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DESPITE
strong opposition from several sectors, a congressman
has filed a resolution seeking to grant President Arroyo
limited emergency powers to address the drought facing
agriculture.
Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Rep. Thomas Dumpit Jr. of
La Union said he filed the resolution because the
government needs to avert a possible food production
setback as farms in La Union,
Central Luzon,
Cagayan
Valley, and Ilocos continue to suffer lack of
irrigation. The Ilocos region is under a state of
calamity.
He said
water supply in Metro Manila is also in danger with the
water at La Mesa Dam having dropped to a worrying level.
“Granting the President limited emergency powers should
not be a political question at this time,” he said.
Lakas
Rep. Monico Puentevella of
Bacolod
City on the other hand warned unscrupulous businessmen
against taking advantage of the near crisis after
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap alerted the National
Food Authority to reports there are traders who had
increased NFA rice prices by P2 to P2.50 per kilo
despite the adequate supply.
Puentevella said the House will use its oversight
function to ensure the anti-profiteering law and
Consumers’ Welfare Act are followed. “We will not allow
unscrupulous traders to take advantage of the situation,
which would be to the detriment of the public.”
Dumpit
cited a report from the National Disaster Coordinating
Council that more than P52 million worth of palay and
corn have been damaged in the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley
regions. Hectarage involved were 86,060 in the Ilocos
and 41,300 in the Valley; about 200,000 farmers and farm
laborers have been displaced.
“They
even have this assessment that drought might last until
December. The country has a more serious problem than
the juicy committees being grappled [for] in a
tug-of-war [in the House],” added Dumpit.
Lakas
Rep. Mauricio Domogan of
Baguio
City
called, meanwhile, on executive branch officials to get
their act together on how to deal with the drought.
Domogan
said executive officials clearly have no common position
on the issue after Yap said he might recommend emergency
powers for the President, contradicting an earlier
declaration of Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye that it was
very unlikely the President would resort to emergency
powers to address the situation.
“The
government is giving mixed signals. That will make it
harder for legislators to believe that there is indeed a
need for additional powers against the dry spell,” said
Domogan.
He said
the Cabinet, particularly the economic team, should come
out first with a damage assessment report to guide
Congress on whether to push for emergency powers.
But
party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis said that
instead of emergency powers for the President,
Yap and other Cabinet officials can and should use all available
powers within their means to address the problem.
“If Mr.
Yap wants to put a stop to rice hoarding, then his
department should coordinate with other responsible
agencies and go after the rice cartels and hoarders and
put them behind bars. Again, President Arroyo does not
need emergency powers—she has all the authority she
needs to implement an efficient plan to address this
environmental problem and its impact on the country,”
added Beltran.
Puentebella called on government agencies, particularly
the Department of Trade and Industry, to put their price
monitoring system to full use against profiteers and
economic saboteurs. |
