Today will be the 17 th day of fighting in Marawi City. The government forces are closing in the Isnilon Hapilon led forces that are now seemingly implementing their exit, withdrawal or fight-another-day plans. Leaving behind P79million in cash and checks in Barangay Mapandi, having Cayamora Macayara Maute, father of the local terror group's leaders Omar and Abdullah pass a checkpoint in Davao City which lead to his arrest, and the Army's reports about the fighters exiting Marawi and now on their way to chosen hiding places all indicate the winding down of the fighting in the heavily damaged Marawi City.
The violence may have subsided by the really “war of recovery and reconstruction” needs to be done.
>Currently, relief goods are being distributed, evacuation facilities are utilized, relatives have opened their homes for their family relations, the church and organizations have raised resources and devoted these toward helping those in immediate need for food, clothing and shelter. Schools have accepted the responsibility of seeing to it that the formal education of war affected students continues, and guidance counselors are now challenged to address the trauma and related psychological issues affecting the young and old. Meanwhile, citizens are encourage to continue to be generous and open up their wallets while further tightening belts to be able to give. We look forward to the strengthening of our government's action in addressing the recovery and reconstruction needs of the citizens and infrastructure of Marawi City.
The editorial of the Business Mirror yesterday focus on “Looking beyond rice” which deals with a commodity that is very close to our hearts. Looking toward the national budget for 2018 and according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, President Duterte has promised the Department of Agriculture (DA) a budget of at least P200 billion. This amount is significantly higher than the P45 billion the DA received this year which is equivalent to a 344 percent increase. One basis for the request to increase the agriculture budget is the impending expiration on June 30 of Manila's waiver for the special treatment on rice. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had allowed the Philippines to enjoy this privilege for two years, or until this year, and Manila has indicated it will no longer shoot for another extension. The impending removal of this protection requires the government to prepare rice farmers for increased competition, and the DA would need huge resources to do this
I agree with the editorial which states, “While the focus on rice is warranted, given the impending expiration of the WTO waiver, the national government should make sure that other subsectors are not neglected. Congress could help the government, particularly the DA, set its spending priorities once it reviews the proposed budgets of various agencies. A huge budget would allow the DA not just to prepare the rice sector, but also jump-start other agri-based industries. After all, the Philippine agriculture sector is so much more than rice, and farmers could grow other dollar-earning crops if only they are given the proper
To follow through the point with data, Philippine Institute for Development Studies research fellow Roehlano Briones noted the government's resources were largely focused on rice. Briones said government spending for rice reached P37.44 billion, more than half of the P62.64 billion spent for agriculture-related programs and projects in 2012. In contrast, spending for other crops, like corn, amounted to only P951 million in 2012; high-value crops, P1.63 billion; coconut, P2.08 billion; livestock, P2.72 billion; and P3.3 billion for fisheries. Government support for the production of high-value crops was less than P2 billion. This is lamentable considering the potential of high-value crops, such as cacao, to increase the country's export receipts. The DA should also not lose sight of the need to make other subsectors competitive. Experts have been pushing for the propagation of other crops and boosting the production of other agriculture subsectors so farmers could earn more.
Hopefully, as you read this article the computer glitch that has affected Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) computerized system has been fixed, the erroneous entries posted have been reversed and as their announce said, “no one will lose money” and let me add, no one made money from the data system error as well. In a way the very important computer-based data system of the bank has recovered.
Let us end with an attempt to smile as we are encouraged in helping in the recovery effort from the war in Marawi with the following anecdote. A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push. "Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!" He slams the door and returns to bed. "Who was that?" asked his wife. "Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers."Did you help him?" she asks. "No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!" "Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people too."The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain. He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you till there?""Yes," comes back the answer. "Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband. "Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark. Where are you?" asks the husband. "Over here on the swing set," replied the drunk.*
The violence may have subsided by the really “war of recovery and reconstruction” needs to be done.
>Currently, relief goods are being distributed, evacuation facilities are utilized, relatives have opened their homes for their family relations, the church and organizations have raised resources and devoted these toward helping those in immediate need for food, clothing and shelter. Schools have accepted the responsibility of seeing to it that the formal education of war affected students continues, and guidance counselors are now challenged to address the trauma and related psychological issues affecting the young and old. Meanwhile, citizens are encourage to continue to be generous and open up their wallets while further tightening belts to be able to give. We look forward to the strengthening of our government's action in addressing the recovery and reconstruction needs of the citizens and infrastructure of Marawi City.
The editorial of the Business Mirror yesterday focus on “Looking beyond rice” which deals with a commodity that is very close to our hearts. Looking toward the national budget for 2018 and according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, President Duterte has promised the Department of Agriculture (DA) a budget of at least P200 billion. This amount is significantly higher than the P45 billion the DA received this year which is equivalent to a 344 percent increase. One basis for the request to increase the agriculture budget is the impending expiration on June 30 of Manila's waiver for the special treatment on rice. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had allowed the Philippines to enjoy this privilege for two years, or until this year, and Manila has indicated it will no longer shoot for another extension. The impending removal of this protection requires the government to prepare rice farmers for increased competition, and the DA would need huge resources to do this
I agree with the editorial which states, “While the focus on rice is warranted, given the impending expiration of the WTO waiver, the national government should make sure that other subsectors are not neglected. Congress could help the government, particularly the DA, set its spending priorities once it reviews the proposed budgets of various agencies. A huge budget would allow the DA not just to prepare the rice sector, but also jump-start other agri-based industries. After all, the Philippine agriculture sector is so much more than rice, and farmers could grow other dollar-earning crops if only they are given the proper
To follow through the point with data, Philippine Institute for Development Studies research fellow Roehlano Briones noted the government's resources were largely focused on rice. Briones said government spending for rice reached P37.44 billion, more than half of the P62.64 billion spent for agriculture-related programs and projects in 2012. In contrast, spending for other crops, like corn, amounted to only P951 million in 2012; high-value crops, P1.63 billion; coconut, P2.08 billion; livestock, P2.72 billion; and P3.3 billion for fisheries. Government support for the production of high-value crops was less than P2 billion. This is lamentable considering the potential of high-value crops, such as cacao, to increase the country's export receipts. The DA should also not lose sight of the need to make other subsectors competitive. Experts have been pushing for the propagation of other crops and boosting the production of other agriculture subsectors so farmers could earn more.
Hopefully, as you read this article the computer glitch that has affected Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) computerized system has been fixed, the erroneous entries posted have been reversed and as their announce said, “no one will lose money” and let me add, no one made money from the data system error as well. In a way the very important computer-based data system of the bank has recovered.
Let us end with an attempt to smile as we are encouraged in helping in the recovery effort from the war in Marawi with the following anecdote. A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push. "Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!" He slams the door and returns to bed. "Who was that?" asked his wife. "Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers."Did you help him?" she asks. "No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!" "Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people too."The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain. He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you till there?""Yes," comes back the answer. "Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband. "Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark. Where are you?" asks the husband. "Over here on the swing set," replied the drunk.*
