Grin and Bear It II

The social degeneration continuously changing the moral standard of the human race and it is terribly unthinkable. What if sensible people can not endure it? Maybe they could just stay in the sideline and grin and bear it in digress. But what if a certain government and its rank and file employees are considered lavishly corrupt, dishonest, greedy and inept and having defective moral stature?

Similarly, sensible people have no choice but to endure the everlasting wickedness of their government and its workforce doing misery to them and to their country at large. That picture of a country destroyed in the past and continuously suffers under new crop of leaders from the executive, legislative and judiciary is the same rundown picture of a country trying to rise exhaustingly from political, economic and social turmoil.

Sadly, wickedness rules where scams and anomalies are the daily functions in the executive department. Pork barrel funds, lobby funds, fat commissions, shady deals are what makes the legislative body happy. Equally, the judiciary has their share of the loot.

One prominent lawyer in a TV interview had said that the judiciary is 90% corrupt. In fact they are the notorious hoodlums in robe that bang the gavel in pricey court decisions. Talk about justice? Forget it. Justice favors only those who wield power, money and connections.

The wickedness is extensive. It affects the entire bureaucracy where the culture of corruption is normally an inherent practice. The upper and lower sections of bureaucracy complement each other. They misrepresent their offices and positions to the detriment of the ordinary people and the entire nation.

And it is very sad to note that all of these things are happening in the Philippines in a continuing trend. The past and present leaders have the same motivations in running the country: to enrich and to get dirty rich. Their aim is not really in the service of the Filipino nation but for the control of their vested interests and the continuity of servitude.

They love to run the country because it is their bread and butter for their families. Being in government or in elective position is a career that makes them wealthy. They choose not to lift the nation to progress because they don’t want to share luxury and comfort with the poor majority. In the end, the majority suffers with no obvious end in sight. Grin and bear it? Aye!

Portrait of Poverty Fades Away

Sixteen years after the “portrait of poverty” was made popular by former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos to the Filipino nation, the portrait is now ready to be buried and be gone forever. The portrait that the former President literally saw from a colony of squatters in the infamous Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City actually was a poor and uneducated family man of eight.

The man called Mang Pandoy by name became popular when he was used by the former president for political propaganda in 1992. Mang Pandoy was portrayed as a symbol of poverty by the then Ramos administration. The former president promised that he would do everything to improve Mang Pandoy’s lot in particular and the nation’s poverty in general.

Decade and a half later, the 73 year old Mang Pandoy met his creator. He died of tuberculosis last Sunday October 31, 2008. His death bring back the issue of “portrait of poverty” immortalized by Mang Pandoy as placed on him by Ramos. The attention given to Mang Pandoy was then expected to change the poverty incidence in the country.

But it was WRONG. Mr. Ramos himself deliberately abandoned his promises and pledges to Mang Pandoy and the nation. Mang Pandoy brought with him the ‘portrait of poverty” to his grave. He was born poor and died poor. He symbolized poverty until his death which he literally fought to the last breath but suffered defeat.

That defeat is the same thing happening to the million of poor Filipinos struggling to get out of poverty. While in stark contrast, politicians like Ramos and the present Philippine leaders are winning in their fight in enriching and amassing wealth by hook or by crook.

Rice For the Poor Cheap No More

Baguio City – NFA Rice, the affordable staple food of ordinary people in most areas in the Philippines have gone up its buying price from the previous 18.50 pesos a kilo to 25 pesos per kilo. The drastic price adjustment of NFA rice which was implemented weeks ago ultimately affected the poor households mainly because it became an added burden to their limited budget. And for those who have no fixed income, the price adjustment is a painful truth that hard to accept.

The long queue of ordinary people at the rice section of the city market of Baguio is a daily occurrence. Despite of the price adjustment, people are waiting for their turn to be sold few kilos of NFA rice. By next month or September in the earnest, may be the long queue would be smaller because the government will implement the “no family access card, no NFA rice policy.”

