAR EDITORIAL. Sweet potato and white corn, however, are more expensive than the most affordable rice. There are varieties of imported sweet potato that retail for P130 to P150 a kilo. https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2023/08/18/2289509/editorial-let-them-eat-kamote

And then there’s the House Bill that seeks to mandate one-half cup rice serving in restaurants and karinderias to minimize wastage. But how much difference will that make for the majority of Filipinos, the self-rated poor and borderline poor Pinoys (some 70 % of the population, acc to surveys) who are now said to be eating less — many going hungry intermittently — because rice and other food are soooo expensive.  Surely they are not the ones who are wasting, or are sick of, rice.

But then I read Boo Chanco‘s Philstar column, “Looming Crisis,” and I changed my mind about half-cup rice, if only to help send the message loud and clear that the situation is dire.

…  PhilRice estimated that we waste P7.2 billion worth of rice yearly. The proposal to require restaurants to serve half the usual cup of rice and no more unli rice is a good way of demonstrating to the public we have a problem, and everyone must help mitigate the bad effects.

Pretty obvious is the reality that contrary to government claims, the current harvest produced much less than expected. Farmers used less fertilizer because they couldn’t afford the higher price following the Ukraine war. Government fertilizer assistance came after the planting started. There were also reported pest attacks. And, of course, the weather. https://www.philstar.com/

It’s a perennial problem, the chronic rice shortage, na since the 1870s pa, according to Prof. Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr. in Rice and Magic | A Cultural History from the Precolonial World to the Present. And the solution, even then, and ever after, has been to import rice from elsewhere in Asia.

… One reason for the rice deficiency was the shift in productive land and labor from rice to export crops, such as sugar and abaca, as specific provinces and regions pursued crop specialization. As [Benito] Legarda … has pointed out, “The loss of one rice-producing region would have meant little in a country where there were other rice-surplus regions and where new lands were being opened and agricultural production was on the increase, provided this increase were in basic food crops” but this condition was not met. Rather, the opening of new land was meant for other crops, and even land that had been devoted to rice was diverted to other crops. With the availability of Saigon rice and the liberalization of the rice trade, there occurred a growing reliance on rice imports, which made the country susceptible to drastic swings in supply and prices in the world market. [Ateneo Univ Philippine Studies Journal  2013]

Amazing that after more than a century, from one occupation to the next, then from republic to republic, hindi pa rin nasosolusyunan ang chronic rice shortage. Madali kasing isisi sa bad weather and mga peste, even, sa land reform and population growth? Easier yet, and sometimes cheaper, to import na lang tuwing nagkukulang? Not that this has ever been articulated as policy. Read “Politics, economics, rice” by Prof. Orlando Roncesvalles of Siliman U. https://foolawecon.wordpress.com/

The official line has been that we aimed for the three goals of self-sufficiency, high incomes for rice farmers, and affordable prices for consumers. What has been unsaid is that these goals are basically incompatible. Without a gigantic leap in domestic productivity, only the last of these goals could be attained, and only if the rice-exporting countries (such as Vietnam and Thailand) were to sell rice on the cheap.

And now that Vietnam and Thailand and India, from where we got 90% of  our rice imports in 2022, are exporting less — inuuna kasi ang growing demands of their own growing populations — it’s obviously time we stop relying on imports. https://www.pna.gov.ph/

Here’s Ricelander, virtual friend from the “golden days” of blogging in GMA’s time, who knows whereof he speaks:

Rice production is dependent on water.  Many of our farm lands to this day still depend on rainwater a lot, so much of rice production is still done during rainy season when it’s also the season of destructive floods and typhoons.  And during dry season, without ample water, where no irrigation exists, rice production is impossible, in fact much of our farms are idle then. If I were the President, my first priority would be irrigation: 100% of all agricultural land should be irrigable land. Give the farmer water and the rest will follow smoothly.  No technology assistance, financial assistance etc. would make any difference otherwise.

The advantage of the top rice producing countries is actually their great rivers flowing with ample water all year round.  Some experts claim that because we are an archipelago, and consequently having no great river systems comparable, we could never be competitive in agriculture.  Economists typically discourage giving priority to economic activity where comparative advantage is not achievable, i think this mindset somehow impaired sustained agricultural development for some time.  Establishing dams and irrigation systems of course is a hugely expensive, so…  We are realizing belatedly that food importation could get restrictive and expensive, so with comparative advantage or not, we should strive to produce our own.

Finally, I think we should start learning to eat lesser rice.  Health experts are claiming it is one major reason of epidemic in diabetes anyway. :-) [Email Sept 2023]

Indeed, importation has gotten restrictive and expensive. And neither quotas (limits) nor tariffs (taxes) have raised, as promised, the earnings of rice farmers.

