Philippine Observer

Lopez to order dismantling of Laguna Lake fish pens, revoking of big firm permits

Sunday, July 31, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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In view of President Rodrigo Duterte's promise to prioritize poor fishermen in the use of the Laguna de Bay or Laguna Lake, Environment and Natural Resources Sec. Regina Lopez on Wednesday said she will issue a directive for the dismantling of big fish pens and revoke permits given to big corporations operating at the lake. The move is to develop and manage huge portions of the Laguna Lake to give out new entitlements, with farmers having the priority. "Itong Laguna Lake, naubos na nga... wala na ang (para sa mga maliliit na) fishermen. 'Yun na lang the difference between one big fishpen to the other... Makikita mo sa plane, every time I go to Davao and I pass by that place there, nakita ko talagang wala nang ano (para sa maliliit na mangingisda). And the fishermen are complaining about the loss. Talagang wala na sila. Kasi ang maliit na lugar, iyon lang ang kanila (Small fishermen making a living out of the Laguna Lake are left with very little area to ply their trade, with most areas allocated for private fish pens owned by big corporations. I can see it from the plane every time I go to Davao. Every time I can see that there’s really nothing left, and the fishermen are complaining about their loss, because they have very little left for them)," the President said in his first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Monday. "This is what I’m telling you, the poor fishermen will have priority in its entitlements," he stressed. As of June 30, 2016, there are 357 registered and unregistered fishpen owners operating at the Laguna de Bay, according to the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA). Former LLDA Chairman Edgardo Manda earlier said the entitlements currently held by big corporations may range from 50 to 1,000 hectares of the lake surface. He said some corporations now have big entitlements by merging those entitlements granted to their dummies. Manda noted that some 20 percent of the 90,000-hectare lake surface of the Laguna Lake is now covered by entitlements granted to private corporations or individuals to manage and develop fish pens. The Laguna Lake is the largest lake in the Philippines and one of the largest in Southeast Asia. In view of its multiplicity of uses and benefits, its basin is the most important, dynamic and among the fastest-growing economic bases in the country. It has become the catch basin to Metro Manila’s population and urbanization/ industrialization overspill. As the region has developed, the lake has suffered increasing levels of agricultural, industrial and domestic wastewater pollution. The possible consequences of the rapid swelling of population include food and water shortage, worsening traffic congestion and environmental degradation, thus significantly affecting Laguna de Bay and its environs. Problems such as pollution and waste primarily from domestic and agricultural sources; multiple and often conflicting water uses; vulnerability of lake shore settlements and developments to flood hazards and related health and economic risks, and indecision over resettlement; poorly regulated developments on the shore land, and critical watersheds inclusive of tenurial constraints, database management and monitoring; and fragmented utility infrastructure developments, including silting and development regulations of these investments contribute to the degradation of the lake. In its draft medium-term development plan, the LLDA has recommended to intensify waste and pollution control through adaptive waste management systems primarily for domestic and agricultural sources; rationalize water use zoning to harmonize all uses within the lake including navigation and water-related waste management infrastructure; promote security of lake shore communities from flooding, health risks and minimize economic displacement through effective flood control programs and appropriate resettlement plans; rationalize watershed -- and shore land -- specific management policies based on validated threshold and vulnerability to sustain their ecological functions focused on incentive-based regulations and adaptive co-management systems; rationalize service and infrastructure-based network support for environmental management and sustainable economic uses of lake basin resources; rationalize ecotourism potential as development driver and promote lake-sensitive ecotourism developments; and adopt innovative financing schemes beyond regulatory fee collection, among others. President Duterte vowed the Laguna Lake "shall be transformed into a vibrant economic zone showcasing ecotourism by addressing the negative impact of a watershed destruction, land conversion and pollution." (Story by Lilybeth G. Ison/PNA) Source: https://www.facebook.com/notes/presidential-communications-government-of-the-philippines/lopez-to-order-dismantling-of-laguna-lake-fish-pens-revoking-of-big-firm-permits/1395349570494700 </div>
 
 
 
 
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Environment News Lopez to order dismantling of Laguna Lake fish pens, revoking of big firm permits

In view of President Rodrigo Duterte's promise to prioritize poor fishermen in the use of the Laguna de Bay or Laguna Lake, Environment and Natural Resources Sec. Regina Lopez on Wednesday said she will issue a directive for the dismantling of big f…

