Rice self-sufficiency

Jeg on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 2:02 pm 



is pouring government funds into subsidizing poor-quality rice, the best way to support farmers and enable access to cheap food?

They can get organized into cooperatives (this is where govt and NGOs could come in) and eliminate the many layers of middlemen between the producers and consumers. This’ll help both farmers and consumers.

cvj on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 2:29 pm 



If we can’t get our rice production right, then we might as well convert to some other crop that can be done better. Perhaps we should look into converting to rice plantations to sugar plantations which will be an input to ethanol production. Then we just import 100% of our rice. The local farmers will get higher income, and we get better quality rice.

rego on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 2:51 pm 



I m relaly having a hard time understanding this rice issue and the poor quality of NFA rice. One of our family business is planting rice. (Kay napaselan ko sa quality ng rice at di mo ako mapapakain ng low qualiy rice. my system just cant take it).

I m very sure of this, the quality of rice that are being produced from the farms are very good. Now how did it happen that the NFA rice is not that edible? I tried it when I was in Manila its just not edible for me.

May problema ba sa storage. where did teh better quality rice go? Puro made in Thailand naman ang mga mga nandito sa America….

rego on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 3:07 pm 



6 years in america didn not change my eating habit at all. I still eat rice all the time. I would feel so weak if I dont eat rice in one day.At pakaselan ko. So how did I manage during lunch and dinner timewhen there is no Pinoy resto in the area?

I woudl order a take out at hispanic restaurant. But since I dont like their rice. I would give instruction ” No rice please”. And as soon as I got my order. I woudl head off to a chinese restaurant to order just a rice.

I do eat chinese food. Pero hindi naman pwedeng araw Beef Brocoli, Fried chicken, at lomien lagi ang kakainin ko noh

leo on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 3:30 pm 



mlq3,

Price of rice have shot up, good rice is beyond reach of the masses.Good thing people are not talking about rice revolt yet.

I thought the World Bank’s into deep self-evaluation after it became apparent that most of its impositions to developing countries cause more suffering for the poor people of the world.

cvj,
Import 100% rice requirement? If rice exporting countries suffer from drought or floods or for whatever reason decided to not to sell to save reserve for its people first, what will you do? give the Filipinos ethanol to ease the pain of an empty stomach?

rego,
Having a hard time understanding the rice issue? Poor rice farmers don’t blog, you’ll have a better chance some other way, perhaps chatting with a poor farmer, personally, that is.

Jeg on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 3:31 pm 



rego: Kaya napakaselan ko sa quality ng rice at di mo ako mapapakain ng low qualiy rice. my system just cant take it

Ang sosyal mo naman, rego.

cvj on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 3:41 pm 



Leo, if we want real food security in preparation for a world wide famine or something similar, then what we should be stockpiling on is food that can be stored for long periods of time like canned goods, freeze dried foods along with sources of water supply. That will tide us over the initial months and then we can switch our back to rice (or whatever crop can be efficiently produced).

In the meantime, wouldn’t it be better if a farmer increases his/her income by selling a product that earns more for a given piece of land? Besides, ethanol will help provide us energy security just in case the supplies of crude oil gets disrupted, or the suppliers decide not to sell or reserve it for its people first.

leo on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 3:41 pm 



mlq3, cvj,

Better to put the rice sufficiency issue in the context of Food Sovereignty.

“Food sovereignty” is a term originally coined by members of Via Campesina in 1996 [1] to refer to a policy framework advocated by a number of farmers’, peasants’, pastoralists’, fisherfolk, Indigenous Peoples’, womens’, rural youth and environmental organizations, namely the claimed “right of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems,” in contrast to having food largely subject to international market forces. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_sovereignty

Jon Mariano on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 3:43 pm 



You may not believe it but the NFA actually buys unmilled rice at a premium over what the middlemen pay and the NFA only accepts the better grade harvest. So I’m also asking why NFA sells this low quality milled rice!

I can remember very well when I was still little that we used to separate the good grain from the not so good and queue in the NFA to sell the better grain. I don’t know if the system is still the same but I bet the NFA still doesn’t buy low quality rice. Maybe the NFA imports these because it also costs lower and because nobody else want to eat them in Thailand, or Vietnam?

benign0 on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 4:08 pm 



“The real question is whether rice can only be affordable if it’s of such miserable quality, or whether the government could provide quality but affordable rice”

.
In my opinion, I think a people who are actually able to tolerate the reality of a huge swath of its urban population living and eating off mounds of garbage and wading through raw sewage during EVERY wet season need not be too picky about the quality of the rice they eat.

Manila Bay Watch on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 4:22 pm 



Read your article in Uniffors.com, Mlq3.

I’ve got a question: Of the 80 million or so Pinoys, how many of them realistically (well, more or less…) can satisfy that minimum basic food and non basic food needs?

Do they NSO people know or at least have an idea?

cvj on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 5:52 pm 



Benign0, that is another false dichotomy to your credit, (not to mention a red herring). The choice is not between eating garbage and eating poor quality rice. The issue is whether subsidies on poor quality rice is the optimal policy.

3rdson on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 6:11 pm 



ibang klase. naiintindihan ko na si mlq3 malawak ang kaalaman sa maraming bagay, pero yung mga komentarista, grabe! may opinyon sa lahat ng bagay. at kung mag-diskurso, kala mo eksperto sa lahat, maging terorismo o problema sa ekonomiya, hanggang problemang bigas!!! mga lolo, magsi-uwian na lang kayo sa pinas at dito niyo i-display yang kagalingan nyo. Dakdak kayo ng dakdak diyan, nagpapataasan lang kayo ng (hehe) Sino pinakamagaling? sino pinakamaraming alam? Sino pinaka mabilis mag google para maunang makapag cite ng kung anu-anong figures? Ano yan? Nagpapaimpress ba kayo kay mlq3? O baka wala lang kayong magawa diyan sa kung nasaan kayo? Kung wala, pwes, balik na dito!!! Baka pwede kayo magtayo ng sarili ninyong stink-tank, este thinktank pala (na-copyright ko na nga pala yung stink-tank), para may iba namang makinabang sa mga henyo ninyo.

rego on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 8:24 pm 



“rego,Having a hard time understanding the rice issue? Poor rice farmers don’t blog, you’ll have a better chance some other way, perhaps chatting with a poor farmer, personally, that is.”
——————————————————–

Leo read back my post, our family is a rice farmer themselves. What i dont understand specifcally is the is the very poor quality of NFA rice.Though I highly suspect there is storage issue problem…..

Believe me, Leo, I my father taught us how to plant rice our selves. I know very well how to operate the hand tractor and even how to command a carabao to prepare the feild for planting. And I know very well how to plant a rice dahil pag wala o kulang sa trabahador at gusto ng matapos ng tatay ko matapos yung patanim, ( he is has work on on the weekends) Kami mismo sinsabak nya sa putikan… And it was a lot fun.

rego on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 8:26 pm 



I know very well how to plant a rice dahil pag wala o kulang sa trabahador at gusto ng matapos ng tatay ko matapos yung patanim, ( he is has work on on the weekends) Kami mismo sinsabak nya sa putikan… And it was a lot fun.

—————-

I mean he has regular job on Weekdays and he is a farmer in weekends so we have to finish th efarm on weekend, And we have to go to school too.

Bencard on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 8:27 pm 



in everything, including rice, you get what you pay for. you want the best, go work for it (honestly). no short cuts, no hand-outs, no thievery, no begging. no one can have champagne on a beer budget. the important thing is that there is something available for every one to eat in order to stay alive.

Karl Garcia on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 11:11 pm 



Rego,
Nice to know that,anecdote.
Nice to hear stories of hard work, including the fun part of it. (your family)

cvj on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 11:24 pm 



3rdson, hindi maaaring ipaubaya lamang sa mga dalubhasa ang pagsusuri ng mga problemang hinaharap ng ating bayan. Bilang pangkaraniwang mamamayan, may tungkulin rin tayong makinig, umintindi, at kung maaari, magbigay linaw sa isa’t-isa base sa ating nalalaman at nararamdaman. Iyan ang dahilan kung bakit nagsisikap ako, pati na rin ang mga iilan dito na pag-aralan at pag-usapan ang mga sari-saring paksang inihaharap ni mlq3 sa kanyang blog na may kinalaman sa ating kalagayan.

Karl Garcia on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 11:45 pm 



3rd son,
I visted your blog and I don’t want to impress you. Just want to say that the title of the latest blog,insult by the dozen mas mura kesa tingi,makes me think that you have been a regular here under an different handle or name.

The pataasan ng_,you mentioned, made me thought you were tagakotta de cebu ,but naah,english speaking yun and eto hula lang baka dili sya masyado kasabot tagalog.
As benigno says,keep on guessing,but I would rather not.

3rdson on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 11:57 pm 



sabi mo, e manong jugo. matanong ko lang. sa dinami dami na ng na poste mo dito sa blog na ito, sa tinagal tagal mo nang hindi pagpapaubaya sa mga dalubhasa ang pagsusuri sa mga problem ng bayan, ni minsan ba ay mayroon kang na-achieve? pupusta akong wala pa. Siguro sa sariling cirkulo mo, meron, pero sa bayan mo? E wala ka nga dito e, diba? O kung ikaw man, nandito, alam ko na marami kang katotong komentarista na nagmamarunong tungkol sa mga isyu na nagaganap sa lupang kanila nang nilisan, mga isyu na kinakaharap ng mga taong di na nila kabayan.

pwede ba? just because you have a good life somewhere else, just because you see how those foreigners do things, di ibig sabihin may dagdag na bigat o validity ang inyong mga pinagsasabi.

kung sinsero kayong makatulong sa pilipino, uwi dito! imbis na puro kayo pagmamarunong sa internet, dito kayo magdakdak at baka may makinig pa sa inyo. wag na kayong pa-australiano o pa-canadian o pa-amerikano kuno.

3rdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:03 am 



matagal na ako nagbabasa dito, sir karl. kaya lang, di ko kaya makipagsabayan sa mga eggspert dito. kaya quiet lang ako. natawa lang talaga ako nung nakita ko na pati bigas, papatusin pa ng mga komentarista.

tabi tabi po

supremo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:03 am 



“Then we just import 100% of our rice”

From where exactly? Only the US has a surplus among rice producing countries. It only produces 8 MMT per year and exports half or 4 MMT. That is only one third of rice consumption in the Philippines (12 MMT).

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:05 am 



Seth, nabisita ko na ang blog mo. Hindi ko tuloy alam kung seryoso ka o sinusubukan mo lang ang iba’t-ibang insulto. Anyway, konting praktis pa at marami ka pang bigas na kakainin. Good luck na lang.

