Editorials:

Illustration by Jimbo Albano

‘Win-win’ solution

All’s well that ends well.

That’s the obvious conclusion now that the Sumilao farmers and San Miguel Corp. have hammered out what appears to be a win-win solution for both sides, and we’re glad that this case highlighting the long-standing problem of agrarian reform and social injustice in this country is now over.

Under the agreement signed on Saturday, the farmers will gain 50 hectares within the contested 144-hectare property through a deed of donation by San Miguel, while the remaining 94 hectares will be taken from other properties within the vicinity of the contested area.

The 94 hectares will be distributed to the farmers through a voluntary offer to sell under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The Sumilao farmers will receive the land through a newly organized cooperative, the Panaghiusa sa mga Mag-uumang Nakigbisog alang sa Yuta sa Sumilao (Panaw-Sumilao).

But is it really over? Can the Sumilao farmers now go back to Bukidnon province truly happy that their long-drawn crusade to get the government to act on their demand for land has led to salutary results?

The Sumilao farmers won because of sheer perseverance in nonviolent struggle over a period of 12 years. They tried various means to get the government to act on their plight, including camp-out protest rallies and a hunger strike in front of the main office of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City.

Then, a few months ago, they made an arduous 1,700-kilometer long march from faraway Mindanao to Malacañang Palace that resulted in a pledge from the President herself to act favorably on their case. When they returned to Manila not too long ago to remind the government of its promise, obviously the government and San Miguel had to deal with the issue squarely and give the farmers what they wanted.

The farmers’ triumph is not theirs alone, but also of the Church and civil-society groups that helped them immensely.

Having said this, it should be pointed out that there are countless other landownership cases in other parts of the country that cry out for resolution despite the implementation of the government’s CARP since 1988. Social injustice is very much a problem in the rural areas, and the problem will not go away by itself unless the government exercises political will and gives the farmers land that they can truly call their own.

Toward food self-sufficiency

The Sumilao farmers brought their case directly to Malacañang because they felt powerless in resisting a huge agribusiness firm that decided to put up a big piggery and displaced them from their land. The conversion of agricultural land to commercial and industrial uses, if done in an arbitrary and haphazard way, wreaks havoc on farmers’ lives and will definitely impact on the country’s food self-sufficiency.

While countryside development that will improve the lives of farmers and uplift them from poverty will necessarily involve some degree of industrialization that could drastically reduce production of food crops, including rice, the government must pursue the goal of rural industrialization with due consideration for our short- and long-term food needs.

To be sure, achieving sustained economic growth while ensuring food self-sufficiency requires a delicate balancing act. But it can be done. Now that we face an imminent food crisis—and the potential threat of civil strife—resulting from the high prices of rice in the world market, a consistent and enlightened government policy for ensuring food self-sufficiency is in order.

President Arroyo now wants a moratorium on the conversion of agricultural land, particularly rice land, many of which had been turned into residential areas and even golf courses. As we face the dire prospect of long queues for scarce and more expensive rice in the weeks ahead amid worldwide tight rice supply, we can see the folly of allowing real-estate developers and big business to take over prime agricultural land without due regard for our food needs.

Right now, all we hear are stop-gap measures from the Department of Agriculture (DA) on coping with the looming food crisis. The DA assures the public of an adequate rice supply in the market, with rice production expected to reach 7 million metric tons in the first half of this year, and 10 million metric tons in the second half.

We’re also told that Philippine rice production has actually been increasing steadily in recent years. But the DA also says, in the same breath, that because of unabated population growth, the government could not resolve food-security concerns overnight.

The ironic thing is that while the Philippines is among the world’s top rice producers, it has remained a net importer of the grain. Doesn’t this tell us there’s something terribly wrong here somewhere? We shouldn’t wait for food riots that have taken place in other parts of the world to realize that we need to get our act together insofar as achieving food self-sufficiency is concerned.

All’s well that ends well.

That’s the obvious conclusion now that the Sumilao farmers and San Miguel Corp. have hammered out what appears to be a win-win solution for both sides, and we’re glad that this case highlighting the long-standing problem of agrarian reform and social injustice in this country is now over.

Returning from a conference in Mexico, I witnessed an unusual scene. An American at Cabos airport was attempting to pay for his drinks with a British 20-pound note.

I have yet to find a person who will sincerely say that he does not want to be wealthy. While there may be those who claim they prefer not to be wealthy, I really doubt that they really meant what they say.

Through the Looking Glass: Protecting pretense and privilege

Because one person sought protection from having to complete a self-ignited allegation, refusing to perfect accusations and hiding behind secrecy and privilege, we may have just inadvertently endangered the last pillar holding up our increasingly endangered democracy.

Coast-to-Coast: On rice and ODA: Fix the problem, not the blame

It is a sad commentary in our time that for every problem coming our way, the preferred and, in some instances, the only solution by people who should know better is to fix the blame, not the problem.

The Entrepreneur: No threats, please

A big mistake!

That’s the first thing that came to mind after reading reports that a member of the Cabinet had threatened to send tax examiners to private companies following the Makati Business Club’s (MBC) statement calling for the resignation of officials in connection with the controversial national broadband network (NBN)-ZTE contract.

Reflections from the Mirror: Rice prices rise

The opposition is insisting that the country is undergoing a rice crisis and that the administration is to blame for the rising prices of the different varieties of rice.