EO 765: Good for bakers, bad for corn farmers

First published in MindaNews.com. President Arroyo signed Executive Order 765 in December 2008  claiming that  ”reduction on tariff on food wheat would help stabilize the price of bread and other baked food products.” Unfortunately, former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor said in a report that the order did not only include the lifting of tariff on importation of food wheat or milling wheat, the ingredient used to produce bread, but also on feed wheat, which like corn, is used as animal feed.

Excess feed wheat supply brought by the zero tariff has competed with local corn supply, Roderico Bioco founding chair of the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. told MindaNews.

The implementation of EO 765 has led to an estimated P6-billion losses in income for corn farmers and at least P1-billion loss in revenues for government, Montemayor, now a member of the House representing of the ABA-AKO party list, said.

The lowest price for yellow corn was P6.50 per kilo or P6, 500 per MT, lower than the production cost of P10.

The  Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) reported  last week that the price of corn had dropped from P 9 per kilo to P7.50 during a five-week period.

The executive order was effective until June 2009 but favoring sectors, including the livestock feed millers lobbied for the extension. The corn industry stakeholders such as the Philippine Maize Federation Inc. and ABA AKO party list lobbied against the extension.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Economy, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Malaybalay City, Mindanao, Mindanao's communities, Philippines

In Bukidnon, medicine supply woes traced to price

The lack of medicines in Bukidnon provincial hospitals and health stations has been blamed on failures in the bidding process, more specifically to the Capitol’s low approved budget for contract (ABC) or price index.

It was reportedly pegged at 2004 rates, a provincial legislative inquiry has discovered.

This seems a simple problem of public policy. But what could be the reaction of every Jose, Caring, and Juana when they are told about this in the front lines, say, in the out patient department of public hospitals?

The public, especially the indigents, are repeatedly being told of the “no available medicines” situation despite the province’s supposed “award-winning” flagship program on health.

Inihanay sa:Access to Information, Bukidnon, Business, Economy, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Life in the Plateau, Local Governance, Malaybalay City, Mindanao, Mindanao's communities, Philippines, Social Security

No rice shortage in Bukidnon?

Measuring my rice has been the tease at home — something that has caused me ‘hunger’. When you are carrying heavier load than you should, you know what I mean.

I did try to eat less of it every time I remember; most of the time I failed.

So when the rice shortage news was carried in broadsheets the tease hit me even more. There was a friend who said I was to be blamed. I was also blamed for the protests in Tibet.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Economy, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Investments in Mindanao, Mindanao

Upward legal battle

From the office of councilor Nenita Orcullo in 2004, when it was first proposed, Davao City’s ordinance banning aerial spraying seems bound for the Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeals granted the plea of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association for a 60-day temporary restraining order — stopping the city government’s ban for two months.

The city government might want to appeal the TRO, but is likely to focus on PBGEA’s major petition, which questions the Regional Trial Court decision on the ordinance’s constitutionality and validity.

Read the latest on the issue at Mindanews.com.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Business, Davao, Economy, Environment, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Local Governance, Mindanao, Philippines

Grade schooler’s suicide draws attention to urban poverty

A mixture of her difficulty in coping with poverty, emotional problems, and her youthful innocence killed the 12-year-old grade schooler, a social worker said.

Grade 6 pupil Marianeth Amper, who committed suicide in the afternoon of All Souls’ Day in a room of their house in the sloping hills in Maa, has caught the national limelight as she was reportedly pushed to kill herself because of her family’s hunger and poverty.

Dalmin Faith Igaña, of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) who interviewed the family on Nov. 7, said Marianeth had reached a stage when she could no longer cope with the poverty around her. This was further exacerbated, the social worker noted, by the fact that the girl had nobody to whom she can express her feelings. Read the rest of the report on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Education, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Jobs in Mindanao, Justice, Local Governance, Mindanao, Social Security

One Dabawenyo sports guru

DELAYED BLOGCAST: Last Monday I had a very long lunch with two friends, MC of the Business Mirror and blogosphere’s Mr. Clean Slate, Mo, who also writes for Manila Standard Today.

Time with Mo is time to update about sports. He breathes sporting fire in the city. Not that he is the only one I know. But Mo is a reporter, an advocate and a public servant. In his passion for sports you could see his desire to push for “sports governance”.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Education, Food/Health Related, Fun, Governance, Health, Local Governance, Mindanao, Mindanao Sports

Spray planes grounded

Airplanes used by banana firms to spray chemicals over plantations were grounded following the Davao City Regional Trial Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the city’s aerial spray ban ordinance.

