A businessman in oil dealership and hauling, who is in close touch with his business colleagues, pooh-poohed the claim of the oil companies that dealers are losing money and that a good number of them are closing shop as a result of the oil price freeze. He told this columnist that the dealers couldn’t be losing money since the markup allowed by the oil companies remains the same. He admitted that the dealers indeed suffered a cut in supply but it’s hardly from lack of supply. Besides, the cut is too small to be felt by the consuming public. He also said that his gas stations have not noticed any panic-buying and that the public continues to fill up their vehicles as before. What about the noise the oil companies are making? He said all this seems to be part of the pressure politics the oil companies are applying on government.
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I agree with the appeal of Raul Concepcion, chair of Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW), for sobriety and calm. With the government task force headed by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera and Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes continuing its dialogue with oil industry leaders, nothing is served by firing off threats and counter-threats. The current controversy started when government imposed the price freeze after the oil firms expressed their intention to raise prices due to rising world prices. The government appealed for a delay in the price hike since the public was still reeling from the devastation wrought by a series of typhoons. When the oil companies refused to heed the call, the government threatened to open their books. Now some senators are urging a government takeover of this critical industry, but this would be an extreme recourse that could only damage the country’s standing in the international community. Only a Hugo Chavez would have the audacity to do so, and this is because his country is not an oil importer.
The oil companies ought to be reasonable. After all, it was made clear to them that the price freeze would be temporary. But the government can also demonstrate goodwill by lifting it selectively.
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The Manila Standard Today has been doing a yeoman’s job of keeping the public informed on developments in the Hacienda Luisita case. A recent issue cited privilege speeches in the House by left-wing lawmakers, who revealed how the family of Liberal Party presidential bet Noynoy Aquino, whose family owns the 6,400 hectare sugar estate, have over the years carved out portions to various buyers for conversion into shopping malls, subdivisions, fruit plantations, and other uses. The question is whether the Luisita workers got their fair share of the profits as the stock option adopted during President Cory Aquino’s time promised. From various write-ups and the workers’ great discontent, this does not seem to be the case. Noynoy laments that Luisita is “being politicized,” but of course it is, since he is campaigning on the platform of good versus evil, of “change” and “reform.” The set-up in Luisita remains feudal as ever.
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One admirable young man bringing real change to the agriculture sector is 34-year-old Tony Tiu of Agri-Nurture Inc. (ANI). He was recently named Ernest & Young Emerging Entrepreneur for 2009. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, who is running for a House seat in Bohol, cited Tiu as one of agri-business’ success stories. A business graduate of De La Salle University with a master’s in international finance from the University of New South Wales and now working on a Ph.D in the University of the Philippines, Tiu is one of the country’s largest mango exporters. He also exports chopsuey, pinakbet and salad veggies (tetra-packed and ready to cook), as well as spices to Filipino communities in the Middle East. He runs 15 corporate farms in various places in Mindanao, Bohol and Dumaguete, but his problem is that he can’t grow enough to meet the demand. He firmly believes that the key to peace negotiations and the success of the balik-probinsya program lies in giving farmers the right livelihood. Born in San Marcelino, Zambales, of Filipino-Chinese parents, he started in his early 20s as a salesman of post-harvest equipment. Driving around the country, he came to know first-hand the problem of our farmers. His grandfather discouraged him from going into agri-business as “there’s no money there.” But he borrowed P10,000 from his mother and went into growing high-value veggies and fruits. Today his venture is worth several billions of pesos. Tiu notes that the World Health Organization’s healthy lifestyle standard requires consumption of 180 kilos of veggies per capita every year, but Filipinos only eat 30 kilos per capita.
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A red-letter day for bazaar-goers is the 43rd International Bazaar, this Sunday, Nov. 15, at the Philippine International Convention Center, CCP Complex, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This annual fund-raising event spearheaded by the International Bazaar Foundation, headed by Lovely Tecson-Romulo as chair and by Alice Tesoro-Guerrero as president, in cooperation with the Spouses of the Heads of Mission (SHOM), headed by Brigitte MacDonald, wife of the local representative of the European Commission, will feature choice merchandise to be sold by 41 members of the diplomatic corps, 10 consular missions and 112 local entrepreneurs. The proceeds will be used to finance joint projects of the foundation and SHOM for the underprivileged, like scholarships and health and livelihood projects. I have been very supportive of the bazaar, because it has benefited two educational charity institutions I am involved in as volunteer: the Erda Foundation for street children and the Punlaan School, which provides training for needy young ladies in the hotel and restaurant industries.