Roncesvalles: A tariff generates government revenues, which can be collected and then misused. A quota results in “windfall” profits for those given import licenses, and is said to be a major source of corruption. In short, either way, tariffs or quotas, we face the same inevitable temptations for the abuse of public office for private gain.

… Theoretically, the situation of the rice farmer is the same under either tariffs or quotas…. What has happened, and this has been documented by both the proponents and opponents of Rice Tariffication, is that rice farmers earn less under tariffs. The unanswered questions are: Why? Is the 35% tariff too low to make its effect equivalent to that of the quota system? Is it because there is a local cartel that can dictate a lower farm-gate price under tariffs than under the old quota system? If there is such a cartel, is it engaged in a form of retaliation because they lost some lucrative opportunities under the quota system? Can such a cartel continue to operate? What if there were a political will to dismantle such a cartel?

POLITICAL WILL

What if we do it the way our Asian neighbors do, as Inquirer columnst Jake Maderazo suggests in “P20/kilo is ‘doable’ if govt subsidizes farmer input.”

The plan is simple, government should pay for the fertilizer, chemicals and hybrid seedlings of our rice farmers like what’s happening in Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries.  In Vietnam, farmers spend only P5 to produce a kilo of palay while same thing happens to Thai farmers turning a higher P8 per kilo. Moreover, both are already into “mechanized” farming that prevents “losses” of their palay produce.  As of today, landed cost of Vietnamese Rice is about P29 to P31 per kilo while Thai rice is way higher.

… I still wonder why our past administrations have not supported our local farmers. Sadly, the Jokjok fertilizer scandal always comes to mind. But worldwide, nations subsidize their own farmers, not only because of wealth creation, but mainly on food security. I cannot see why pork barrel exists when these can be used to hand out free fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides, hybrid seedlings and modern post-harvest facilities for our farmers. [bold mine] https://opinion.inquirer.net/

Read also UP Prof. Rene Ofreneo‘s “Through a looking glass darkly”.

India, which roiled the global rice market, has aggressive protectionist policies such as export controls of certain products (e.g., rice, sugar and wheat), fertilizer subsidy and lower excise taxes for fuel used by the farmers. Thailand, a major rice exporter, also has price controls and gives their farmers fertilizer and fuel subsidy. Indonesia and Malaysia have very strong food protectionist policy. And so is China,  which is reported to maintain a buffer stock for cereals good for over half a year or so.  Even the import-dependent Singapore has imposed strict rules on its food importers such as the requirement for importers to source imports from over a hundred countries to minimize dependence on a few sources, the requirement for rice importers to maintain a rice buffer stock in government-designated warehouses, and a call for the citizenry to join the government in building food self-sufficiency (up to 30 percent in a city state with no agricultural land!) through vertical-rooftop agriculture.   https://businessmirror.com.ph

Nakakainggit sila. Samantala, dito sa atin, pinagtatalunan pa rin kung ano ba talaga ang sitwasyon at ano ba talaga ang solusyon. Read Philstar columnist Cito Beltran‘s “Untold stories”.

… there have been almost violent arguments between government officials concerning the actual state of palay and rice stocks.

On one side there are the long-term bureaucrats at the Department of Agriculture who have relied on traditional sources of data, historical observations and statistics collected from unverified, delayed and poorly updated reports. On the other side are farm practitioners, agricultural engineers as well as business owners engaged in the trading of rice and corn who use computers and drone technology.

The older bureaucrats anchor their confidence in a stable supply of palay and rice based on the traditional two to three annual harvests, multiplied by the historical land area or hectares planted to rice plus the usual importations that are done to augment any shortages. The introduction of the RTL or Rice Tariffication Law further added to their confidence, presuming that there would be a flood of rice as traders and importers would fill the void that occurred when RTL took away the authority of the NFA to buy or import rice as needed.

As confident as the older bureaucrats were, their “data” have not accurately studied the effects of climate change, global conflict resulting in inflationary effects on the price of fertilizers, seeds, transport, urbanization and land conversion. To quote a commercial farmer, “My budget for fertilizer used to fill a truck. Now I only need a pick-up because that’s all I can buy.” https://www.philstar.com/

Meron din daw mga LGU officials and other politicians na namimigay ng libreng bigas sa poor, pampapogi kumbaga, at meron ding nagbebenta sa presyong pinangako ni BBM.

Beltran: What President Bongbong Marcos could not achieve, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia has done, selling rice at P20 per kilo. But here’s the catch: The rice was bought from the NFA at P25 and Cebu province subsidized the P5 difference.