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:10 am 



3rd Son:
Sorry description pala ng blog mo yung insulto:cheaper by the dozen…..

yung title ng first o latest blog mo,insulto:
nasaan yung mga tips,mara maliwanagan kami.
sa mga commenter ba maggagaling o sa iyo,e di pareho lang opinion based din,unless you have a phd in insulting,and you want o have a virtual diary.

3rdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:16 am 



napakatipikal naman ng reaksiyon mo, manong jugo. hindi lahat ng tao one dimensional. sa tingin mo ba dahil yung blog ko ay tungkol sa sining ng pang-iinsulto ay wala nang katuturan ang puna ko sa mga komentarista dito? at, wala pa akong insultong pinupukol sa iyo, manong.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:16 am 



Supremo, we can also source rice from other exporters, Thailand, Vietnam and India. If 100% is not possible, then let’s just import what’s available so we can free up as much land for alternative crops.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:17 am 



seth, that’s better, konti pa siguro papasa ka na.

3rdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:21 am 



sir karl, wala pa atang doctorate sa sining ng pag-iinsulto. pero, nainspire ako ng blog na ito na i-share ang aking nalalaman sa sining na ito. lalo na yung mga panunulat ni ginoong manuel buencamino.

at dahil nga hindi pa tinuturo sa kolehiyo ang sining ng pag-iinsulto, tama ka na puro sariling opinyon ko lang ito. at least, ito ang alam ko. hindi ako nagmamarunong sa lahat ng posibleng topic.

jack of all (topics), master of none? ayoko ng ganoon.

manuelbuencamino on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:24 am 



3rdson,

Mas maganda siguro lung palitan mo amg handle mo to Turdson.

Mas madaling ma-aalala ng tao kasi mas tugma sa produkto ng utak mo.

3rdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:25 am 



saan ako papasa manong jugo? sa pag-ilag? wag kang magalala, manong. masugid kong pag-aaralan ang mga istilo mo. your kung fu is strong.

Turdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:27 am 



“Mas maganda siguro lung palitan mo amg handle mo to Turdson.” Genius! Maraming salamat, sir.

manuelbuencamino on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:31 am 



Turdson nee 3rdson,

Walang anuman.

Wala naman nagbago kundi spelling, di ba? The pronunciation and the pronouncements remain the same.

supremo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:34 am 



Turdson,

Anong ibig sabihin ng turd mo?

1) A piece of excrement.
2) Slang. A contemptible person.

Turdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:40 am 



actually, malaki ang pagkakaiba ng ‘th-urd’ sa ‘t-urd,’ maliban na lang kung hirap ka sa tunog na ‘th,’ diba brader? pero get ko ang gusto mong sabihin. yung tinutukoy mong ‘pronouncements’ naman, e hindi talaga magbabago yan. nakakatawa pa rin yung mga komentarista na kung sumulat ay kala mo eggsperto sa lahat ng topic. at least ikaw, ginoong buencamino, pinipili mo ang kokomentuhan mo. kaya nga ba saludo ako sa iyo at sa iyong acerbic wit. Naks. Ingles nanaman yun! Fruit-ang-ina. Galing talaga ng google.

Turdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:41 am 



gat supremo, ano ulit ang sinabi kong contemptible?

Amadeo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:46 am 



Some sobering thoughts on rice production and consumption.

Rice-eating but first-world Japan, laden with over 127 million people on mainly rugged terrain and located in Asia, sources about 50% of its rice importation from one state in one Western Hemisphere country – California. For its part, California sends about 50% of its rice production to Japan. For the current year, I extrapolate that the value of California’s rice production could be at US$200 million. At current rates, that is close to one billion pesos.

Isn’t this a good illustration of the principle of comparative advantage which underpins international trade?

supremo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 1:00 am 



turdson,

Walan akong sinasabi na may sinabi kang contemtible. Gusto ko lang malaman ang ibig sabihin ng ‘turd’ sa turdson mo. Nasagot mo na kaya ok na. Got it?

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 1:05 am 



seth, mabuti naman at mukhang nahikayat ka na rin na sumali sa pataasan ng ihi.

Turdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 1:14 am 



gat supremo, ah! rhetorical question pala yun. para bang “biro mo! naisip mo yun!”

manong jugo, susmaryosep! di ko kayo kaya tapatan. di hamak na mas mataas ang (uhrm!) nyo sa akin. kinakausap kasi ako ng mga amo dito. bastos namang di sumagot.

manuelbuencamino on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 1:49 am 



Turdson,

Hindi na gaano kamalaki ang diperensya as pronunciation kc tayong mga Pilipino mahilig mag pun ng taglish. Ikaw din, mawawala ang bagong handle mo kung ipagpipilitan mo yung finong pagbikas sa atin barok na pun.

Turdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 2:02 am 



yesser

supremo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 2:02 am 



cvj said
“Supremo, we can also source rice from other exporters, Thailand, Vietnam and India. If 100% is not possible, then let’s just import what’s available so we can free up as much land for alternative crops.”

There are onlt 26 MMT of rice traded each year in the world. Procuring 12 MMT (million metric tons) for the Philippines will be very expensive. The Filipinos are better off eating less rice. The next generation should be taught to eat something else like potato.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 2:19 am 



Supremo, thanks very much for that info. Given your numbers, looks like my initial suggestion of importing rice is not a good idea.

sparks on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 7:33 am 



Leo, if we want real food security in preparation for a world wide famine or something similar, then what we should be stockpiling on is food that can be stored for long periods of time… – cvj

The world produces plenty of food countries have to throw some away or ‘dump’ them in the developing world to keep their prices up. Production isn’t the problem, trade is.

I don’t see why the Philippines should have to remove government subsidies on rice altogether. Over at his blog Dave proposes diverting the funds to invest in improving local production and not just to prop up the ‘rural aristocracy.’

Isn’t this a good illustration of the principle of comparative advantage which underpins international trade? – Amadeo

When food security is tantamount to national security, tax payers, at least in rich countries, seem prepared to pay for expensive food. The US and the EU are certainly prepared to defend their subsidies (both direct and indirect) to protect their increasingly ‘efficient’ agriculture sector (i.e. small farmers are being phased out).

In an ideal world where markets are truly free, it might make sense to stop producing rice altogether, especially when it’s so expensive to grow them locally. But if 40% of our labour are still employed in the agriculture sector and there are no other industries to absorb them, then some protection should be accorded our farmers. In the Philippines the last ten years there seems to be an increasing ‘rationalisation’ of the rice industry, and middle men are being squeezed out due in part to increased competition and some traders more than willing to import illegally.

Also, if you talk to vegetable growers from Baguio, they are deploring the government’s lack of initiative to prevent entry of imports from all places China. If anything, I think the problem is that the government isn’t protecting local farmers enough.

As for the World Bank, well, the World Bank knows squat.

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 8:52 am 



3rdson,
Pasintabi po,magbibigay lang ng kurokuro….

sa iskwela simula kabataan tinuruan na tayong maging jack of trades sa pagturo ng maraming subject..ganyan hanggang colege kahit na na masteral ng kung anu ano ay little of everything pa din.

Sa yo na din ng galing ang word na one dimensional,sa tingin mo (halimbawa lang po) mabubuhay ka ba sa sining ng pang iinsulto kung walng mga ibat ibang subject,na sa sitwasyon na ganito na ang mag subject ay mga iinsultuhin.O sa kabilang banda na pwede ding subject ay mga insulto.
Di ba ang daming subjects pa din?

At lahat may karapatan magbigay ng opinyon na hindi naman lahat ay matatawg natin na insulto.

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 8:55 am 



3rd son,

ang istilo ng pagtuturo ngayon ay base sa pagkukuro kuro unti unti ng lumalayo sa memorization. Analytical at critical thinking na ang ginagamit. Kung sinasabi mong magaling ka sa pag insulto siguradong dumaan ka sa ganito istilo at uri ng pagtuturo.

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 9:01 am 



Ngayon sa topic ng kanin.

pano tayo mag kakamatinong kanin umaasa tayo sa central luzon,na madalsas bagyuhin at kundi bagyo sobrang tag tuyot. kasali na din ang sinabi ni DJB na pagbibililad sa kalye na puro asbestos,at madami factor na dumaan na sa mga ibat ibang comment thread ng blog na ito.

Now,the Mindanao option..its back to those roro ports ports again.

Rice from Thailand ends up cheaper.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 10:52 am 



I don’t see why the Philippines should have to remove government subsidies on rice altogether.Over at his blog Dave proposes diverting the funds to invest in improving local production and not just to prop up the ‘rural aristocracy.’ – Sparks

I think Dave’s point is that subsidies on rice are distorting incentives so that the farmers are discouraged from diversifying into more profitable crops. What was intended to protect the farmers ends up hurting them as well the urban dwellers.

Unless i read him wrongly, his proposal involves removing the subsidies (for price supports) and using the money instead to improving support services, infra and technologies so that the farmers will find it easier to switch to higher earning crops.

i.n.e. on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:00 pm 



“If we can’t get our rice production right, then we might as well convert to some other crop that can be done better. Perhaps we should look into converting to rice plantations to sugar plantations which will be an input to ethanol production. Then we just import 100% of our rice. The local farmers will get higher income, and we get better quality rice.”

but how come thailand get their production right? to think they learned it from irri. somewhere down–or is it up?–the production line, nobody cares about our farmers. mga jocjoc diyan, sobra na nyong nijekjek ang mga magsasaka. excuse the foul language–they deserve it anyway.

rego on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:10 pm 



in everything, including rice, you get what you pay for. you want the best, go work for it (honestly). no short cuts, no hand-outs, no thievery, no begging. no one can have champagne on a beer budget. the important thing is that there is something available for every one to eat in order to stay alive.
———————\

Of course, bencard!

But then how can government help the people with a poor quality rice? To me they re helping more the pigs than the people eh. I dont know if you tried the NFA rice. Lasang tae ng ipis at daga sya. Obviously coming from the roaches and rats in the storage.

Hey, Im not saying na Gloria specific ang quality issue na to. Becuase the last time I tried NFA rice, Gloria is not president then. But her government has the responsibilty to check the storage condition even just the taste of these cheap or free rice before giving it the people. I even believe na may health hazards eto.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:58 pm 



i.n.e., this study by the PIDS says ( www3.pids.gov.ph/ris/dps/pidsdps0513.pdf ) that it’s because Thailand simply has more land.

