The noblest profession

Consumers are given protection against misleading labels and advertising and has the right to be given the facts and information needed to make an informed choice.

The right to be heard and the right to speak. Consumers have the right to equal and fair consideration and treatment in government offices as well as prompt treatment in administrative courts or legal communities. It means that they have a right to complain and speak up when they encounter problems or concerns as consumers.

The right to redress or remedy. Consumers are afforded an opportunity to have a hearing to voice dissatisfaction such that a resolution is reached and the complaint is settled satisfactorily. Consumers have the right to be compensated for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory service.

Right to Consumer Education. This pertains to the right to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to be an informed customer. Consumers are extended continuing consumer education and mastery of knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions in the marketplace. This also goes with our contention that a well-informed customer is a better empowered consumer.

Right to environmental health. The state recognizes that consumers should be protected from the devastating effects of air, earth, and water pollution that may result from the performance of daily marketplace operations. As such, consumers have the right to live and work in an environment that does not threaten the well-being of present and future generations.

The thing with e-commerce and online buying is quite different when making a purchase because the buyer deal indirectly through computers or smartphone applications. That being the case, let me include few tips that I culled from credible sites that shares valuable information on safe online shopping. An online buyer must pay securely with a secure and legitimate website. A secure website address will always begin with ‘https://’ and not ‘http://’. Never give out your bank account details, credit card number or other personal details if you are not certain that the business is a reputable trader.

Only buy from websites you know and trust. You can also check and verify from online forums if the company you intend to make a purchase from has good ratings and services. Do not be an impulsive buyer. I prefer buying from companies that has permanent and physical street address and landline phone number. It also important to note if the product’s warranties and guarantees are valid in the country and the product has an authorized service provider nearby.

Is it really a must that you buy online? I ask because the full cost of your purchase costs may include currency conversion, taxes, delivery fees and packaging other than the shipping cost which might end up more expensive than buying from a local dealer. Only buy online if you are comfortable with a business’s privacy policy. Do not give out information unless they require it to complete the sale. Remember, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always make sure that all charges are correct by checking the receipt against your credit card statement, merchant account statement and bank statement. Beware of scammers.

Those most in need of this new seed-based technology are “those who can least afford to buy an adequate diet, rich in essential nutrients. The GR Project is working with its partners to make the latest, improved version of GR available for humanitarian use in developing countries, free of charge,” the GR Board has published on its web page.

After it was initiated in 1982 through the Rockefeller Foundation, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center conducted the first field trials of golden rice cultivars in 2004. Additional trials were soon conducted in the Philippines,

IN 2008, Bro. Armin Luistro, F.S.C., then President of De la Salle Philippines, together with the Metrobank Foundation President Aniceto Sobrepeña, spearheaded the Teachers Month Campaign. Their efforts culminated in the signing of Presidential Proclamation 242 by then President Benigno S. Aquino III "declaring the period from September 5 to October 5 of every year as National Teachers' Month." Subsequently, by virtue of Republic Act 10743, October 5 was declared as National Teachers Day.

It is only fitting that we publicly and consistently express our appreciation for the nobility and quiet heroism of our teachers. A nation that honors its teachers is a noble nation. After all, without teachers there would be no lawyers, doctors, engineers, soldiers, captains of industry, priests and public servants.

I have a strong fondness for teachers. My father, Alfredo Sr., my mother Sofia, my sister Victoria (ABB}, and even my youngest, Frannie, were all former teachers.

I, too, consider myself as a teacher - having once taught catechism in public schools in Marikina as part of my college extra-curricular activities. Thus, whenever the occasion presents itself, I never tire of speaking about my former teachers and professors: Consolacion Francisco, Simeon Bumanglag, Paz Ruivivar, Concepcion Ofina, Fidela Garcia, Carmelita Perez, Pilar Leaño, Marcela Ponce, Pilar Franco, Teodora Sacco, Catalina Roque, Sofia Bunye (my mother), Cesar Tiangco, Eric Torres, Dory Katigbak, James Culligan S.J., Gabriel Singson, Pompeyo Diaz, and Ricardo Puno. In one way or another, they all helped me become what I am. SSManila Taiwan, and in Bangladesh in 2015.

Results from the preliminary field tests revealed: “field-grown golden rice produces 4 to 5 times more beta-carotene than golden rice grown under greenhouse conditions.”

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) “leads the development of GR in the Philippines.” Dr. Barroga said.

After its experimental rice plants were “trampled, uprooted and destroyed in Pili, Camarines Sur, last August 8, 2013,” Dr. Barroga told a group of information officers from the DA’s regional offices and attached agencies, who were gathered in Tagaytay City, for their quarterly conference last month that the GR Project in the Philippines continued in partnership with its farmer-partners and other stakeholders.

It cooperated in global and local collaborative research and discussions with its partners. Thus far, the GR Project has determined that golden rice is a safe source of beta-carotene, according to Dr. Barroga. Food safety studies concluded that beta-carotene in food is a safe source of Vitamin A, she added.

GR research in the country is actively collaborating with farmers, local government units, and other private sector partners to determine the plant’s agronomic performance in full compliance with tedious and strict regulatory requirements.

Dr. Roel Suralta, GR Project leader at Philrice said that PhilRice and IRRI submitted this year, applications for a biosafety permit for the direct use in food, feed, or for processing, of a form of golden rice known as GR2E to the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

Completion of the food/feed safety assessment is a prerequisite for the conduct of bioefficacy studies with GR2E golden rice in the Philippines that will demonstrate its value in complementing other approaches to mitigate VAD.– To be continued.