The judicial clearance left no more blocks to execute the ordinance passed since six months ago.

Banana growers have alerted the media of an appeal at the Court of Appeals citing they have prepared for the worst.

Earlier, they have warned that the implementation of the ban would cause serious implications to the banana export industry.

Read the report on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Business, Davao, Economy, Environment, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Jobs in Mindanao, Local Governance, Mindanao, Philippines

Legal battle over spray ban goes to higher court

The verdict is out: the court has upheld as valid and constitutional the city ordinance banning aerial spraying in plantations. In a decision dated September 22, Judge Renato Fuentes of Regional Trial Court Branch-17 junked the petition of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) questioning the constitutionality of the ordinance, the Interface for Development Initiatives Inc. said. Read the rest of the story on MindaNews.com.

But the banana growers, standing in a legal defeat after being favored with a preliminary injuntion three months ago, will appeal the case in the Court of Appeals Branch in Cagayan de Oro City, insisting the ordinance is unreasonable and invalid.

PBGEA said they have prepared for the worst and have rallyied lawyers to prepare for the appeal as soon as possible. Read the rest of the story on MindaNews.com.

Other sectors hailed the decision, read reaction here.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Bukidnon, Davao, Economy, Environment, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Health, Investments in Mindanao, Jobs in Mindanao, Justice, Local Governance, Mindanao, Mindanao Sports, Mindanao's communities, News, Safety

ARMM traders: immediate peace agreement, please

The business community in conflict-affected areas are sounding off their stand: enough to conflicts, sign the peace agreement and start developing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Datu Haron Bandila, chair of the ARMM Business Council, said the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) must stay focused on the peace process for an immediate signing of the peace agreement.

He told MindaNews Thursday the biggest concern of the business community in the ARMM is the ongoing conflict.

He said they are calling on the government and the MILF to stick to the peace process and never to allow any more delays. Read the rest of the report on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:ARMM, BIMP - EAGA, Business, Economy, Environment, Fisheries Industry in Mindanao, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Investments in Mindanao, Jobs in Mindanao, Mindanao, Mindanao's communities, Peace Process, Philippines, Safety, Security, Tourism

Financial autonomy for Mindanao

Apart from moves for a bigger chunk of the national budget for the government in Mindanao, Senator Edgardo Angara is proposing that government financial institutions should put up separate and autonomous units here which could make independent decisions, especially on the government’s role to lend to small entrepreneurs.

Angara criticized major players such as Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines for centralized decisions on matters affecting directly Mindanawon borrowers. He said the problem is exacerbated by red tape.

The senate’s committee chair on agriculture and food gave the keynote speech at the Mindanao Food Congress on Wednesday. Read more about a report on his speech on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, BIMP - EAGA, Business, Davao, Economy, Fisheries Industry in Mindanao, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Investments in Mindanao, Mindanao, Philippines

Back to Sports in a Davao neighborhood

Today I broke free from a personal myth that I could no longer play basketball. I still can despite gaining weight and this strange feeling of distrust that I couldn’t even last a minute in the court.

We played ball early afternoon, after a hearty lunch of seafoods and grill today in a friend’s place along Jacinto Extension.

I was with a group of photographers visiting a friend to help him up with some academic requisites. While I began to feel envious of their cameras, I entertained myself with mangosteen and luckily another friend invited me out of respetar if I want to play.

How could I refuse. My last streetball game was in 1999, when we all anticipated the coming of the Y2K bug. That was eons ago.

Inihanay sa:Davao, Food/Health Related, Fun, Health, Mindanao, Mindanao Sports, Monologues, Trips - Adventures - Escapades

Mindanao banana chip export spared from Chinese crackdown

DAVAO CITY (MIndaNews/03 August) –  Banana chips exports from Southeastern Mindanao were not included in the items confiscated in China by authorities reacting to a reported shipment of banana products from the Philippines that contained high levels of the preservative sulfur dioxide, a Department of Trade and Industry official said.

Roberto Barlis, chief of the DTI consumer protection and trade regulations bureau, told MindaNews in a text message Thursday evening they have verified the report from the local exporters and did not discount the possibility the incident may be China’s reaction to a local crackdown on a China-made candy.

Read the rest of the report on MindaNews.com.

Inihanay sa:Agriculture, Art from Mindanao, BIMP - EAGA, Business, Davao, Economy, Food in Mindanao, Food/Health Related, Governance, Mindanao, Philippines