For the ordinary people the idea of securing a family access card is a rough treatment. The difficulty of getting into the line to queue for NFA rice is too much and yet the government wants the people to suffer more once the policy takes effect. The probability is that, without the family access card, one would be given tongue-lashing and refuse to be sold of NFA rice, once cheap now no more.

5 Billion Cash Dole out Up for Grab

In a recent move by the government to help stem the tide of continuing price increase of oil and basic commodities especially rice, a five year action program was laid out to provide the ordinary people cash assistance for them to cope up with the current crisis constantly hounding the nation.

Government officials have announced that a 5 billion peso fund will be used to help the poor and deserving families living in Metro Manila and selected and identified areas where big concentrations of indigent families resides. Based on the program, the government will give 5 hundred peso monthly take home cash to every family.

But this early, the program has already met oppositions and disapproval from the different sectors. According to the critics, the government is committing mistakes by giving the fish to the fisherman instead of helping the fisherman to fish. The critics further said that the government absolutely failed to live up to its promises to eradicate poverty and misery. The promise was assured by Arroyo before 2004 Pres. Election.

The 5 billion peso cash dole out, as the critics conclude, is only a “Band Aid” solution which is not appropriate to have a long term solution. The program is also not corruption free. The money would attract vultures and crocs in government. At the end of the day, instead of going to the poor, the money, most probably will go to the dirty hands of a few.

Food Security threatened by the Lack of Government Comprehensive Support Program

 

RP’s food security is in serious situation after news of rice shortage had caused anxiety among the people. The rice crisis is the daily topics in all media organizations since last February 2008. And the government looked unimpressive in their delayed reaction which obviously did not appease the growing apprehensions and worries of the masses.

The problem of rice had been in existence for decades which were overlooked by the past and present administrations. Every time the government changed, policy issues also changed. All the while politicos forgot the gargantuan task of improving the country’s economic woes and the nation’s food security.

One of the most neglected parts of the country’s economic wealth is agriculture. Before, the Philippines were exporting rice to her neighbors but now it’s the other way around. Agricultural land management was not sustained; irrigation canals were left to deteriorate; modern farming methods failed to commence because of insufficient government support programs; the lack of post harvest facilities and farm to market roads that would possibly help sustain the farmers’ rice productions.

As a result, the country missed the “bandwagon of success” where Thailand and Vietnam alternates as frontman in the driver seat in rice productions. Ironically the two, especially Thailand was once sent their bright students in the Philippines to study agriculture and related courses which they applied in their country with great success.

Lands Reserved for Agriculture Undergoes Massive Conversions

For the past decades, agricultural lands in the Philippines have seen its improvement benefiting not the farmers or the farm lands itself but big commercial businesses, subdivisions and R&R of the rich and famous in the higher echelon of Philippine society. The massive conversions of agricultural lands located all over the Philippines made headway through the efforts of big corporations and developers whose projects serves the best interests of the few.

Sprawling agricultural lands in the nearby provinces of Metro Manila had been converted into gulf courses instead of rice farms; big subdivisions for the rich instead of crop yielding plants; Rest and Recreations for the rich and famous instead of low cost housing for the homeless and squatters.

Other provinces did not escaped from massive conversions. Contested prime agricultural lands claimed by big landowners, politicos, poor farmers and original settlers often end up into the hands of developers orchestrated by the powers that be. That is why big subdivisions and beautiful western baroque like style recreation facilities are sprouting like mushroom around the country.

The unabated commercialization of agricultural lands in the country only shows the sad state of agriculture which cannot cope up with the dwindling food supply to feed the growing populations of the country. Not even the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) based in Laguna province could influence the Philippine government on how to redirect and implement its agricultural program in a long term basis.

Rice Shortage Looms

The problem is beginning to appear and the people are worried of what might happen in the next days, weeks or months. Experts have hinted that there is a looming rice shortage given the idea that the price of rice went up unannounced.

