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LEADERS
and representatives of various civil society, farmers,
urban poor, labor and fishermen’s groups held the
People’s Food Summit at the UP Diliman’s School of Labor
and Industrial Relations (Solair) on Wednesday to tackle
the issue of food security and come up with an
alternative solution to the looming food crisis haunting
the Philippines.
Some 300
leaders and representatives representing around 30
advocacy groups took part in the one-day event, which
was held ahead of the food summit the government is
planning to hold.
The
People’s Food Summit aims to resolve the issue whether
there’s really food-supply shortage or simply because
the price of food is becoming unaffordable, or
both—which they blame mostly on the government’s wrong
policies or poor program implementation.
With the
theme “Hunger is Governance Crisis,” the participants
declared that the Philippine food crisis is man-made and
not a mere outcome of the global food shortages, blamed
the weak government resolve to fully implement the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and that the
working poor in the urban and rural areas are victims of
antidevelopment “free-trade” regime.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro, who
attended the event, challenged participants to come up
with the best alternative solution to the perceived food
crisis, which he said should be worked out by all its
stakeholders.
He urged
the government to listen to what the participants of the
People’s Food Summit have to say, and try to resolve the
food crisis together.
Saying
the government cannot solve the current food crisis
alone, he said both the participants and the government
should come up with a viable solution to the problem.
He said
that to prove there’s no rice-supply shortage, the
government, as well as the private sector, should
identify where the bulk of the country’s rice supply is
so that the food can be equally distributed.
The
National Food Authority (NFA), to ensure equal
distribution of NFA rice, is packing rice by the kilo.
The NFA rice distribution is being escorted by NFA
personnel to ensure that they reach their destination.
NFA rice is now being sold at a maximum of three kilos
for every buyer.
People
who want to buy affordable rice at P18.25 a kilo from
NFA rice-distribution centers are lining up. Regular and
well-milled rice is now sold between P22 and P40 a kilo,
depending on the variety.
Farmers
attending the People’s Food Summit expressed fear that
the price of rice will shoot up to P60 a kilo during the
lean months of July to September, because of price
manipulation and hoarding by the rice cartel.
The
Roman Catholic Church, through the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines, will help cushion the
impact of the food crisis and rice shortage by putting
up distribution centers in churches where consumers can
buy affordable food supply, mainly from the NFA.
The
participants declared that the least the government can
do, now that food has become unaffordable, is to
organize an emergency food and job program for the poor
and the unemployed to help them make both ends meet.
They demanded a review and a recalibration of trade and
development policies.
Summit
participants also demanded that the government show
resolve in stabilizing food prices, especially of
essential or staple food items. |