The country faces a major productivity challenge: there is nearly across-the-board productivity gap vis-à-vis competitor/reference countries. The rice yield in the Philippines is 1/2 of China; 7/10 of Indonesia and Vietnam; 3/4 of developing Asia average; higher than Thailand but the latter has more land. Rice yield must grow by at least two and half times higher from 2003–2020 than during the 1990s in order to ensure self-sufficiency without increasing hectarage.

Improving substantially the country’s agricultural productivity in the face of limited physical agricultural land involves not only investing in irrigation to allow for at least double cropping but also better varieties and improved farming practices through agricultural research, development, and extension (RD&E). In China and India, agricultural research and development (R&D) is the most important contributor to agricultural productivity and growth.

ishmael on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 12:58 pm 



Last week ay bumili kami ng NFA rice at ok naman ang lasa niya. Mahaba nga yung pila sa “Tindahan ni Gloria” kaya two kilos of rice per person lang ang pwede. Sabi ninyo na hindi edible ‘yung NFA, ewan ko, siguro ay hindi ko pa natsatsambahan ‘yung lasang ipis na rice na sinasabi ninyo (kung mangyari man ‘yun ay tiyak na masusuka ako).

Sa palagay ko hindi lang basta subsidyo ang dapat ibigay ng gobyerno sa mga magsasaka para masulusyonana ang krisis sa bigas. Dapat din ay siguruhin din ng gobyerno ang welfare ng mga magsasaka, gandahan ang farm to market roads, tigbakin ang mga opurtunistang middlemen para bumaba ang presyo ng bigas, at i-improve ang teknolohiya ng pagsasaka. Sa krisis na ito ay kailangan natin ng long term solutions.

3rdson on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 1:31 pm 



sir karl, mawalang galang na po, pero parang di mo ata naiintindihan ang sinabi ko. hindi ko sinabi, at mas lalo namang hindi ako naniniwala, na ang tao ay kayang mabuhay sa pang-iinsulto lamang. sus naman. ano namang klaseng ugok ang magiisip ng ganun. ang ibig sabihin nung sinulat ko tungkol sa pagiging jack of all trades ay tumutukoy sa mga taong komento ng komento sa lahat ng topic na kala mo eksperto sa lahat. ang bawat tao ay mayroong kadalubhasaan sa iilang disiplina; ngunit ang magpresenta bilang eksperto sa LAHAT (sa tulong ng google at wikipedia, no doubt) ay lubhang nakakatawa sa akin.

at wala ngang masama sa pagbibigay ng opinyon, e bakit pala pinagsasabihan ako niyan? Di ba’t opinyon din ang sa akin? Ang opinyon ko, nakakatawa ang nagbbigay ng opinyon sa lahat ng topic na para bagang bihasa sila sa lahat ng mga topic na iyon. At mas lalong nakakatawa na ang marami sa mga pumapapel na eksperto ay mga wala naman dito sa pinas. katulad ng una kong sinabi, magsiuwian na lang sila dito, nang mapakinabangan natin ang talino nila.

Kung ang insinuation ay hindi ko dapat punahin ang mga ganun (dahil nga hindi masama magbigay ng opinyon), e di siguro hindi rin ako dapat punahin (dahil nagbibigay din lang ako ng opinyon, di ba?). Ah, pero opinyon ko lang naman yan.

ginbilog on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 3:05 pm 



bato-bato sa 3rdson, ang mga tinamaan ay nagalit.:)

hvrds on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 3:24 pm 



Two questions of price support for rice farmers. When and in what lifetime has there been price supports for rice farmers to a point that will keep prices at the NFA price support level. Never!! The government cannot provide enough funding to influence the actual farm gate price of palay. Rice comes only after milling. The actual price support only extends to about 10% of palay production. The rest of a farmers production is left to a market that has been described by supply sider theologian Habito as a monopsony. A distorted market.

Whoever suggests that rice farmers get price supports for their produce must get his facts straight.

NFA rice is predominantly the 25% broken rice imported by the NFA. That is sold as ordinary rice. Anything at and/or this standard is considered fit for feed-meal for livestock and lugaw. NFA usually sell this rice to traders who then mix this with local rice to give it better look and taste.

You have the other varieties at 15% and 5% broken and the long grain fragrant rice. The best in the world is Basmati which retails for over Php 90 a kg. You will find cooked grains in this type almost a inch long.

Now as to why rice prices are high in the Philippines. That question of price information is subject to the quantity and quality of the division of labor in the country compared with out neighbors. Division of labor meaning the quantity and quality of the supply chains in the physical production and distribution of rice.

Here even the actions of the BSP has a direct relationship to the cost of production of rice via the price controls on the cost of money that the BSP imposes. That would be a long story for those that don’t know they don’t know and a short one for those who know.

Equilibrium economists refer to these as supply bottlenecks. I refer to these differences as the effects of underdeveloped supply chains starting with the four legged beast the carabao to the two legged trader that sets the farm gate prices of palay and eventually rice.

Farm gate also means FOB at farm.

The traders used to be formally known in pre-war days as the Binondo Rice Exchange. Their site was the Tutuban Rail Station.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 3:41 pm 



Now as to why rice prices are high in the Philippines. That question of price information is subject to the quantity and quality of the division of labor in the country compared with out neighbors. Division of labor meaning the quantity and quality of the supply chains in the physical production and distribution of rice.

Here even the actions of the BSP has a direct relationship to the cost of production of rice via the price controls on the cost of money that the BSP imposes – hvrds

By the above, do you mean that the BSP’s relatively high interest rates discourages business activity that is supposed to result in specialization that eventually brings lower costs? Please correct me if i’m wrong.

Jon Mariano on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 3:52 pm 



Middlemen don’t set the price, the bigger traders do. Most of these traders are Fil-Chinese. If you consider these big traders as middlemen, then middlemen set rice prices.

Jon Mariano on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 3:56 pm 



The government can help the farmers by subsidizing fertilizer prices and other farm inputs, making farm to market access roads better, making the NFA buy more from farmers.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 4:11 pm 



Jon, i have no disagreement with farm to market roads but on fertilizer subsidies, i read that Taiwan did the opposite. The government extracted the surplus from their agricultural sector to fund their industrial development. Economist Alice Amsden narrated how the government set-up a fertilizer monopoly:

The fertilizer monopoly was the key to extracting surplus from agriculture. Fertilizer was bartered for rice, and the barter ratio was highly unfavorable to farmers. The price that Taiwanese farmers paid for 100 kilograms of ammonium sulfate in 1964-65 was higher by almost 40 percent than the price that Japanese, Dutch, Belgian, American, or Indian farmers paid.

Kind of like to Coco Levy but put to better use. I think we should encourage productivity increases rather than reward inefficiency.

leo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 4:21 pm 



Sparks, I agree with your take specially on the need to inprove the kind of support farmers are gatting from government.

Ishmael, I just bought 2 Kilos NFA rice at the FTI where NFA has an Office/wharehouse. NFA retailed in the market usually come from Vietnam. In fairness, P18/k NFA rice is better than the P23/K commercial rice. GMA’s NFA rice is better than those before. Unscrupulous traders re-sack/re-pack and sell NFA rice as commercial rice at P23/k.

cvj, It’s a matter of prioritizing. As sparks said: “When food security is tantamount to national security, tax payers, at least in rich countries, seem prepared to pay for expensive food.” The lack of or ineffective support, including financial, farmers get from gov’t reflects the kind of priority it gives to agriculture. Throwing billions to ZTE BB deal and DepEd Cyber Edu in the face of a looming food (rice) crisis is tantamount to fiscal reckless imprudence leading to genocide.

ricelander on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 4:37 pm 



Something about the word “self-sufficiency”: you get all the rice you need all year round and perhaps with a little extra… but nothing else on other things.

For the farmer, it’s really a choice between having a secure supply of rice for his family for the year and a cash crop which could be sold for plenty of money if he gets lucky or which could end up rotten in the field for reason of oversupply, for example. Old farmers would rather have secure rice supply. It is the younger farmers who are taking risks. My farmer-friend relates the story of one fellow farmer who planted all of his farm with eggplant. He got lucky with a Manila-based merchant. He’s got his house renovated, bought a tractor, and a pick-up truck. Not all are lucky though.

ricelander on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 4:44 pm 



On a side note, the prevalence of diabetes in rice-eating regions are making researchers suspicious of rice as causing the disease.

But diabetes notwithstanding, I am a voracious rice eater, what the heck!

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 5:44 pm 



“But diabetes notwithstanding, I am a voracious rice eater, what the heck!”

Ditto!

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 5:57 pm 



“The government can help the farmers by subsidizing fertilizer prices and other farm inputs, making farm to market access roads better, making the NFA buy more from farmers.”

Two Words,Fertilzer Scam!

But seriously,correct me if I am over opining: fertlizer nowadays are made of manure.(i think its methane byproduct are also used for producing power),I have no idea if the farmers will buy that idea,when the scam seems to be forgotten now,but they might remember about it later.

And one more thing for Taiwan, or copying Taiwan:
We did exactly that by trying to copy their land reform program,but it seems that we were bad at copying this time around.

Jon Mariano on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 6:14 pm 



Subsidies are actually what the poor countries are complaining against the rich ones. Rich nations subsidize their farmers (not just rice farmers), why not the Philippines if it becomes an issue of national survival?

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 6:21 pm 



3rdson,

3rdson,sabi mo eh!

Pero halata namang nagbibiro lang ako ah.
Sino ba ang nabubuhay na almusal tanghalian hapunan,isali mo na nag merienda ay insulto lang.

pero paraeho lang tayng paikot ikot,eh!

Una akong nahilo,kaya surrender na ako sa yo.

At aminado ako, at sinasabi ko naman, pag pag ginagawa wa ko ah,na nag google o nag wikipedia ako(at marami pang iba dito) ah,peo ako minsan di ko na nililink ang exactong source.Bobo at ang tanga naman siguro ang babanat ng basta basta na wala man lang reference,e di lalo kaming nasupalpal at mas nagmamarunong pag ganun.
At di ako nahihiyang sabihin na madalas din masupalpal minsan,pero ok lang sa akin,wala naman nawala.

Pero sarili ko lang ang pinangangatawanan ko.

Sige,matawa ka na lang,at least hindi ka nalulungkot,di tulad ng iba.

Wag kang mahiyang ipakita ang iyong galak!

Hanggang sa muli.

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 6:32 pm 



“Subsidies are actually what the poor countries are complaining against the rich ones. Rich nations subsidize their farmers (not just rice farmers), why not the Philippines if it becomes an issue of national survival?”

Wala daw budget,at madadaggagan daw ang utang.