Re-inventing the Rice Policy

Wednesday, July 13, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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Re-inventing the Rice Policy By: Cielito Habito THERE’S SO much more to our rice policy than the rice industry itself. What we have persisting to the present harms not only consumers and the rest of our agriculture, but the industry and services sector along with it as well. And that means the entire economy. What’s this rice policy I refer to? It’s much more complex than meets the eye, but stripped to the bone, it’s everything we do that ultimately makes rice so much more expensive to Filipinos than it is to our Southeast Asian neighbors. This traces largely to how we restrict rice imports (which we can’t even do right as large amounts consistently get smuggled in, anyway) by putting imports under the strict control of the National Food Authority—all in the name of pursuing rice self-sufficiency. While this would seem a noble objective, it’s not only impractical but even harmful to us Filipinos at this time. I must say at the outset that I have no doubt we can attain full rice self-sufficiency. The scientists have always been right: We can produce all the rice we need if we “do it right”—i.e., use the right combination of hybrid seeds, fertilization, irrigation and crop care. The question is whether we should pursue it the way we’ve been doing, keeping it more inaccessible (translation: unaffordable) to poor and food-insecure Filipinos than it needs to be. For sure, we can even produce well beyond our needs. But if we do, could we even export it without losing money on it, given international prices? Here’s where we need to listen to the economists and social scientists, too, because it’s not just about production. It’s about productivity, incomes and prices. As one writer recently put it, “[of] what use is a bumper stock if our people cannot afford it?” Consider these facts: Thailand has 11 million hectares of rice land to feed 66 million Thais. Vietnam has 7.5 million hectares to feed 90 million Vietnamese. But we only have 4.5 million hectares to feed 102 million Filipinos. Thailand and Vietnam have the Mekong River naturally irrigating their rice areas and permitting up to three crops a year. The Philippines (like Indonesia, the other major rice-importing country in the neighborhood) is an archipelago with no massive rivers running through it—and 20 or so typhoons hitting it every year. Our own river systems, like the Pampanga River and Cagayan River, irrigate our best rice lands in Central and Northern Luzon, but these are puny in comparison to the great Mekong River that runs across six countries. Any surprise that the two are the biggest rice exporters in Southeast Asia, while we and Indonesia are the top importers? That’s why Malaysia never aspired to produce all the rice it needs, and put its money in things Malaysian farmers could get rich with—so they could buy whatever rice they need to make up for what they can’t competitively produce. The only way for us to go, then, is to achieve much higher productivity, at comparable cost, with emphasis on the latter. Otherwise, it makes no sense to insist on supplying all our rice needs if it means restricting imports, forcing ourselves to pay up to twice what we otherwise would, just so the domestic price will allow the “average rice farmer” to recover his costs. What harm has this longstanding policy brought us? Plenty. It keeps more Filipinos than necessary below the poverty line, as rice alone is the single biggest item in the average poor Filipino family’s budget (20-25 percent, studies say). When the official poverty rate went up again in 2014 to 25.8 percent, from 24.6 percent in 2013 (an additional 1.2 million poor), then Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsi Balisacan traced it, not to falling incomes, but to higher rice prices. It leads us to give higher and less competitive wages so that our workers could afford our primary “wage good,” rice. It makes it harder in turn for us to attract more job-creating domestic or foreign investments, labor costs being higher than what they could otherwise be. Hence, we continue to have 2.5 million jobless workers, even as millions have left to seek their fortunes overseas, away from their families. Meanwhile, it renders too many Filipinos food-insecure, making our malnutrition rate twice as high as in our comparable neighbors. In turn, this affects our children’s educational outcomes, ultimately leading to an inferior human resource pool with lower productivity. And there’s much more. In sum, the effects are much more far-reaching than meets the eye, hurting the whole Filipino economy and society—all because of our distortive rice policy. What do we do, then? Open up the floodgates to rice imports and forget about producing rice? Of course not! We do have many rice farmers whose productivity and costs allow them to compete even at international prices. But we must strive to have many more, and that’s precisely what the government ought to be pursuing and targeting, not simply to produce more rice at all costs. The fact is, we only have until 2017 before we must open up rice trade and shift to import tariffs as our mode of protecting rice farmers. We are the last holdout still restricting rice imports, and are on the third and final extension on this from the World Trade Organization. Meanwhile, we managed to set the highest rice import tariff of 35 percent in the Asean Economic Community, which takes effect once we open up. Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol’s mission, then, is to make sure that by 2018, our rice farmers can compete at a price 35 percent higher than the import price. But we must eventually remove that 35-percent penalty on Filipino rice consumers, especially on our poor, as well—so the homework would not end there. * * * cielito.habito@gmail.com Source: <a href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/95609/reinventing-rice-policy#ixzz4EM34JtBh">http://opinion.inquirer.net/95609/reinventing-rice-policy#ixzz4EM34JtBh </a></div>
 
 
 
 
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Op-Ed Re-inventing the Rice Policy

Re-inventing the Rice PolicyBy: Cielito HabitoTHERE’S SO much more to our rice policy than the rice industry itself. What we have persisting to the present harms not only consumers and the rest of our agriculture, but the industry and services secto…

Presidential Inauguration 2016: Simplicity or Historical Ignorance?

