Pinoys not to go hungry/ Seniors’ moment

By DOMINI M. TORREVILLAS

With Proceso “Procy” Alcala at the helm of the Department of Agriculture, Pinoys are likely not to go hungry, there might be a stop to the importation of rice, the seas will be teeming with fish, and fields planted to vegetables. These projections are based on the secretary’s 2011 year-end report and 2012 thrusts which he presented at the Bulong Pulungan media forum recently.

The secretary premised his oral and written presentations with the note that the most significant achievement (of the DA) was “restoring the trust of the farmers and other agricultural stakeholders in government.” In less than two years, he got the department out of the list of scandal-ridden and most corrupt agencies. This record, plus the growth in the agriculture sector, he accomplished on the ground, so to speak, by meeting with farmers, local government officials and investors in the 16 regions, specifically 58 out of 80 provinces. To these sectors, the DA, he said, “delivered the message that we in government will do our part, but will work in partnership with them.”

In growth in agriculture, he said, recovering from the long dry spell in 2010, both palay and corn recorded 15.9 percent growth in volume at production levels of 10.75 metric tons of rice and 5.49 million metric tons of corn. Agricultural production volume grew by 4.28 percent over the 2.81 percent decline during the same period in 2010. “It is worth noting,” the secretary said, that “the growth achieved in rice production is the highest in the last 10 years.” The crops subsector contributed 50.07 percent to total agricultural production while the shares of other subsectors were as follows: fisheries, 20 percent; livestock, 16 percent, and poultry, 14 percent.

The capacity to quickly respond after such calamities as typhoons Pedring and Quiel was evidenced by having seed buffer stocks ready to allow farmers to replant and replace the crops they lost; identifying 50,000 hectares for immediate rationing, distributing climate resilient seeds, improving by research centers of drought and submergence resistant varieties, and having drying facilities at the rice processing centers in Pangasinan, and three more under construction in Iloilo, Davao and Bohol.

Making farmers believe in government means showing them that the DA serves their interests, said Alcala. This is evidenced by the lowering of rice importation for this year from 2.4 million metric tons in 2010 to 860,000 metric tons. Of the total volume imported, 600,000 metric tons were imported by the private sector and farmers’ groups, while 200,000 metric tons are NFA im- ports. The result is savings for government, and serving the interest of Filipino farmers.

The DA is fortunate to have been allotted the highest budget in history with P61.7 billion for 2012. This represents an increase of 61 percent over 2012. Some 62 percent of the 2012 budget is allocated for building of roads and dams.

An interesting program launched by the DA and the Department of Social Work and Development, is the Agrikulturang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino, which trains (and pays) landless farmers under the DSWD’S Cashfor-work program to build rice paddies, and assume farm jobs, such as plowing, replanting, harvesting, irrigation canal repair, coconut replanting and coconut fertilization.

Other programs that need to be disseminated to the public are the integrated community-based multi-species hatchery and aqua farming, which involves the construction of mangrove plantations for raising fingerlings, providing fishers with a source of livelihood, and the agricultural and fisheries modernization program.

To Secretary Alcala, our wish for him to carry on his Agri-pinoy programs for his countrymen to have food security and self-sufficiency and support services from farm to table.

* * * Yes, you read the second title above right — Seniors’ Moment here refers, not to the mental lapse that hits those 60 years and above, but to the forum organized by the Seniors Legacy Organization (SELO) which was established in February last year by public relations man Reli German, and introduced to the members of the Bulong-pulungan the following month by Reli and his longtime pal, former Senator and Congressman Butz Aquino.

Last month, SELO launched an awareness campaign about Republic Act 9994 which is the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, with its principal author, former Manila 6th district Congressman Benny Abante as resource speaker in its initial foray in Davao City. I learned about this only recently. I would have wanted to be enlightened about the range of benefits that the law has in store for us seniors.

The only thing that immediately comes to my mind is the standard 20 percent discount given by food establishments and by groceries on specific items. Then there is the discount for medicines, provided these are accompanied by a physician’s prescription and the senior citizen’s card and purchase slip booklet. Oftentimes, though, much to our chagrin and embarrassment, an

attack of senior moment causes us to leave these items in the house, office, car, somewhere — and no amount of pleading and pa-drama has worked to convince drugstore salespersons to punch in the discount in the receipt.

At the Davao forum that was attended by members of various senior citizens organizations, Abante reportedly stressed that the full and strict implementation of RA 9994 is a “formidable challenge confronting senior citizens’ groups and national and local government agencies and offices that are mandated to look after the welfare of the elderly.” This could lead one to wonder if there is a body that monitors compliance with the law and, more importantly, attends to concerns and complaints of senior citizens. It turns out that the establishment of an Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) is required by law. Fortunately for the elderly in Davao City, there is one there and I am told, in many major cities and municipalities.

Abante also said there was little awareness about the fact that seniors can demand a 20 percent discount on vitamins and mineral supplements as long as these are prescribed by their doctors. The same goes for adult diapers. “The law also mandates government health agencies to give indigent seniors free vaccination against flu, pneumonia and similar diseases. Seniors should also insist on their exception from the 12 percent expanded value added tax,” said Abante, who sponsored the bill two years before he himself turned 60.

And talking about the EVAT, the former congressman who is president and senior pastor of the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church and Ministries has of late, been pushing for a reduction of the rate of the reformed value added tax, the enactment of which he was, ironically, one of the sponsors in Congress. “Government simply cannot be insensitive to the public clamor for immediate relief from the non-stop rise in the cost of goods, especially those of petroleum products,” Abante stated.

“The public should not be made to suffer the consequence of inefficient tax collection and corruption in various agencies of the government,” he said — a stance shared by many sectors.

Considering that President Noynoy Aquino has indicated his resolve not to remove the VAT on petroleum products, Abante may find the fight against this issue a more challenging one to pursue. He, may, however, find solace in the widespread support I am sure he gets from his fellow seniors on the full implementation of RA 9994.

Abante, mga seniors!