SUBSIDIZE!  Read former Finance Sec. Gary Teves‘s “Combating the rice crisis.” He recommends, among others, that the president and the legislature fund rice farmers via LGUs. Hindi pautang sa farmers, rather, government pays part of the cost of producing rice in order to reduce prices.

At the local government level, promote a cofinancing mechanism that incentivizes local government units (LGUs) to provide more funding to rice programs. Under cofinancing, each peso an LGU invests in irrigation, post-harvest facilities, or other programs to support rice farmers will receive two to three times more matching fund from the national government. https://opinion.inquirer.net/

Sounds good to me. So does Agriculture Sec Francisco Tiu Laurel‘s promise to improve rice production and reduce post harvest losses through science and technology.

Tiu Laurel said the government “is moving with a sense of urgency” to widen irrigation coverage and set up more drying facilities and other infrastructures needed to boost rice yield.

“Ultimately, our aim is to minimize rice importation to achieve food security and sufficiency,” he said at the 35th National Rice R4D Conference in Nueva Ecija. https://www.pna.gov.ph/

I like the “sense of urgency.” There is no time to waste. People need relief ASAP from the high price of rice. Many still remember when rice was cheaper. Todd Sales Lucero in “Rice, Rice, Baby (Em)” traces the price increases over the years.

In 1974 a kilo of rice cost P1.70 – P1.90. It cost P6.10 – P6.40 by the early ’80s, P10 – P11 in ’99, P7.50 – P8.00 in the early 2000s, P25.67 – P39.76 in 2008, P39.49 – P44.02 in 2014, P43.12 – P45.83 in 2018, P30.00 – P42 in 2019. https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/

Sana nakikinig ang gobyerno sa tumitinding daing ng nakararaming Pinoy, lalo na ngayon na nasa P62 ang isang kilo ng bigas sa palengke, yung klase na nakabihasnan na nila, ayon kay Mang Bador, our neighborhood handyman. Meron din daw P55/kilo pero may amoy at “malatâ”.

Clearly, it behooves government to address the problem with as much vigor, science, and funding as it is capable of. Otherwise, think the myth of let-them-eat-cake in a time of hunger that led to revolution. Think the infamous Marie Antoinette as symbol of decadent governance.

Roncesvalles: … when economics was not yet a social science, kings and despots already knew that to survive insurrections, they made sure that the price of bread or grain (or any food staple) was affordable to the masses. The Roman poet (Juvenal) considered on or around 100 AD that political stability required whoever was in power to provide bread, as well as circuses! Forget the Romans. The Bible has its share of stories where kings had the burden of protecting their subjects from suffering in times of famine.

And speaking of olden days. In pre-Spanish times, rice was not something we ate everyday because it was [still is] so labor-intensive to produce, relative to root crops.

Aguilar: In the preconquest period, rice was highly valued and perhaps considered the most esteemed cereal, but it was not a daily staple. Rice production was insufficient and did not allow year-round consumption: “even datus with many slaves ate root crops in certain seasons” (Scott 1994, 291)

DIVERSIFY.  I have no doubt that If there were kamote and corn aplenty and cheap in palengkes and groceries, we could all get into the rhythm of seasons: rice when it’s plentiful and cheap, and on special occasions, of course … and kamote, corn, and other carbs like saging na saba and cassava (kamoteng kahoy) during rice shortages, or alternately with rice, like every other meal, or every other day…

I imagine that before long we’d find them to be just as filling and satisfying, whether with ulam or as kakanins. The internet already offers all sorts of new interesting ways of cooking preparing kamote, cassava, corn, and saba for meals and as snacks.

It would be like coming full circle, an open one that levels up, as in a spiral. Evolution as revolution. If we all can get our act together. #

 

Synchronicity: Leila free-at-last & BBM’s Maharlika fund

On the same day that the Muntinglupa RTC granted Leila de Lima’s petition for bail — almost 7 years overdue — Bongbong Marcos moved the controversial Maharlika fund forward with the appointment of “finance whiz” Rafael D. Consing Jr. to the post of President & CEO.

Carl Jung’s concept of synchronicity, going beyond science (cause-and-effect), “takes the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning something more than mere chance” and which is the very principle underlying the use of the I Ching and astrology (among other occult arts) in making sense of “the essential situation prevailing” for any one person or group at any moment in time. https://stuartsantiago.com/falling-chandelier-and-other-omens/

Whether deliberate, as in orchestrated, or purely by chance, the co-incidence — Leila being set free on the same new-moon-in-Scorpio day that PBBM named Consing PCEO of Maharlika — is quite intriguing. Para silang kambal events, na magkatulad ang potentials, strengths, and weaknesses, at maaaring magkatulad rin ang kahihinatnan.

