As I See It
Gov’t resorting to double-talk on rice shortage
By Neal Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:36:00 03/31/2008
MANILA, Philippines - Rice rationing has started and people have formed lines at the National Food Authority’s central office warehouse on Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, to buy three kilos each of NFA rice at P18.85 per kilo. And yet the government is still engaged in double-talk. It insists there is “no rice shortage” but admits the price of the cereal is rising steeply. If there is no rice shortage why is its price rising? Price is dictated by the law of supply and demand. If the supply cannot meet the demand, the price will inevitably go up. The fact that the NFA has to resort to rationing is another indication that the supply is not enough. Otherwise it can just flood the market with rice to push prices down.
Even the government’s insistence that “there is no rice shortage” is full of mental reservation. It says “there is no rice shortage” but on the side says “at present,” meaning at this moment, now, which does not include “in the near future.”
Indeed, the government infers that a serious rice shortage is coming as our production is not enough to supply the demand. The Philippines augments the supply by importing rice. But now the few rice exporting countries like Vietnam, Thailand, China and India have stopped or reduced exports because they have not been able to produce enough rice for a variety of reasons—bad weather conditions, increased consumption by their local populations and increased demand by rice-importing countries. There is also a decline in the production of other staple grains such as corn and wheat. The result is an impending world shortage of grains. Even if you have all the money in the world, there won’t be enough grain to buy with them. End result: Hunger, starvation.
When that happens, what the opposition, the corruption, the scandals, the abuses and misgovernance have not been able to do—oust President Macapagal-Arroyo from office—the rice shortage will accomplish. When rice riots and looting begin because the people are hungry and have little to eat, who do you think the people will blame? Speeches and press releases will not feed empty stomachs. Even GMA’s storm troopers cannot stop crowds maddened by hunger from going berserk. Hungry crowds who believe they will die of starvation anyway will brave the guns of soldiers and policemen to storm Malacañang in their anger to get at the one person they believe is responsible for their plight. GMA better have helicopters and planes ready to fly her out to safety—to Paoay or Hawaii—when that happens.
And yet the GMA administration behaves as if everything is just fine. All it has done so far to head off a looming catastrophe is to tell people to “eat less.” It has told restaurants to serve only half-portions of rice. Many Filipinos, believe it or not, eat only a little rice gruel sprinkled with salt, nothing else. They can’t afford the viands. And you still tell them to eat less rice? Will Queen Gloria give them cake to eat in place of rice?
She has issued press releases saying that the RP government has signed a memorandum of agreement with Vietnam to supply us with millions of tons of rice, but forgetting to state that Vietnam has already said that it may not be able to meet its rice export commitments. Which means there may not be enough rice forthcoming from Vietnam. The same is true with the other rice-exporting countries. They have to feed their own people first before selling their rice to other countries.
Those who lived through the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines know how desperate it was to survive without enough food. It was every man for himself. It was the lowly camote and cassava that saved many from starvation. And luckily, we have many coconut plantations that provided us with the nutritious nuts. Still many died from diseases brought on by malnutrition and undernourishment. Are we going through that again?
This has never happened to the nation under any president after Liberation. It may happen in the administration of GMA. She is really working to have herself remembered by history, the same way Marie Antoinette is remembered.
Maybe God is telling GMA something. From the moment she grabbed the presidency from President Joseph Estrada, her two terms lurched from one crisis to another. All the time, money and effort of the whole government was used to ensure her survival. There was little time and money and good governance for the people. But after she survives one crisis, another takes over. Lately, in quick succession, came the oil crisis, a looming power crisis, and now the rice and corn crises. What’s coming next?
It reminds me of what God dealt the Egypt of Pharaoh Rameses when he wouldn’t let the people of Moses go free. “Let my people go,” said Moses. Rameses didn’t so God made Egypt suffer from various forms of pestilence until the death of all firstborns, including his own, forced the Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to go. Maybe God is now telling GMA to let go.
Frankly, because of the looming food crisis, it would be sensible for GMA to let go now. Let those who want to succeed her solve the nation’s problems. She can always retreat to another country where her family has stashed what they have taken away from the Filipino people. And you can bet that many of our public officials are now preparing to flee to other countries where they have nest eggs.
As for the rest of us, start planting camote. Use your backyards, vacant lots, idle farms, even flower pots, to plant food crops. Go back to the provinces and plant. Don’t look at the government to help you. It won’t. It will help its top officials first. So help yourself. We survived the war; we can survive this. We have survived Marcos; we can survive GMA.
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