Moral support for a farmers’ friend

THE HOUSE of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability has invited Leah Cruz, head of Vegetable Importers, Exporters and Vendors Association of the Philippines (Vieva), to shed light on reports she monopolized the importation of some vegetables.

This columnist can’t comment on the reports but I can tell you the good things that Vieva under Cruz has been doing for the country in general, particularly for small farmers.

I know that Vieva has been directly buying ginger, lowland and upland vegetables, onions and garlic from farmers at their prevailing market prices.

Small farmers are paid well for their produce because there are no middlemen.

Cruz is also helping farmers in Mindoro, Batanes and the Ilocos provinces to increase their garlic and onion output as they have a ready market in Vieva, which has been exporting black aromatic rice, shallots, achuete and red and white onions.

The group has demonstration farms inside the New Bilibid Prisons complex in Muntinlupa City, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, and on my property in Puerto Princesa City.

In coordination with the Department of Agriculture, Cruz has been sending farm technicians from Nueva Ecija and Mindoro to do organic after the big earthquake; Tacloban City, after Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

Tzu Chi volunteers are conspicuous in their uniform blue shirts and white pants, but they try to work as inconspicuously as possible.

In the aftermath of the Tacloban tragedy, Tzu Chi employed thousands of Yolanda victims to clean up their city of debris and dead bodies, paying them P500 each daily.

Tzu Chi is a Buddhist organization but it does not help disaster victims in order to convert them; its primarymission is to spread love.

I wonder why no Catholic organization is active in helping disaster victims in this country where 80 percent are Catholics?

*** Russel Lumabog, 43, arrested on a charge of car theft, was jailed in the Tanay, Rizal police station from Dec. 5, 2013, to Jan. 28 this year.

She swears she is innocent but that’s another story.

I was more interested in her story that she was raped by Senior Insp. Carlos Hogat, Tanay deputy police chief.

Russel claims she was taken out of her cell by the drunken Hogat and brought to Milay Lodge on Jan. 4.

She also claims Hogat forced her to have oral sex with him in his office on Jan. 11. If this is true, Hogat should be castrated. farming in my small farm in Puerto Princesa.

I opened up my property as a laboratory for the organic farming of Vieva and the Department of Agriculture.

My intention is to help Palawan become a producer of organically grown vegetables with Vieva as a ready buyer.

I will attend today’s hearing of the committee on good government and public accountability, chaired by Pampanga Rep. Oscar Rodriguez, to give Cruz moral support.

A person like her who wants to help small farmers get rich needs all the moral support she can get.

***

Tzu Chi Foundation, a Good Samaritan group based in Taiwan that helps disaster victims, was in the front page of yesterday’s INQUIRER, although I’m quite sure it didn’t seek publicity.

I’ve seen Tzu Chi volunteers in disaster areas: Cagayan de Oro province in the aftermath of Typhoon “Sendong”; Bohol province,