In occult thought, the new moon is associated with new beginnings, and the sign Scorpio with rebirth and regeneration. Nov 13 was quite a great day for Leila — free at last! — which indicates that, at the very least, it was a good day, too, for Consing-Maharlika. But like fellow occultist Ed Cabagnot points out in Facebook, that new moon was attended by other planetary configurations (as above, so below):

[The] De Lima surprise was written in the stars. New Moon in Scorpio conjunct Mars while opposing Uranus in Taurus, with Neptune in Pisces making a soft trine to the three Scorpio planets and a soft sextile to Uranus. Much more to this albeit good news than meets the eye. https://www.facebook.com/ 

For sure it’s a rocky road ahead for both Leila and Maharlika.

Leila has major decisions to make. Take Aguirre to court for jailing her without charges? Get involved in the ICC investigation of Dutz? Run for the Senate in 2025? Will she be safe? Her enemies are still out there, among them, it is said, the former prez whom she placed under hospital arrest in PNoy’s time.

Maharlika, for its part, has to level up the communications and PR. It was kind of smart, the quiet way Consing’s appointment was announced: no fanfare, no photos, no facing the media to reassure nation that Maharlika is a great idea, no Q & A re the revised IRR atbp. Only that Palace announcement via  palace reporters na mabilis natabunan ng balitang Leila. But that very same afternoon YoursTruly @datumx11 tweeted:

May CRIMINAL CASE pala itong newly appointed president ng MAHARLIKA Investment Corp.
G.R. No. 148193 January 16, 2003 People of the Philippines, petitioner
Vs.
RAFAEL JOSE CONSING, JR., respondent
https://twitter.com/datumx11/status/ . 616K Views . 2:12 PM Nov 13, 2023

The next day Consing issued a terse 8-word statement: “All cases filed against me have been dismissed.” But without any supporting documents.  And there’s nothing to be found online beyond the July 15 2013 ruling penned by Bersamin, J. that “he [Consing] cannot be adjudged free from criminal liability.” Read  G.R. No. 162075 here: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/56111

BBM has important decisions to make. If SC records show that all criminal cases against Consing have not been dismissed, will the prez appoint someone else who has never been charged with estafa, and hopefully one who measures up to the qualifications of Maharlika PCEO?

BUSINESS WORLD.  The revised implementing rules were released at the weekend, removing requirements for the holder of the post now assumed by Mr. Consing to have an advanced degree in finance, economics, business administration or a related field from a reputable university.

Enrico P. Villanueva, a senior lecturer of money and banking at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, said it “would have been better from a corporate governance perspective if the board of directors had been selected and approved first.”

“From their ranks, a director or two can be recommended as CEO,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “This way, the CEO is beholden to the board, as should be the case in corporations, and not to the President who directly appointed him.”
https://bworldonline.com/

If BBM insists on Consing anyway, then it’s not looking good for Maharlika. Rather like a non-starter. Why should would we entrust our precious “surplus” funds with a-Consing-beholden-to-BBM? Yes, BBM can ignore us but it would could be to Maharlika’s peril, or so we are being warned.

On Leila’s part, it may be too soon to make moves against Dutz’s DOJ, as her lawyer friends suggest, if only just because may isang kaso pa siya na pending.

LEILA. Wala pa sa mindset ko, whether it’s 2025 or any other subsequent elections because I have yet to really determine and I need a lot of thinking about whether i”ll be going back to public service. https://twitter.com/ Neil Arwin Mercado @NAMercadoINQ Nov 17 2023

It would make sense, dropping out of public service, a worse-than-thankless job for her, so far. But if she’s still got the fight in her, maybe she could steer clear of human rights and Dutz — let that be decided between BBM and ICC — and go back to her pre-CHR advocacy of voter education: defending the sanctity of the ballot.

RANDY DAVID. In a 2016 interview with TIME magazine, De Lima said: “My father’s advice was to avoid joining politics if I could. He said that my personality wasn’t suited for it—that I might just get hurt, because I don’t know how to play games.” Her father, Vicente de Lima, had been executive director and later a commissioner of the Commission on Elections.

De Lima understood the modernist intentions of the country’s election laws, but realizing how hard it was to enforce these in the context of its premodern political realities, she championed the need for voter education. She made herself available to media interviews, and, before long, she became known for the message she articulated with clarity and urgency—that Filipinos must take their votes seriously and defend the sanctity of the ballot if politics is to be a force for good. In May 2008, then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed De Lima to head the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). “[This] was never part of my career path,” De Lima told TIME, “ … but I took it as a challenge.”

The rest is history. Hopefully a new, or old, challenge beckons and proves irresistible, for the good of nation. Leila is too good to lose. As for Maharlika, here’s hoping BBM’s right and it’s “close to perfect … as possible,” as in, too good to fail. #crossfingers

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