I attended a talk by Mr. Vistan and my economics professor,asked about subsidies.(five years ago,wala kasing nagtatanong,lahat gusto ng umuwi)

The answer was short,the government cannot give what it does not have.(Or something like that)

Pero tama ka about poor nations complaints.

Mar Roxas and Lorenzo lead a group of poor nations questioning that agri subsidies.

Kahit na mas madami ang umangal na poor nations;G8 still control the steering wheel. now, add china and India to those 8.

The Ca t on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 6:38 pm 



I was browsing all the comments and no one mentioned about rice cartel.

The issue is not who is setting the price, the question is who is influencing the price.

If you have gone to the rice producing provinces, you must have heard about rice storages that go up in smoke when all are quiet except for the mouse.

Well one, you can blame our so-called “friendly taxmen”from the NPA or from the people who do not aprove of oversupply of rice. Bad for their business.

And this is not about demand and supply. The demand will always be there since we are a rice-eating nation. It is the supply which should be controlled. And how?

One time, my friend told me about a ship laden with rice that mysteriously sunk.

Like the sugar commodity, cheap rice is being smuggled at the back door. To bring the rice to the destination, they’re loaded in high speed boats. Our Patrol Boats. Some of them mysteriously run out of gas.

What happens to our rice? They’re being exported. Philippines ranked number eight in world rice production.
http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-most-rice-producing-countries.html
And hey we got the best varieties. Thailand just bought that Milagrosa variety from the Philippines long time ago.
And they use that as brand for the rice exports to US.

So how come we don’t see rice-from-the-Philippines brand in the market.

Because in this world of business, there is what you call wholesaling and repacking with branding left to repackers.

Just like the controversial chopsticks produced in Vietnam, exported to China and Taiwan in their raw forms. The repacking with the Chinese brand make consumers think that it originated from China.

cvj on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 6:43 pm 



And one more thing for Taiwan, or copying Taiwan: We did exactly that by trying to copy their land reform program,but it seems that we were bad at copying this time around. – Karl

That’s because our elite was not as serious as the Chinese Nationalists fled to Taiwan after Mao defeated them in the Mainland. What’s left of the Chinese warlords were afraid of a similar peasant uprising in Taiwan so they got serious with land reform, finishing the program in just four years (from 1949 to 1953). That plus the fact that their job was easier because they distributed lands previously owned by the Japanese colonizers and the local landed elite of Taiwan, not their own.

Leo, i agree that we can do without ZTE type corruption. However, my point of contention is between sticking to rice or switching to other crops that will help the farmer earn more per area cultivated as what Ricelander described above. But then again, maybe we shouldn’t give up yet on increasing productivity when it comes to rice.

Bencard on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 8:30 pm 



hi, rego, sorry hindi ko nabasa kaagad yung reaction mo sa comment ko na one gets what he can afford, including the quality of rice. actually, i was affirming your personal example of how your family gets to eat high quality rice by producing it yourselves (even though your father has a regular job in addition to farming). too bad, in pinas, unlike here in the u.s.,we don’t have food stamps for the poor, or cash aid from ssi, which one can use to get the best kind of food that every other family is eating.

when every pinoy becomes economically self-sufficient (except for the really kuripot) there will be no demand for rice that taste like “tae ng ipis o daga”. it will just be discarded as unfit for human consumption.

Karl Garcia on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 9:32 pm 



“I was browsing all the comments and no one mentioned about rice cartel”

I believe HVRDS did,dahil manahba siguro post nya na overlook mo Ms. Cat Cath..at pre war pa ang binaggit nya binondo rice traders.

“Just like the controversial chopsticks produced in Vietnam, exported to China and Taiwan in their raw forms. The repacking with the Chinese brand make consumers think that it originated from China.”

We still do it in the elctronic business ma’am,Texas instruments and Intel etc.

Before ma’am,as you may recall we produce barbie dolls from mattel and still have the made in USA tag.

Toyota production techniques ma’am,some came from pinoy workers through its Kaizen philosophy.

In short Ms. Cat Cath,KOREK!

*******************
“That’s because our elite was not as serious as the Chinese Nationalists fled to Taiwan after Mao defeated them in the Mainland. What’s left of the Chinese warlords were afraid of a similar peasant uprising in Taiwan so they got serious with land reform, finishing the program in just four years (from 1949 to 1953). That plus the fact that their job was easier because they distributed lands previously owned by the Japanese colonizers and the local landed elite of Taiwan, not their own.”

If that is the case then abolish DAR and land reform,altogether.

Di naman mawawala ang rich and powerful elite,unless we move back a century and a half and replan our revolution,and stop the US Hispanic war not in Manila bay but in Cuba.. and make the US a non entity.

AS IF.

Even with the rise of the middle class,is it still about the peasants and the elite?

What is this philosophy? I am not criticizing you cvj,it seems many have this kind of midset.

Even world wide, where the poor nations complain of agri subsidies of the rich, and not even the combined number of poor nations can do anything but just complain.

supremo on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 10:23 pm 



Rice self-sufficiency is overrated. What did Filipinos eat during WW 2? I think most eat corn and cassava. So stop this addiction to rice. Let’s raise a generation who eats less rice. Let farmer’s plant high value crops.
Forget land reform. Just impose the corporate tax on land holdings bigger than 5 hectares. Higher if the land is left idle. Impose a land inheritance tax too.

Bencard on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 10:55 pm 



supremo, i think the only way to accomplish that (if it can be done at all), is to institute draconian measures to make production of rice unlawful (like hash-hish). lol..while we are at it, we can condition our kids to eat bread and cake, from other kinds of cereals, as soon as they are able to take solid food. rice-eating is not uniquely filipino. the whole world does it, some nations (particularly asians) more than others.

i say, improve the economy, attain self-sufficiency, and let everyone eat what he/she pleases. right MB?

The Ca t on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 11:34 pm 



I believe HVRDS did,dahil manahba siguro post nya na overlook mo Ms. Cat Cath..at pre war pa ang binaggit nya binondo rice traders.

Oh yeah I read that, but he did not mention about the role of the RICE Cartel to the supply and pricing of this basic commodity.

The Ca t on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 11:51 pm 



We still do it in the elctronic business ma’am,Texas instruments and Intel etc.

Before ma’am,as you may recall we produce barbie dolls from mattel and still have the made in USA tag.

For electronic products, the subcontracting of the parts of a finished is entirely different story from REPACKING.

Texas instruments and other integrated chips manufacturing supply the materials requirements of the electronic products such as computer, TV and other gadgets.

The purpose of the subcontracting is of course cheap labor since IC production is labor intensive mostly done by women. Another is not to put all eggs in one basket. So if one supplier from SIngapore can not make the grades for a particular batch, the suppliers from the Philippines may be able to deliver.

The assembly is done in one country like Malaysia or Indonesia or USA. But they still disclose in the box of the products that although assembled in USA, components are manufatured in another country.

These days, all those which are made in China are labelled so, even if it is for USA like Mattel. So they can identify where it is produced. When safety becomes an issue, they can easily trace who the culprits are like
the toys’ recall.

The rice and chopsticks retailing are separate issues. One is that it requires land use and natural resources depletion.

Chopsticks come from bamboo trees. Some countries like Taiwan and Japan have limited space for growing plants for material sourcing.

There is a need for vast tracts of land to produce rice.
So it is different when a First World Country would like to keep trade secrets by cannibalizing the production of its products components and distribute that among countries.

Bencard on Fri, 7th Sep 2007 11:59 pm 



3rdson, hindi ko na lang sana papansinin ang iyong pagpula sa mga may opinyon sa ibat-ibang paksa dito pero sa palagay ko ay may pagka-ingit na nilalaman ang iyong komentaryo. ano ba naman ang masama kung magsiwalat ng opinyon ang sinuman na may pagkaka intindi, sang-ayon ka man o hindi? di ba kaya tayo may tinatawag na “liberal education” upang matuto tayong gumamit ng tamang pag-iisip at pagsusuri ng ibat-ibang bagay? kung meron kang taliwas na kuro-kuro, bakit di ka makipagpalitan ng katwiran sa halip na mag-insulto?

tutuo, maroon tayong mga espesyalista sa larangan ng medicine, economics, engineering, law at iba pang disiplina ngunit hindi natin maipagkakaila na ang mga taong ito ay may sapat na inteligensya na makaunawa ng iba pang larangan ng buhay. kung limitado ang iyong pang-unawa, sori ka na lang pare.

supremo on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 1:27 am 



‘On a side note, the prevalence of diabetes in rice-eating regions are making researchers suspicious of rice as causing the disease.’

Good news for rice eating Filipinos. Darak is good for you!

“Supplementing a diet with stabilised rice bran could help reduce blood sugar levels in people suffering from type I and type II diabetes, according to recent research from the US.”

3rdson on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 1:42 am 



manong bencard, tama ka. inggit na inggit ako sa inyo. ang tatalino nyo kasi, at very entertaining. at ang inyong mga kuro kuro ay ang matatawag kong cyber-equivalent ng mga kwentong barbero.

at oo nga. nalulungkot nga ako na limitado ang aking pag-unawa. tanggap ko yun. kaya nga di ako sumasabat dito pag hindi ako kinakausap. at least, di ba, di ako nagpapanggap na may alam.

at siyanga pala. bakit affected ka? siguro, in your heart of hearts, alam mo na nahagip kita. otherwise, yung pini-preach nyo ni sir karl sa akin na wag kong pakialaman yung opinyon ng iba (maliban na lamang kung may taliwas ako na opinyon) siguro maiaaply mo rin sa akin. kung di ka naniniwala sa mga sinasabi ko, e di wag mo ko pansinin.

at sir karl, pasensya na kung sa tingin mo e nasagasaan din kita.

supremo on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 1:48 am 



bencard, maybe it’s easier to just ask the farmers to plant hashish instead of rice. It’s definitely a ‘high’ value crop.

rego on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 4:01 am 



Bencard,

Im persistent on the storage angle of the rice issue because I thinking that this will be the key to stabilize the rice supply. I was thinking that, rice farmers can produce tons and tons of rice but if the government doesn’t know how to store them . Eh di wala rin.

I thought that to stabilize the rice supply, there must be something like a “buffer”. That will cover for supply crisis caused by storms or other calamities. And to have that “buffer”, storage technology is very important.

But then there’s Ca T comment on the rice cartel, NPA, export s and repacking. I believe this factors contibutes a lot to the problem. I have been looking looking for rice that is made Philippines everytime I go to Cosco. Now with CaT’s comment there I must have been buying rice that has been produced in the Philippines but was repacked in Thailand or China.

