|
PRESIDENT Arroyo has suspended for two years the
processing and approval of all land-conversion
applications of rice lands under Republic Act (RA) 8435,
even as the group of former senior government officials,
called the FSGO, assailed her record in rice
self-sufficiency, citing it as one of the biggest
unfulfilled promises after Edsa 2.
In
Administrative Order (AO) 226-A, the President said that
to ensure the sufficiency of rice supply in the country,
all lands used and intended for rice production must be
protected from any other land use or conversion.
She
pointed out that to “meet the needs of the increasing
number of Filipinos, there is a need for the production
of rice to be optimized to meet our local needs and
consumption.”
The
government is gearing up to attain self-sufficiency in
the staple crop in five years amid the current food
crisis sweeping across the globe.
At
present, only 90 percent of the country’s rice
requirements are locally produced and the 10-percent
supply shortfall is imported, mostly from Vietnam and
Thailand.
Not all
are impressed by the avowed move to attain rice self-
sufficiency at this point, though. In its statement, the
FSGO recalled that in her first State of the Nation
Address in 2001, “GMA promised, among many other things,
to remove the National Food Authority’s monopoly in rice
importation, and to implement the Agriculture and
Fisheries Modernization Act with its goal of rice
self-sufficiency.”
She
said, the FSGO recalled, that “she would ensure that
agriculture is funded adequately,” ticking off specific
promises: P6 billion for irrigation, P2 billion for
postharvest facilities, P2 billion for infrastructure,
P2 billion for farm loans and P2 billion for research
and development.
In fact,
to stress a determination to achieve her goals, she
said, “Starting tomorrow I will hold office at the
Department of Agriculture . . . .”
Seven
years later, however, the FSGO noted, “this rice
producing country—instead of becoming
self-sufficient—has become the world’s No. 1 importer of
rice, and the NFA continues to have a lock on rice
importation. Commercial rice prices have risen from
P17/kilogram in December 2007 to P42/kg in June 2008 in
Metro Manila, and up to P55/kg in some places in
Mindanao.
“Meanwhile, the sector has been hit by corruption
charges that have not been investigated thoroughly due
to executive stonewalling,” involving an estimated P6
billion lost to corruption.
“What
happened to all the money that was supposed to be used
to ensure rice self-sufficiency? Why does the NFA
continue to control rice importation? Is failure the
outcome to be expected when the President micromanages
an agency?” asked the ex-officials.
In
issuing AO 226-A to bar land conversions, the President
pointed out that it is the policy of the government to
“ensure that the poorer sectors of society have
equitable access to resources, income opportunities,
basic and support services, especially in areas where
productivity is low.”
The
President directed the Department of Agrarian Reform to
implement the order, which she signed July 14, 2008. |