Friday, July 1, 2016 The Mail Man 1

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 By this time, a day after the Presidential Inauguration, things would have settled down. Unlike in the past inaugurations, yesterday was not declared a holiday. It depends on who is speaking or who is listening on how that day must be observed. Some would say that the outgoing president felt bitter and does not like the winner of the last elections that is why he did not declare a holiday. Some pundits would rather go on point that it is the character of the new administration, that simplicity and down to earth-ness is the theme noting that many of the poor and the poorest of the poor would rather be the beneficiaries of the savings from such lavish ceremonies that the president and the vice president eschewed. But will those “savings” benefit the poor and the poorest of the poor? I think not. Remember, such occasions have already been approved in the General Appropriations Act for 2016. It was already in the budget. Diverting such budgets in so called pro-poor programs is no longer an option no matter how noble the intention is in this post -DAP and post-PDAF times. If it is done then the proponent would be liable to technical malversation of funds. It is a criminal offense. Now, having demolished that rationale, let me get to the point. Qurino Grandstand The Quirino Grandstand was where the inauguration of President Elpidio Quirino was undertaken. It is an exact replica of the grandstand where Philippine Independence was inaugurated in July 1946. It used to be called the Independence Grandstand. The Qurino Grandstand faces the National Flagpole and the Rizal Monument. Why face them? The Rizal Monument and the National Flagpole are both “Kilometer Zero”. This is where national roads and highways are measured from. This is where the sense of the Filipino nation emanates. Why does Rizal face the sea?  Manila Bay? Before the age of airports, this is where the gates to the Philippines open. Each ship from countries around the world will enter Manila Bay past its sentinels, Corregidor Island and Sangley Point where the Spanish Fleet is located. The first thing that the foreigners will see are the Intramuros and Fort Santiago, the guardians of Manila.  That is why buildings and edifices where constructed facing Manila Bay. It is to show the best face of the country to the foreigners. That is the reason why Rizal is facing Manila Bay. That those who arrive will face the countenance of the National Hero. That is another reason why the Quirino Grandstand face the Rizal Monument. Independence Day parades and presidential inaugurations are held in Quirino Grandstand so as to fall under the gaze of Jose Rizal. The First Filipino and the first to conceive of a Filipino Nation. New presidents will swear to defend and uphold the constitution under the gaze of Jose Rizal and in sight of the National Flagpole. This is that so they realize the responsibilities being bestowed upon them. This is not to make them grand, this is for them to realize that compared to the size of the monument and the height of the flagpole, they are to be not larger than the Filipino nation. It is to remind them that they cannot be  larger than what the country demands. It is to make them realize that they are servants and that history will be the ultimate judge. Rizal will be the parameter on how they perform. That is the importance of a presidential inauguration at the Qurinino Grandstand and that it is not subject to budgets and pro-poor posturings. Many presidents forgot that significance, hence the tragedies of their administrations. They thought they were bigger that the nation. The Malacanan Staircase TV coverage was intensive and they would all point out the many traditions that happen during the inauguration. It was discussed that it would be traditional for the outgoing president to go down the staircase and the new president would ceremoniously go up the staircase. They went on and on who the presidents went up and down the staircase. But there was no in-depth stories about the real historical significance of the staircase. Those staircases meant so much for President Manuel L. Quezon. For him, going up those staircases meant so much significance. It is told that there were many who pleaded that Jose Rizal not be executed. His sisters went to the gates of Malacanang, and grovelled at the feet of Governor General Polavieja to spare their brothers life. They were denied. But the stories about Rizal’s mother who went up the staircase on her knees so as to ask for mercy and clemency. Governor General Polavieja denied the pleas. Rizal was executed. When Manuel L. Quezon became president, he knew that this is the first time that a Filipino would go up the staircase as a head of state. That the colonizers were no more. But more than power, Quezon knew that the same staircase where Rizal’s mother went up on her knees was the same staircase. That aside from power, there came a greater responsibility and duty. It was of mercy. Knowing the countless lives sacrificed for freedom and independence, President Quezon saw the value of Filipino lives and blood. He kept Rizal’s mother in mind. During his whole term as president, those condemned on death row were given executive clemency by President Quezon. Their sentences were commuted. There was no executions during the time of President Quezon. The Presidential Desk Having spared those on death row, the prisoners whose death sentences were commuted crafted a desk. This was then used as the Presidential Desk of President Quezon. All succeeding presidents used this desk. Only President Estrada, in his efforts to re-decorate Malacanang disposed of the desk and had another one made and used. He knew nothing of the significance of the desk. When President Arroyo came to power, she remembered the desk that her father used. But nobody seemed to know where it was kept among the furniture stored at the warehouse in Malacanang. It took Manuel Quezon III to recognize it and then it was returned to the presidential office and is until now in use. The Office of the President is not only about power or justice. As President Quezon showed and by the significance of the staircase and the desk, the Office of the President is the fountain of Mercy in this country. It is not about life and death. It is all about the precious life of every Filipino. </div>
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The real measurement of every Filipino leader is the capacity for mercy and value for the life of every Filipino.</div>
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 Tradition has a reason. </div>
 
 
 
 
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History Nationalism Op-Ed Patriotism Presidential Inauguration 2016: Simplicity or Historical Ignorance?

By this time, a day after the Presidential Inauguration, things would have settled down. Unlike in the past inaugurations, yesterday was not declared a holiday. It depends on who is speaking or who is listening on how that day must be observed. Some…

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Lopez to order dismantling of Laguna Lake fish pens, revoking of big firm permits

Re-inventing the Rice Policy

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