DA BATS FOR BETTER RICE SEED PROCUREMENT SYSTEM

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has cited a need to correct a fundamental flaw in the existing rice seeds procurement system that results in waste of government funds and low productivity. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol presented to President Rodrigo Duterte the DA’s plan to exempt its procurement of rice seeds from public bidding to ensure that farmers would get only “good quality and appropriate” seeds. He said palay (unhusked rice) is a site-specific crop. Thus, one particular type or variety of seed may grow productively in one region but not in another. Central Luzon farmers who expressed preference for a certain variety of hybrid seeds, for instance, have refused to accept the ones from a company that won the bidding being the lowest bidder. Piñol said the practice of buying seeds through the usual “lowest bidder” system will not work well. He then proposed to Duterte that farmers should be allowed to indicate the hybrid rice seeds that they prefer for their area. The President approved the proposal.

MARAWI RECOVERY GETS BOOST FROM JAPAN

MARAWI CITY: Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda has turned over 27 sets of brand-new heavy equipment to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, vice chairman of Task Force Bangon Marawi, to help speed up rehabilitation and recovery of the city. The equipment included seven hydraulic excavators, three bulldozers, three wheel loaders, two motor graders and 12 dump trucks. Mitsuhiro Oshikiri, chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Motors, also handed over 26 Mitsubishi utility vehicles to Task Force Bangon Marawi Assistant Secretary Felix Castro. The grant is part of the PhilippineJapan Economic and Social Development Program.

COMPUTER STORE INSIDE MALL LOSES 40K TO THIEF

A COMPUTER retailer inside SM Valenzuela in Valenzuela City lost over P40,000 cash to a lone burglar who managed to sneak into the stock room by passing through a hole on the ceiling. Hazel Prudente, officer-in- charge of Compuware Computer Center located on the third floor of the mall on MacArthur Highway discovered the heist when she noticed an opening on the ceiling. Prudente reported the incident to their main office head Marie Catherine de Vera after she discovered that money in the cashier’s booth was missing. The Valenzuela Police Station Investigation Unit and the Scene of the Crime Operatives reviewed footage from security cameras in the presence of the mall’s security officers. The footage showed an unidentified man coming down from the hole on the ceiling, stealing the money from the cashier’s booth, climbing back to the hole and eventually escaping.