Second-class citizens in their own country

The average Filipino is treated like a second-class citizen in his own land. The best produce, the so-called “export quality” goods are either exported or priced beyond reach.

News about Singapore being interested in our vegetables from Cordillera, Benguet and Quezon provinces will be a tremendous boost to our gross national product (GNP) and to our big exporters. It will generate employment for people who, it is hoped, would be paid a just and decent wage. But as has happened before, once our products are “globalized,” they become too expensive for local consumption.

Is there any way we can shield our local market for the benefit of the Filipino in the Philippines?

—LUZ TORRES-HECKER, Villa Teresa, Angeles City