What we learned so far in the 2019 elections

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S WE enter the final week of the mid-term elections campaign, this is what we have seen so far.

1. Mayor Sara said not one politician is honest especially during elections.

2. Hugpong is the new LP. It’s the cycle in our politics. The ruling party with the machinery, money, network attracts all politicos and re-electionists to help their candidacies. It happened to LP, to Arroyo’s Lakas, and to Erap’s PMP. It’s happening to Hugpong, and look how they dominate the campaign with tons of streamers and tarpaulins and ads spread all over public spaces and media.

3. Hugpong ng Pagbabago? Duterte’s “Change is Coming” slogan in 2016 morphed into the Hugpong ng Pagbabago party. But its senatorial slate is anything but change. It has candidates mired in plunder cases. It has candidates using administration machinery to prop their candidacy. Do they even have a clear agenda aside from dancing in ads?4. Opposition senators Neri Colmenares, Chel Diokno, Erin Tañada, Florin Hilbay, Bam Aquino, Samira Gutoc are the senators we deserve, but we might never have for now. The odds are stack against them because they stick to what matters — principles over machinery.

But if you watched how they talked in debates and discourses, how you wish these are the people who can be in the Senate to talk sense in sessions and public hearings.

While we hope there could be one big wave of votes for them to sneak in the magic 12, the best we can hope for is they stay afloat in the next three years and position themselves better for 2022.

5. Surveys reflect the divide in our politics. The surveys from SWS and Pulse Asia showed Hugpong bets on top. That shows that choosing candidates is based on popularity and name-recall. Surveys in universities nationwide showed the opposition dominating the results, and that is how one votes based on platforms and principles.

6. Honesty is the word that defined this campaign, thanks to Mayor Sara Duterte who said not one politician will be honest during elections. There are candidates who proved she was right. But there are candidates who proved she is wrong.

Which of them is honest is actually up to us voters. Let’s vote wisely and honestly this May 13.* I

T IS common knowledge to many of us that the coconut has a lot of uses. It provides many necessities that we may be looking for.

Its fruit is a meal in itself with the coconut milk and meat enough to keep us full. A mature coconut fruit is also the source of the coconut oil. Meanwhile, the leaves, bark, roots, and coconut shell can be used to make a variety of products like timber, mats, and utensils, among others.

Coconut trees may also contribute in the prevention of soil erosion in coastal areas and may provide wind protection and shade of intercropped plants.

In the Philippines, the coconut is among the major crops of the agriculture industry. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that coconutbased products were among the top exported products of the country in 2017. Coconut oil was the top agricultural product of the Philippines in 2017 with an export value of US$1.6 billion. Desiccated coconut is also a top export commodity with an export value of $340 million

Copra or dried coconut meat are among the common products we get from the coconut. It has high oil content at almost 64 percent. The coconut oil that we get from the meat is the most readily digested among all fats of general use.

However, it can be noted that income from coconut oil diminished with stiff competition from other oil sources.

For our coconut farmers to be competitive in the market, there is a need for us to think outside the box.

According to the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) when we work on the highest values and benefits of this crop, it will increase the demand for it. The attached agency of the Department of Scient and Technology (DOST) has a compendium of Commercially-viable Coconut Technologies that can help coconut farmer value-add their products.

Among the value-added products in the compendium is the “coco sugar”. The production of sugar, a high-value product from coconut sap/toddy is used as the natural sweetener for diabetics due to its low Glycemic Index of 35 (GI) far. Coco sugar is rich in phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and chlorine.

Another product from the compendium is the coconut water, a common value-added product from coconut. It provides enhanced hydration, essential nutrition, and essential electrolytes — calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium. It is an ideal sports drink. Diabetics can also benefit from drinking coconut water. Coco water contains antioxidants as well. All these discoveries are worth looking into for further benefits to maintain health of the human body organs.*