READERS ON EARTHQUAKES, RH AND FOOD SECURITY
The Philippine Star
03/25/11

An urgent plea for action comes from Gwendellyn Rose C. Samonte in the wake of warnings of possible earthquakes in the Philippines after the Big One that hit Japan earlier this month. I hope that our government officials will take heed to avoid any unnecessary risks. Here is what she says:

“I think the local government of Manila should not only assess Pandacan's oil depot but even the condominium buildings surrounding the University Belt (UB) to prevent decimating the lives of our students, the future of our nation, in case an earthquake of about magnitude 7 strikes.

“I sent in 2004 to the administrator/ developer of one condominium building that we occupied for about four months because of structural issues. Another letter was sent to the office of the Mayor for nine times via email but we never obtained any response.

“Although we stayed away from the building mentioned from the time we moved out in November 2004, I passed by it almost daily from late 2004 to early 2008 and I never saw any construction/retrofitting done from the outside. What I noticed was that the building had more occupants based on the cars parked outside.

“Of course, I do not know whether the building was retrofitted since we left the UB when one of my daughters graduated in 2008 and the other already became an intern in two hospitals that were far from the UB.

“As my pleas/letters then were like a voice in the wilderness, maybe they will listen to a journalist like you. Maybe you can help.

“In addition, the City of Manila should also require an earthquake drill in all the high rise condo buildings surrounding the UB.”

Paging national and local officials

At this early stage, government officials on the national and local levels should be thinking about concrete and substantial actions to mitigate massive damage and unnecessary loss of lives should a strong earthquake happen.

Perhaps, although this will not entice live coverage of such legislative proceedings, our lawmakers and executives should start a comprehensive review of what laws and regulations we have, as well as the programs on the ground to avert earthquake disasters.

In the Church’s clutches

From the online site of The Philippine Star, we noted a thread of reactions on the column “Beyond Reproductive Health Issues” posted last February 11.

From dphil70: “It's the Filipino voters fault anyway, as they keep electing officials who are mostly identified with the Catholic Church. The constitution says there should be separation between church and state. This only benefits the church, as they don't pay taxes while they continue to impose pressure on congressmen and senators. They in turn want to be in this position as long as they want. Who suffers? The common people.

Rootsofhealth reacted with this post: “I couldn't agree with you more! Now if only the politicians would get on board.

Another online reader, rb_x, writes: “For as long as Filipinos do not grow up and out of their archaic religiosity, the Catholic Church will continue to intervene on vital public policies.

“This is what is basically holding us back from turning into a modern state and society. The heavy anchor of a 16th century Roman Catholic mindset that keeps us rooted in the mud of social retardation.

“As exemplified by many modern states, we need secular, non-sectarian solutions to our problems. Not the mediaeval hash that the church keeps pitching to keep us in its paternalistic clutches.

“Oo nga. Bakit dito takot ang mga pulitiko sa CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines)? E bakit sa Italy, where Rome is, may divorce at hindi takot ang mga pulitiko sa Roma.”

On food and rice issues

Manuel Bondad, one of our advocates specializing in rice issues, has written us again as government continues to deliberate on food security issues, rice being just one of the staples that bear watching. He writes:

“Is there a looming rice crisis again for 2011, which was erroneously predicted in October 2009 to take place in 2010? Should the country import more than the DA-NFA (Department of Agriculture-National Food Authority) announced (volumes of) 860,000 MT (200,000 MT and 660,000 MT for the NFA and the private sector, respectively)?

“Government rice import targets for 2011 appear to be not in unison, from  1.5 million metric tons (MMT) to 1.3 MMT to 860,000 MT, deemed a feat, reflecting a substantial drop from last  year’s level of 2.5 MMT or P70 billion.

“We have, as of January 1, 2011, a rice inventory of 3.4 MMT – the highest on record over a 30-year period from 1980 to 2010. Prior to the lean months from July to September, rice buffer stocks were placed by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics(BAS) at 1.6 MMT in 1980,1.4 MMT in 1990, 1.6 MMT in 2000, 2.2 MMT in ‘crisis’-laden 2008, 2.8 MMT in 2009, and 3.3 MMT in 2010.

“Except in 1995 when rice stocks declined to only 60 percent of normal levels owing to EL Nino (but bounced back the year after), we Filipinos undoubtedly are resilient in coping with abrupt changes in the staple production caused by destructive typhoons and unpredictable weather.

“Discussions to raise import levels beyond what was declared is premature when we have not sealed any quantity as yet, and to base decisions on looming price increases instead of a basic need or domestic production consideration is faulty.

“The country’s rice stocks – even assuming first semester rice production remaining stationary at the El Nino-2010 level – is estimated at 2.4 MMT by June 30, sufficient for 79 days’ consumption, and even improving to 3.0 MMT based on the DA production goal for March to May 2011 palay harvest season. That would prolong our stock level to 97 days until October   coinciding with the main harvest season.

“On the related issue of food security, the Food and Agriculture Organization in the March 8, 2011 publication “FAO’s Initiative on Soaring Food Prices,” remarked that price increases by 2017 compared to 2005-2007 levels were observed to be as follows: for rice, by 1 percent; wheat by 2 percent; maize by 15 percent; oilseeds by 35 percent; vegetable oils by 51 percent; and sugar by 11 percent.

“Rice imports have dominated government’s attention. We should move on to import-dependent inputs affecting food production: fertilizer, soybeans, corn, fish meal, wheat-flour, feed-wheat, and sorghum.”

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, SalcedoVillage, 1227 MakatiCity. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net