But then there is Ca T comment about the rice cartel and repacking that some how filled i

Bencard on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 4:08 am 



3rdson, aba’y huwag kang ma-inggit. wala kang mapapala diyan. mag aral at magsikap ka at hayaan mong mahubog ang iyong murang kaisipan. tapos, sumali ka dito at magbigay ng makabuluhang kuro-kuro. at i’yong blog mo na pang-insulto, sino naman ang masochista na maga-aksaya ng oras duon?

BrianB on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 5:09 am 



“The beauty in carnage can only be appreciated, if seen through an artistic eye. There is no glamour in the slaughter of the innocents; but there is honor and verve in obliterating oppressive blocks to evolution.” – Fusion

rego on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 5:16 am 



Karl,

I agree with Ca T, repacking of rice and microchips is entirely different. I saying this as a former Senior Package Quality and Reliability of Intel Philippines before coming here.

The term “repacking” is never used in the semiconductor industry. The term is simply “package” which is exactly my expertise in Intel. And it refers to the encapsulaion ( by a polymer material or substrates) of the microchips after it is assembled to form a complete circuit.

A microchip come comes in different package. Six years ago ther Small Outline Package (SOP), Thin Small Outline Package (TSOP) and other vararition of SOP. But before i left Intel U used to handle the micro Ball Grid Array ( uBGA) package for cellphone micro chip. Type of package is highly dependent on where the microchip will be used. Pentium and Core dous has entirely diffrent package from the flash memory devices or microchip used on cellphones.

So Texas Instruments and Intel in the Philippines are actually assembly plants of the microchips they produced in the US. Intel has other assmebly plants in Shanghai China and in Penang Malaysia. And the products that came out from these diffrent assembly plants should be excatly the same in quality and reliability. This is done through a Copy Exactly Program. And Package quality and reliability sits in a Change Control Board to make sure that any change in one assembly plant is implemented on all assmebly plants. Hence the assembly environment and conditions in all asembly plant is exactly the same producing a exactly the same product.

That means you can never tell which one came from the Cavite or Shanghai or Penang. So there is no way that China can print their name on the package of microchip. The only way to trace the the assembly plants is thropugh tracebility number. Which solely used in case a customer ccomplained of a defective product. That way the Package quality and reliability engineer of the affacted asembly plant can do failure and root cause analysis.

rego on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 5:24 am 



So all the only word that appears on every package of a microchip is “INTEL” the other marcking is traceability number.

rego on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 5:42 am 



Karl,

I agree with Ca T, repacking of rice and microchips is entirely different. I saying this as a former Senior Package Quality and Reliability of Intel Philippines before coming here.

The term “repacking” is never used in the semiconductor industry. The term is simply “package” which is exactly my expertise in Intel. And it refers to the encapsulaion ( by a polymer material or substrates) of the microchips after it is assembled to form a complete circuit.

A microchip come comes in different package. Six years ago ther Small Outline Package (SOP), Thin Small Outline Package (TSOP) and other vararition of SOP. But before i left Intel U used to handle the micro Ball Grid Array ( uBGA) package for cellphone micro chip. Type of package is highly dependent on where the microchip will be used. Pentium and Core dous has entirely diffrent package from the flash memory devices or microchip used on cellphones.

So Texas Instruments and Intel in the Philippines are actually assembly plants of the microchips they produced in the US. Intel has other assmebly plants in Shanghai China and in Penang Malaysia. And the products that came out from these diffrent assembly plants should be excatly the same in quality and reliability. This is done through a Copy Exactly Program. And Package quality and reliability sits in a Change Control Board to make sure that any change in one assembly plant is implemented on all assmebly plants. Hence the assembly environment and conditions in all asembly plant is exactly the same producing a exactly the same product.

That means you can never tell which one came from the Cavite or Shanghai or Penang. So there is no way that China can print their name on the package of microchip. The only way to trace the the assembly plants is thropugh tracebility number. Which solely used in case a customer ccomplained of a defective product. That way the Package quality and reliability engineer of the affacted asembly plant can do failure and root cause analysis.

Jon Mariano on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 7:21 am 



Cat, the stat you gave was for 2001. Hindi na accurate iyan.

But the other thing that has not been answered yet is where does the “mabantot” rice sold by NFA comes from? Are they really still selling that? (I had my own experience with that a long time ago). Where does the “good rice” NFA buys go? Is it really as what the Cat has said, it being exported?

That’s unlikely because if you look at this link from the inquirer, we are actually buying…a lot!

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=87392

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 8:43 am 



***********************************************
Ms. Cat Cath,

Thank you so much, for the explanation.

I know very well,that I can get a clearer answer from you.

(I appreciate your corrections and corrections from others as well,kung walang papansin,mas magmumukha naman akong tanga na mabubuhay sa maling akala.)
********************************************

CVJ,
May I add, that some intended beneficiaries of land reform sold the land that was given to them,back to the hacienderos,because,they can’t maintain or don’t want to own it or from some other reason.

scratch my question about the elites,let us just put it this way I was just thinking aloud.
*****************************************
Rego: re: storage
Individually using silos is out of the question for the poor farmer,and if they form a group just to build a common silo,then magkakagaulo at magkakagulangan yan panigurado. Unless there is a cheaper means of storage that will withstand the elements,maybe its time for the pinoy inventor to invent one.

If the target of our inventors can be for the poor,then they can stand alone. The one invented the prefab wires for construction,can be an example. ang problem nung una big construction nya prinesent ang invention nya, ang problema naman,lima lang ang tao niya at kailangan yata ng robot para ma makaproduce ng madami,pero tatargetin na lang daw nya ang small time construction companies and make do with what he has.

nic on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 8:45 am 



food staples such as rice and wheat will increasingly become expensive as agri lands convert to corn to supply insatiable appetite for energy vis a vis ethanol.

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 8:53 am 



Wala yun 3rdSon,

Sinasabi ko lang na ako din nag google at wikipedia,at internet research. At isa pa,kung baga parang mga kapatid ko na sila dito ,sa tagal ng pinagsamahahan namin dito kahit sa name basis lang.Yung iba nga almost two years na like CVJ and Cat cath,Jon,Anna,DJB etc.

Mag enjoy ka na lang sa “kwwentong barbero” at “usapang lasing” at kwentong “tapos basa dyaryo” at “kinig am radio” namin.

i.n.e. on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 10:07 am 



doesn’t the kwentong barbero or kutsero or basurero measure even more accurately the pulse of the crowd?

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 10:53 am 



INE,

OO nga, bakit kailangan itong pagtawanan at maliitin na kwentong kutsero lang yan.

Pero yung literal na usapang lasing,di kasali sa pulso o boses ng masa yun.Pero pwede din, yung iba nga nagpapatayan pa kahit mag best friend.

3rdson on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 11:32 am 



manong bencard,kala ko ba to each his own? hahaha. grabe, i think i hurt your widdle feelings. at ang mga kuro-kuro mo ba makabuluhan? naku. meron dito na tunay na makabuluhan ang mga sinusulat. ikaw, puro ka rhetorical questions. puro ka paninira sa pilipino. ok din lang naman yun. pero wag mo lang lokohin ang sarili mo na may sense ang pinagsasabi mo. pero, sige lang, ‘nong. tuloy mo lang ang kwentong barbero mo. aba’y sumulat ka pa ng isang libretta, at maglagay ka ng kopya sa bawat kwarto sa lahat ng hotel, baka may maniwala sa mga haka-haka mo. tapos, bigla kang magigising! panaginip lang pala.

at ang kwentong barbero, i.n.e., sa tingin ko ay over-rated bilang pulso ng bayan. ang kwentong barbero, kung tutuusin ay ang pagsisikap ng mga taong hanapan o gawaan ng eksplanasyon ang mga bagay-bagay na di nila lubos na naiintindihan. para bagang mga bulag na nagde-describe ng elepante. wala namang masama sa kwentong barbero dahil, katulad rin nung mga bulag, ang bawat obserbasyon o opinyon ay may sariling validity bagaman hindi kumpleto dahil hindi nga hindi tine-take into consideration yung big picture. Hindi yung kwentong barbero per se ang pinagtatawanan ko. Ang pinagtatawanan ko ay yung mga taong masyadong sineseryoso ang mga sarili nila. sa sobrang bilib sa sariling boses, lahat kailangan komentuhan, kahit na wala naman talagang maikokontribute, para lang magtunog magaling. tulad ni bencard.

leo on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 12:33 pm 



Jon M.,

Kausap ko taga-NFA, what we have now is from Vietnam. Sinubukan ko. P18/k NFA is better than P23/k commercial rice.

Maraming anomalya sa NFA like authority to import cornered by cartel. NFA has sole discretion over rice importation. DA sa production.

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 2:27 pm 



Rego,Cath

Thanks, I Stand corrected!what was i thinking,mixing up those two,but I get the point.

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 2:34 pm 



Rego,
Thanks for the info about the microchip,which happens to be still the top export in the Philippines.

Thanks again.

cvj on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 3:23 pm 



Ca T, you’re observation regarding the rice cartel (which i believe is what hvrds referred to as a ‘monopsony’) smuggling rice out (for export) is very relevant in the sense that it shows that businessmen get bigger returns selling overseas than to the domestic market. Why the need to smuggle out? Is this because Philippine rice is too ‘high quality’, meaning it is at the high-end of the rice varieties that the local market cannot afford to pay for such quality? Or is there something (e.g. government regulations) that is keeping the local price low or the costs high (e.g. cost of transport) hence there is no incentive to sell domestically?

Taking your description together with hvrds’, the picture is that high quality Philippine rice is smuggled out (aka exported) while lower quality (‘broken’) rice is imported by the NFA (according to Leo also controlled by a cartel). Leo, how does the cartel make money on the importation?

Anyway, if Ca T is right about the rice cartel smuggling rice out, and if Nic’s prediction that the prices of staples (including rice) will increase as they are crowded out by corn for ethanol production, then we should expect outward smuggling of rice to increase along with NFA imports. The cartels make money at both ends.

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 3:54 pm 



Cvj,

With Cartels,monopsony oligopoly, I can see clearly now why you keep mentioning the elite.

In addition,naisip ko na maganda naman siguro ang buhay mo sa singapore at napapaginhawa mo naman ang buhay ng mag relatives mo sa Pinas,kaya naisip ko ano ba ang problema ni cvj,sa elite?