The rice cartels have succeeded in their grand design to make it hard for the Filipino people after the buying price of rice shoot up to its highest level. In just a span of weeks, the price of rice changed fast and stunned the public especially the poor majority. The government and the scheming rice traders decided to go along with the new pricing dictated by big and untouchable rice cartels.

The government and the Department of Agriculture blamed last year’s calamities and the low rice imports from Thailand and Vietnam, two of the world’s leading rice exporters. And they assured the public that no impeding rice shortage and the price adjustment is only normal for a country who imports rice. But senators and other private entities disapproved the government report. They questioned the timing of price increase and said that if there’s sufficient rice why the sudden increase of the staple food of the masses?

Clearly the government, DA, NFA, rice hoarders and traders are doing nothing to mitigate or ease the problem that already hit hard the masses.

Profiting Rice Traders gratuitously hikes prices of staple food

 

It seems that a stable and low price of rice will remain a dream for the ordinary folks living below the poverty line. In a recent move, the scheming and profiting rice traders in the Philippines and with the help of some government officials have again raised the market prices of staple food of the Filipino people.

The unnecessary increased in prices of the different variety of rice came under fire from the consumers especially the lower echelon of society, the poor. The NFA rice which is called the “rice of the poor” for its low quality and used by the rich as feed for their pets, were even affected by the price increase.

The rice traders discriminately and wantonly disregarded the sad plight of the poor by increasing the price of NFA rice, from 18 pesos/kilo to the present level of 28-30 pesos/kilo. These soulless rice traders also mixed NFA rice with commercial rice to make it appear that they are selling first class rice.

Target of this scheme are those average income earners and some middle class who budget their needs and consumptions. For the majority, living in this shemozzle situation, the price increase of their staple food means hunger and death. They could do nothing but endure the hardship of life as poverty and hunger slowly wear away their spirit and soul.

 

NSCB Survey: Poverty increased

 

The National Statistics Coordination Board or NSCB which is a government agency tasked to monitor social issues and community related services released their latest survey about poverty in the Philippines. In a press statement, the NSCB officials admitted that poverty incidence in the country were up 16%.

In an apparent move to hide the shortcomings of the Arroyo administration, the NSCB instead blamed natural calamities as the culprit as to why poverty increased. The shallow reason only shows that the government has been remiss and unmindful on the neglected issue of poverty.

The government actually failed to address the causes of poverty in the grass root level like population management, education, employment, people empowerment and the equal distribution of wealth and opportunity which could greatly help mitigate poverty. The NSCB should’ve taken steps and recommendations to fight poverty instead of playing safe just to hide the government lack of concern to the continuing problem of poverty.

 

Ort is now the favorite food of the low income earner city dwellers

Ort is now the favorite food of the low income earner city dwellers

Before, only the vagabond, street dweller, homeless and the extremely poor people are the one eating orts or leftover foods that were discarded from the different restaurants and fast food chains in cities. These people roam the city’s garbage depots to look for leftovers, others works in dumpsites collecting salable trashed items and the much sought after leftovers which is already unfit for human consumption.

Today, orts or leftover food collections are already a thriving and profitable business. This is really for Ripley’s because discarded foods from big restaurants, malls and fast food chains are now for sale and the regular buyers are the low income earner city dwellers.

The leftover food business was started years ago in an informal setup by some enterprising garbage collectors in Metro Manila until it thrived and was copied in other cities in the Philippines. Leftover foods are directly collected from the food service establishments in a contracting agreement between the garbage collectors and the establishment owners.

The poor communities started to patronize leftover foods because it suit to their budget and needs and presto, orts can fill their hungry stomach without the hassle of spending more money for a delectable meal. Budget wise, orts can be bought for only a few pesos which is good for a struggling family.

Poverty and hunger keeps the poor city dwellers to depend on the leftovers of the middle and upper class that regularly eats outside of their homes. The poor is the human equivalent of recycling machine which takes all discarded wastes to its chamber for processing. And the orts keep the poor alive in this humiliating world, for a fee.