Tapos naisip ko din na gawing halimbawa ang pamilya namin,kahit na di naman naghihirap,ay marami pa ding kaming kamag anak sa Quezon(father side) na naghihirap.Ang iba nga nag NPA dati eh.Baka ikaw lang ang nakikita ko at siguro me dahilan na di ko na kailangan pang malaman,kaya medyo nagtataka ako,sa pagpuna mo sa elite.

Devilsadvc8 on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 6:52 pm 



how do u kill trolls?

a. you stick a wand up their noses
b. you levitate its club over its head and let it drop
c. refuse to feed the friggin thing

well, whatever the answer is, im sure everyone will get the hint… *wink*

The Ca t on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 7:32 pm 



Jon,

I omce borrowed the hard copy of the Top Ten of Everything by Russel Ash for 2007. This is updated every year. Philippines is between 5 and 8 among the top ten in 2006.
http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/3419340/The-Top-10-of-Everything-2008/Product.html

One more interesting stat is about the top ten countries with the highest remittances from migrant workers.

Nah, not the Philippines.

It’s China, India, Mexico and Spain which many people think do not have ofws around the globe.

Sure, Philippines is among the top ten.

cvj on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 7:47 pm 



Karl, your question deserves a blog entry. The short answer is that i believe elitism and the elite mindset is incompatible with modern society.

The Ca t on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 7:55 pm 



cvj,

I did not say smuggling out. I meant smuggling in, cheaper rice. Cheaper because it is “exempted” from taxes and other importation fees.

The purpose. For supply control.

I do not agree that the rice cartel is synonymous to monosopny. In the latter, there is only one buyer for many sellers.

Rice farmers do not sell to one buyer only.

But rice cartel controls the FLOW of SUPPLY to the market.

Why do some rice tastes yucky. Because they have been stored for a long time, only to be released from the warehouse at the right time and right place. The farmers can not afford to hoard. Their produce are already for payment to their advances from the 5-6 operators.

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 8:23 pm 



Cvj,
Copy !

Ms. Cat,

I am inclined to to agree that hoarding can be the reason for the rice that tates yucky, over storage can be a logical reason,why it might be pest infested,and what ever infestation there is..

Cvj,
PS.

lubog sa utang na mga farmers can also be a reason why land reform failed.

Will check on your blog,from time to time. re:elitism.

KarlGgarcia on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 8:47 pm 



“Devilsadvc8 :
how do u kill trolls?

a. you stick a wand up their noses
b. you levitate its club over its head and let it drop
c. refuse to feed the friggin thing

well, whatever the answer is, im sure everyone will get the hint… *wink*”

If the host of this blog would be so strict, ilan na lang siguro ang natirang commenter dito.

Pasalamat tayo,we were never called trolls,because any body can be one,in any given day.

bogchimash on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 9:52 pm 



Rice and diabetes:

Rice and potatoes are rich sources of insulin. Load up on these and the body will have no exercise in breaking down sugar on its own.

As a person ages and the ability to absorb insulin from food diminishes, his system must compensate. If it was never used to the job, starting late in life might be too late.

Some are fortunate to have bodies that are genetically wired to produce good amounts of insulin even without the practice. Others will just have to deal with diabetes, sometimes even from birth.

The diabetes that I am zeroing in is the type that is due to insulin deficiency. Apparently, inability to use it despite having ample amounts in the body is also diabetes. Nonetheless, for both cases, the blood thickens which leads to multiple organ failure. Everything is affected. In extreme cases, sugar would crystallize like shards of glass or coats of plastic on parts of the body.

A good advice perhaps is to lessen rice and potato consumption if one is not sure of his natural insulin producing abilities. There may also be some wisdom in not denying outright the children’s craving for sweets that they love so much. Let them enjoy it while they can in moderation. It could be an exercise in breaking down sugar.

Of course, prior to embarking on any health program, you best have yourself checked first.

Pilipinoparin on Sat, 8th Sep 2007 11:37 pm 



“Why do some rice tastes yucky. Because they have been stored for a long time, only to be released from the warehouse at the right time and right place.”…per cat

Sang-ayon ako sa sinabi ni Cat. May maliit din kaming tubigan at tuwing anihan ay ibinebenta ang iba at nagtitira laang si Tatay ng sapat sa amin hanggang sa susunod na anihan. Ito’y iniimbak na palay sa mga sako, ibibilad tapos ipapakiskis kada linggo o buan ayon sa aming konsumo. Habang natagal, nag-iiba ang lasa ng bigas kaya minsan ibinebenta na rin iyong masama ang lasa at nabili kami ng bagong ani sa ibang lugar.Noon iyon, palagay ko pareho pa rin ang nangyayari sa mga nakaimbak na palay o bigas.

Gaya ng iba dito sa forum, wala pa nga akong nakitang bigas galing sa RP, madalas galing sa Thailang at ang pangalan pa nga ng iba ay “milagrosa”. Obserbasyon ko ito sa oriental stores, Sams, wal mart or Costco, west coast, midwest or east coast, walang Pilipinong bigas.

3rdson….Relax ka laang bok, sa experience ko dito sa forum ni Manolo, may kabuluhan ang mga sinasabi nila dito. Marami rin akong natutunan kahit na karaniwan ay hindi ako sang-ayon kay Bencard, malaman ang mga posts niya dito, iba nga laang ang side niya sa amin nila MB. Kani-kanyang diskarte laang iyan igan. We still have FREE PRESS in RP. At saka bakit baga’t napakainit mo sa mga Pilipinong nagsisikap na tumulong sa ating bayan kahit man laang sa panulat, sa diskursong gaya dito? You don’t have to be on the ground to be able to help our kababayan. At tanu si Bill Gates nakatira sa Africa? At ikaw , ano na ang ginawa mo diyan? Huwag mo na laang sabihin abay, de naman namin kailangan ay! Ang sa akin ay, gumawa tayo ng kahit anong kaya natin para makatulong, hindi naman kailangang ibandilyo sa iba kung ano iyon, sapat nang makatulong tayo sa nangangailangan.

Pilipinoparin on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 12:46 am 



“Rice and potatoes are rich sources of insulin. Load up on these and the body will have no exercise in breaking down sugar on its own.

As a person ages and the ability to absorb insulin from food diminishes, his system must compensate. If it was never used to the job, starting late in life might be too late.” by bog…

I am not sure about the above information. What I know based on latest papers I have read…rice and potatoes are rich sources of carbohydrates. Insulin is not absorb from food, it is an enzyme from pancreas and if you have type I DM, insulin injection would help. Insulin for a long time came from animal pancreas but the latest ones are manufactured in the laboratories. Insulin helps in sugar metabolism. Basic knowledge of this is explained by Krebs Cylce ( remember Biochemistry I?)

“In extreme cases, sugar would crystallize like shards of glass or coats of plastic on parts of the body.” by bog…

Not sure about this statement. Not seen any of these plastic or crystal sugars in several autopsies even in extreme case of DM, nor in morbid obesities. Whatever organ or artery you examine, marco or micro, you will not find sugar crystals. Even biochemical studies won’t prove this. What you will see are cholesterol deposits mostly in the coronaries and big arteries, aorta, carotid,femoral, popliteal.This of course is related to altered lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism due to DM ( lack of insulin or altered insulin metabolism).

bogchimash on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 2:20 am 



Pilipinoparin,

That is how I remembered the doctor explained it to us when a relative passed away. Obviously, he was trying to put things within our grasps.

To save everybody from searching through google, maybe you can share what you think he was trying to explain.

The disease runs in my family. Your info would be much appreciated.

rego on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 2:40 am 



Karl,

You’re welcome.

Oh one more thing the precise term is IC ( integrated circuit) not mircochips.

Micro chip is the export of the US. Intel bring it to the Philippine in a wafer form to be asembled in to an integrated circuit (IC)

So the top export of the Philippines is ICs. And yes this has been the case even before I left.

The Ca t on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 4:35 am 



I am a diabetic and my nutritionist recommended brown rice which tastes (sa totoo lang parang bato).

Rice and potatoes are rich with carbohydrates which turn into sugar. Glucose. When blood glucose is high (blood sugar)the body becomes resistant to insulin or the insulin production of the body diminishes.

For Type 1 diabetic, the only treatment available is insulin injection. For Type 2 diabetic like me, it is the gulping of pills that would give me lipids and other blood sugar regulating squares, round and sometimes elongated expensive pills the rest of your life. The medications however conflict with one another esp. if you have other illness such as heart and high blood pressure.

So the first thing that a nutritionist would tell a diabetic is to cut on rice and starches as noodles, pastas and potatoes.

However, not all rice-eating people get diabetic. The disease is also genetic.

So eat healthy, eat less rice and don’t make the cartel richer.

Vince on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 7:08 am 



…All I know is that the beggar with an open wound at his left elbow at the stairs of UN Avenue MRT Staton is hungry right now, that not even a pack of instant noodles can be bought. I feel helpless everytime I see him; and this morning again…

tikimusic on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 7:25 am 



There are related problems to consider. For example, food prices have gone up worldwide because of increasing demand from China and other countries. Also, several months ago, the grain industry was severely affected by drought. We might also have problems with water irrigation and pollution.

These are the general problems that we will face:

1. peak oil (already peaked in 2005);

2. fresh water shortage (mentioned by some international groups a decade ago);

3. epidemics (due to antiobiotic abuse, global warming, etc.);

4. global warming/dimming (already discussed by various international groups);

5. war (increase in arms production, more conflicts during the twentieth century, deadlier and cheaper weapons);

6. overpopulation (movement to urban areas, from developing to developed nations);

7. global credit crunch and related financial problems.

These problems will affect each other. And never mind comets or meteors; those will be remote compared to the ones listed above.

Karl Garcia on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 8:10 am 



Rego,

Re:IC
I know, IT graduate din naman kahit papano,(Comsci) undergrad ko.

You left Intel 2001, me nakakalse ako Eli Ferrer around that time kasi 2001 ako nag start mag MBA. At may neighbor ako before Arnold Suratos. Alam ko malaki Intel at di lahat magkakilala, baka sakali lang.

Karl Garcia on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 8:55 am 



Rego,
IC vs. Microchip

nagkulang na naman ako sa think first before you type.

IC nga ang number one export.Yun nga lang ang daming kelangang isource na imports para makabuo tayo ng finished product bago maexport.
Ty ulit.

*******************************8

Rice as source of insulin?

depende na yata yan sa nag experiment and sino ang nag finance ng lab study.

Baka wholegrain rice,like wholewheat bread. Tulad ng sinabi ni Cat brown rice.

White rice eaters tayo eh. Ako white rice pero bread whole wheat…(wala din)

Yung aBS bitter herbs nga eh. tatlong doctor na natanong ko ok lang daw,mas madami naman ang kumontra (especially the endocrinologists and the cardio doctors).

pati yata wellness subjective eh,kaya nauso yung second opinion hanggang me pang bayad.
**********************************

Yung sa mag nabanggit na incoming na crisis.

Powe crisis dahil wala pa tayong bagong plant at sa mga gusot ng epira law.halo mo n adyan ang mga ibat ibang alphabet soup acronyms.

Water crisis dahil ayaw din tanggapin ang mga offer tulad ng wawa dam sourcing(neal cruz ,PDI) sa Luzon.

Peak oil,seventies pa me peak oil na daw. Kaya nga ang daming sine na nakimbento na sila ng paraan na gawing fuel ang tubig nung seventies.(The Formula,Marlon Brando?,et al)

Israel has a desalination technology,mahal siguro.

War:already happening
abuse antibiotics:already happening
global warming:already had an OSCAR

rego on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 10:14 am 



Yes Karl, I know one Eli Ferrer, is TSOP Process Engineer during that time. ..

Suratus? haven’t met him.

The thing is I spent almost all my 5 years Intel Makati. It was only only in my 6th year that i was relocated to Cavite. Cavite is such a huge asembly plant and Intle Philippines is such a big company. So you’r right its impossible to know everyone…

About the raw materials for IC manufacturing, you’re almost all of them are imported. I was a Supplier Quality engineer in Amkor for a year before joining Intel. Ang naganda dito. You got a lot of travel abroad to audit the suppliers…

Karl Garcia on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 10:54 am 



Rego,
Ne enjoy mo naman pala ang perks at nasulit mo.

Matanong ko lang,ganyan pa din ba (IC/semicon)ang pinagkakaabalahan mo dyan?pag offensive ang dating ng tanong ko,no need to answer.

hvrds on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 12:52 pm 



One of the most powerful arguments of Milton Friedman about free markets, this from the guy that helped in formulating the withholding tax on income, is this. There is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program. This program on withholding tax was done during the war years. It was supposed to be temporary

Friedman also said that he believed that men’s needs are limitless and there should be no regulations to limit the production of goods and services as long as there is demand for it. Drugs, prostitution and even drivers licenses should not be regulated. He even was against licensing professionals. In essence the basis for markets would be “let the buyers beware.”

Someone once wrote that the toughest thing to do is to think. However reactionary markets could be a hell of a teacher.

In light of the utter failure of governance here, the ideology of free markets will be acceptable only if the entire division of labor including the power to print money (issue credit) be made entirely free without government intervention. Currency exchange markets would be made entirely convertible and truly free and floating.

That means the BSP governor and his board would be looking for jobs. Like it was during the gold exchange standard. The era of free banking.

All bankers had powers and were accountable and responsible to their depositors. When they screw up there was no central banks to bail them out. They usually ran away.

In that vein I believe that everyone person who earns should have a choice as to the rice he wants to purchase.
Drop all protection to importations and impose only minimal excise taxes. Abolish income taxes. Downsize government. Education should be left to the discretion of families and communities. Allow communities to organize their own citizen police. Private security guards will take over.

Allow people the right to own firearms. In other words move to a state where government is reduced to a minimal state.

In China, a collective runs the nations state. They have no independent judiciary, no free media and no electoral accountability.

In the Philippines we have perceptively a corrupt (market based) judicial system, a perceptively corrupt (market based) media and a perceptively corrupt (market based) electoral process.

China is making headway economically while we who pretend to be a democracy are spinning in our wheels. We actually have an electoral autocratic process.

Can you imagine what would happen to landlords when they impose an unfair sharing process with farmer tenants? Guns in the hands of both sides would serve to impose a fair and equitable sharing of labor. The same with relationships between capital and labor. The CPP-NPA would become redundant and obsolete.

Case in point was the Homestead Steel Strike and the Kansas Coal Mine Strike. It was a mini-civil war. More than anything the Homestead strike affected Andrew Carnegie and he sold out his interest to J.P. Morgan and Carnegie’s steel mills became the basis for U.S. Steel. The same thing could be said for the crisis in agriculture prices in the 30’s. Prices collapsed due to a surplus and this happened also during bouts of drought. However these events more than anything laid the foundation for Roosevelt’s New Deal in later years.

Imagine thousands of displaced farmers marching to Manila from all points of Luzon by the thousands. Imagine them armed. The troubles in Mindanao are a microcosm of that reality.

The entire troubles of this country lies at the roots of agrarian unrest still unresolved over asset reform. The term land reform is a misnomer. Until we free the tiller from bondage to his master there will be no sustainable economic development in this country.

Asset reform is not a simple policy option it is meant to correct the wrongs of history.

An English bureaucrat drew the boundaries of India and Pakistan. Overnight 10 million people became aliens in the place of their birth. That brutal imposition still has not been corrected and probably will take thousands of more deaths before it will be corrected. Ali Jinnah used the genie of Islamic fundamentalism to carve out the Muslim state of Pakistan. Churchill used it to counter the influence of Gandhi. We are paying for the sins of the British Empire and now American Empire. The BSP has to keep interest rates here high to attract foreign investors to help us pay for our import bills. Then the BSP lends this back to the U.S. government at a lower rate because of the privilege of empire.

Rice prices tell a deep and tragic story in the Philippine context.

hvrds on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 3:39 pm 



The U.S. dollar and the price of rice and the complex world of food prices.

“Post 1971, a currency collateralized not by gold but by the intelligence, judgment and discretion of Congress and the Federal Reserve, such as they are.” James Grant.

What is the collateral behind the Philippine peso? Big Mike, GMA and Abalos?

We have nominal prices, real prices and purchasing power parity prices to compare prices of rice. All presently denominated in monetary valuation. What is the basis for comparing prices of rice between countries? What is the standard? Dollar, Gold, Yen or is there such a thing as a human standard of existence?

Moral hazard and a clear case of financial terrorism. The crisis in financial markets will cause interest rates for poor countries to rise.

To save the mavens of financial capitalism a tidal wave of inflation is on the way for poorer countries.

Wall Street practically blackmailed the U.S. government to save the entire economy from falling down based on their greed.

The result will be higher prices. Glut of money printing has now moved to a bull market in food resources.

Financial technologies have allowed future contracts of the buying and selling of future production. Financial technologies have also allowed the ’securitization’ of future cash flows. That is at the heart of the present crisis. Future is always uncertain. No matter the power of computing power it will remain impossible to forecast future happenings with all variables included..

The future will always be “mark to make believe.” That is the heart of the financial markets. Confidence is an intangible quantity.

Money remains to be simply a representative idea of shared expectations. Joyce Jimenez in a black or red bikini on her “to die for body” is her capital good that she used and still uses for turning her labor into currency. Every red blooded male can attest to that who buys magazines with her on the cover. She is one hot babe.

The entire country is being supported by the labors of Filipinos abroad. Maids, drivers, workers, professionals, entertainers and sex workers

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/08/great-american-mortgage-crisis.html

kutkut on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 6:28 pm 



Ho-hum! There is no hope for rice sufficiency unless we change the CARP system. We can never go into the real McCoy of rice production with 5 hectares or less with even the most industrious farmer which is lacking in our midst. The alternative would be to collect all arable lands and rent it out to farmers, cooperatives or agri companies all the area they can use. That way he can plan very well and separate the lazy or pseudo farmers or missing landlords from the bone weary farmers. And additionally, everyone coming of age is given his own residential lot of his choice free co-terminus to his demise. That will eliminate land disputes, land grabbings, everything of what the land is doing to so many today.

Bencard on Sun, 9th Sep 2007 9:24 pm 



desperate situation calls for desperate solution. i’m not sure, though, if i could subscribe to hrvds’ prescription for guaranteed chaos. i don’t think we are that hopeless at this point. perhaps in the garden of eden, before adam & eve’s fall, it would work. libertarian philosophy, taken to extreme, is fraught with fatal inevitability.

in an age of tactical, let alone thermonuclear weaponry, a ‘free-for-all’ struggle for individual supremacy will lead to self-immolation of mankind. let’s just work on improving our institutions, our systems, and our laws, and let life goes on, with all its miseries and pleasures (including – at least for the likes of hrdvs – looking at joyce jimenez in red bikini in the cover of a magazine).

3rdson on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 12:13 am 



hala ka, pilipinoparin, you fed the troll. hahaha. gayahin mo na lang ang ibang komentarista dito. hayaan mo na lang akong tawanan sila. tutal, matalino naman sila lahat. ano ba namang merong isang taga-basa si mlq3 na hindi impressed sa kanila.

at, pasensya na, di ko lang matiis. wala man si Gates sa Africa, nanduon naman ang pera nya. Kumbaga he put his money where his mouth is. May pagkakaiba ata yun sa sitwasyon ng mga utaw dito. At “free press?” bakit ba tuwing babatikusin ang mga komentarista e yan palagi ang reaksyon? free speech ba? free speech di yung sabihing walang kredibilidad ang mga sinasabi ng isang taong nagsasalita di ba?

Karl Garcia on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 8:26 am 



3rdson,

Wala na din lang akong makausap,at sabi mo sumasagot ka pagkinausap ka.

Ilabas mo na ako,wala naman ako binatbat sa iyo,pero iyong iba dito.

Pwede naman icorrect na walang halong batikos,at pagmamaliit, me napapal ka ba?

Lumalabas kasi pikon,talo eh.

Recruitment agency ka ba,na kailangan magsubmit pa ang mga kommenter dito ng resume sa yo.

Malay mo ba na di nila alam ang sinasabi nila,alam mo ba ang background nila,pero meron din naman na nagsabi kung ano ang naging o trabaho nila ngayon.

pano mo naman nalaman na mali ang hinirit nila,at kung nagkataon me pumuna sa kanila at maayos naman itong tinanggap,pataasan ba ito ng ihi.
pero innsan meron talagang aso at pusa dito,na talo pa ng mag asawa sa di pagkaunawaan,natural lang sa buhay yan.

Kwentong barber ay di tunay na pulso ng masa?
Bakit sa tingin mo ba ay ang surveys di dumadaan sa mga taong di naman naiintindihan ang tanong nila pero counted pa din sa analysis nila.

Hindi ko iniinsulto ang masa,ang masa natin madami ang di nakapagtapos kaya ang kwentong barbero maaring pulso ng masa,kaya nga masa eh.

Malay mo sideline lang nya yung barbero pero sya pala ay isang teacher sa gabi.

parang taxi driver,madami akong kilala na dati mga professionals na sawa ng mautusan ng amo.

3rdson on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 11:43 am 



sir karl, yaman din lang na kinakausap mo ko ng matino, sagutin din kita ng matino.

wala akong balak i-correct ang mga panunulat nila, at wala rin akong kakayahang sabihin kung tama sila o mali.

natatawa ako sa tendensiya nila na magkomento sa lahat ng topik na pinupukol ni mlq3 sa ere. mapapansin mo na yung mga seryosong komentarista, nagfo-focus lang sa iilang topic kung saan meron silang lehitimong kaalaman. sa ibang topik kung saan sila nagkokomento, malinaw na personal na kuro-kuro lamang, at walang bahid ng pagpapanggap na marami silang alam.

sa kabilang banda, yung mga tipo ng barbershop quartet na komentarista dito, walang pakundangan kung magkomento,sa halos lahat ng topic. e karamihan naman ay pina-parrot lang naman nila yung mga nabasa nila sa paggu-google nila o sa wikipedia kaya. kung tutuusin, ok lang naman ang ganyang klaseng gawain, pero nakakatawa nga lang. masyadong pa-impress ang dating. kung sa iyo, ok lang yun, e di mabuhay ka.

at sa lahat naman ng bagay, e talo talaga ang pikon, di ba? pero ang tanong ay bakit sila napipikon? kasi sinasabi ko na nakakatawa ang pagpapapapel nila? hindi ko naman sila pinipigilan mag komento, hindi ko naman tinutuligsa ang mga “opinyon” nila.

Nanghihinayang pa nga ako na mukhang kuntento na sila dito e. Imbes na makuntento sila na magyabang na meron silang kapirasong nalalaman sa lahat ng topic, bakit hindi sila gumawa ng mas makabuluhang mga obra, mga well-reasoned policy proposals halimbawa, na maari pang makatulong sa pinas? e ngayon, puro kwentong barbero ang ginagawa nila.

at hindi ko sinabi na hind pulso ng bayan ang kwentong barbero. ang sinabi ko, over-rated siya. binibigyan ng sobrang importansya at kabuluhan. totoo man na kahit sino maaring pagmulan ng lehitimong kontribusyon sa isang usapin, hindi naman lahat ng tao may lehitimong maikokontribute.

bakit ko nasabing nagpapataasan sila ng (ehem)? Masdan mo ang tendensiya ng ilang mgakomentarista dito na, kapag di na nakakasagot sa batikos ay biglang gagamitin ang kanilang credentials bilang suporta. ‘Titser ako ng 100 taon, kaya wag na natin pagusapan kung tama ako. Basta tama ako.’ Yung ganung klase ba? Anung tawag dun? E di payabangan. At anu ba ang paligsahan ng taas ng tilamsik kundi payabangan din.

Pasensya na sa haba nito sir karl.

wishlist master on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 12:20 pm 



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rego on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 12:37 pm 



“Pasensya na sa haba nito sir karl.”

Kasi si Karl andaming tanong.. kaya yung sagot ko mahaba rin.

rego on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 12:40 pm 



ayan toluy ayaw na lumabas ng sagot kay karl. Bakit kaya/ I tried resending it pero nag e error na eh. duplicate comments daw sabi ng wordpress.

cvj on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 12:45 pm 



rego, para makalusot sa ‘duplicate comment’, ibahin mo ng konti…e.g. lagyan mo ng dagdag na period.

pinoy on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 1:30 pm 



The rice self-sufficiency program of the government must involve participation of all sectors.

Shaman of Malilipot on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 2:28 pm 



“Supremo, thanks very much for that info. Given your numbers, looks like my initial suggestion of importing rice is not a good idea.” cvj

Another bad idea is converting ricelands to sugarlands. Sugar production needs economy of scale to be profitable. That’s why if you will notice, sugar cane is produced by big plantations or haciendas, rather than by small farmers. The problems can be very daunting. Truck haulers that will bring the cane to the sugar centrals (which can be located miles and miles away) give priority to big plantations, especially those adhered to the sugar mills. The latter, in turn, get priority in getting their sugar cane milled. By the time the small planters’ cane get milled, the PSTC (piculs of sugar per ton of cane) would have been reduced.

Besides, the workers who toil in the cane fields are seasonal laborers who only earn the minimum wage for agricultural workers. They don’t share in the profits of the plantations. The profits go to the hacenderos.

Furthermore, in the whole production cycle, those who profit most are the millers and traders. The latter can profit more than even the hacenderos themselves.

So, there’s really no place for the small farmers in the sugar industry.

Devilsadvc8 on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 3:52 pm 



hvrds advocating a truly “free for all” market reminds me of an old professor in Robert Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress who was a pure anarchist.
of course, arming citizens, and then letting all hell break loose is a recipe for civilization to be thrown back to the age of the wild, wild west.
it could work, but it would’ve to be implemented bit by bit. and then, once it gets rolling, see how men collectively build back government, bit by bit. tehee.

cvj on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 6:35 pm 



Shaman, you’re right in that sugar needs economies of scale but issues of ownership can be separated from issues of management. What should matter in choosing between rice and sugar is the relative return on investment. Which crop will give the farmer higher earnings?

Karl Garcia on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 7:32 pm 



3rdson,
salamat sa sagot mo.

Rego,
Maging sa iskwela o sa opisina kung me meeting,lalo na pag malapit na matapos ang time,pag nagtanong ng any questions,lahat ng mata nakatingin sa akin na parang tinutunaw ako. “If looks could kill” as they say.

lalo na yung meeting wala naman OT pag me post shift.

Sige,ingat na lang.

The Ca t on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 8:57 pm 



but issues of ownership can be separated from issues of management.

Add the types of soil planted with sugar and rice.
I understand, sugar needs some level of acidity and presense of some soil organic to assure good production.

benj on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 10:52 pm 



It was great meeting you Manolo!

cvj on Mon, 10th Sep 2007 11:44 pm 



Thanks Ca T.

justice league on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 2:28 am 



I think that an agricultural based country must develop ways to ensure sufficiency of its people’s staple food whether it be based on rice, potato or something else.

Cvj,

I hate to point to you on this particular issue but I guess you are in the best position to state if stories are true that Singapore’s faucets suffer a drastic reduction of water supply whenever Malaysia likes to saber rattle.

cvj on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 2:45 am 



Justice League, yeah there’s been that kind of talk, but Singapore knows how to keep things in perspective, none of that knee jerk circle the wagons mentality.

supremo on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 3:31 am 



Karl Garcia,

Off topic.

Do you know someone who works at the SSS? Maybe you can answer my question too. Can former Filipino citizens receive Philippine SSS benefits?

justice league on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 8:01 am 



Cvj,

Seah Chiang Nee in an article (Nearing A Long-term
Water Solution) written in 2001 stated that:

“What has created a sense of urgency to its search was a recent threat by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid to form an alliance with Malaysia to cut off water supply to Singapore to teach it a lesson.

He said he had made the proposal to Dr Mahathir Mohamad during a breakfast meeting that the two Malay governments jointly control Singapore’s water supply.

“If we hold the water for a moment, they will have no water to drink,” he said. “We should not be afraid. Our interests should come first before the interests of other people.”

—–

With the Singapore’s installation or development of NEWater, desalination plants, etc… then I do tend to agree with you on perspective.

Karl Garcia on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 9:29 am 



Supremo,

Wala po ako kilala,(pero si Cunanan kilala ko nung bata pa ako dahil kapit bahay ko sya sa aguinaldo). at wala ako sa posisyon sumagot,pero hindi naman siguro bawal alamin at magsaliksik.

Retirement benefits lang ang ifocus ko.

ang general qualifier: 60 yearas old na 120 monthly contributions,continuous or accumulated,then if he decides to work agian, he will receive everything when he reaches 65,which ever is higher.Pero alam mo na yan eh.

Meron yatang balak si GMA na gawing mandatory ang ss contribution o coverage ng OFW at amyendahan ang SSS charter natin,dati voluntary lang ang contribution.

http://ofw.balita.ph/html/article.php/20070904155409055

Sa US, ang pagka alam ko ,lahat ng nagtratrabaho ay obligado magkaron ng social security number,at magbayad ng buwis duon,isa pa yun ang reference id nila. Di tulad dito me sss,gsis,tin.

Yan lang po ginoong Supremo.
Pasensys an po,di ko nasagot tanong nyo sa former citizens.

Paging lawyers: are former citizens allowed to avail of SSS benefits?Is the 120 cummulative monthly contributions enough to qualify them,when they want to avail of it?

Jon Mariano on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 11:55 am 



Supremo, I don’t think the SSS does any checking at all whether you’re still Filipino citizen or not. If you’ve put in your contributions, I think, that you should be qualified to receive the pittance of an SSS pension!

Karl Garcia on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 12:21 pm 



pag 60 ka na makuha mo benefits. ang importante 120 accumulated monthly contributions.

benign0 on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 1:41 pm 



hvrds, in other words, money is now more an abstract concept — a market construct if you will — on which complex instruments of trade have been built. Worse, having lost its concrete collateral, the value of money is to a greater extent propped up by collective expectation/perception — or, worse, hope — of what is still to be (but which is uncertain)!

This highlights the precarious situation that the Philippine economy is in. It is held together by (a) consumption which in turn is kept afloat by (b) OFW remittances, the strength of which depends on (c) a weak peso which, because much of what Pinoys consume is now imported, exerts (d) inflationary pressure on consumables.

Which in simplistic terms makes for a bizarre circular function — consumerism is made healthier by a strong peso which actually weakens the purchasing power of schmoes dependent on OFW remittances which is increasingly seen as the fuel of consumerism.

Bozos who tout “healthy” consumption statistics (and the glossy retail infrastructure that provides the face of “progress” for Pinoys starved for “evidence” of achievement) as symbols of progress need a massive reality check.

cvj on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 6:18 pm 



Benign0, the precariousness of the consumer-driven economy that you describe above is an inherent feature of all Capitalist economies. Nothing particularly Pinoy about this phenomena. Even a ‘producer’ nation such as Japan suffered a decade-long slump in the nineties because it fell into a liquidity trap. In fact, the reason why their slump persisted for so long is that they failed to reignite consumer confidence regardless of their massive spending on infrastructure.

supremo on Tue, 11th Sep 2007 8:54 pm 



Thanks Karl!

Karl Garcia on Wed, 12th Sep 2007 1:00 pm 



You are welcome po, Supremo!

tikimusic on Wed, 12th Sep 2007 5:46 pm 



What Benigno mentioned about the Philippines is a problem experienced by many other countries that are part of a world that may be experiencing a major credit crunch soon. Also, note the other points I raised in my earlier post.

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