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Monday, May 12, 2003
Diaz: 'Onion skinned' public servants
By Cris Diaz
SOMEBODY'S attention have been caught when this columnist mentioned in passing DTI Secretary Mar Roxas' "new generation ideas."
Actually, I just read somewhere about Roxas new found philosophy. It caught my attention, too.
Roxas also talked about development of agriculture and a new approach in land reform.
Obviously, development of agriculture and land reform are today's two important elements needed to strengthen the country's socio-economic and political climate.
Roxas said that land reform in the country should be implemented in accord with agricultural development in the country.
He noted that the country's land reform will never succeed since the government is not seriously supporting the farmers themselves.
Perhaps, there is logic to Roxas premise since land reform in the country have supposedly been adopted more than 50 years ago.
Yet, for more than five decades, land reform in the country never succeeded for many a political reason.
First, majority of the country's ruling elite are themselves landlords whose interests are protected by loopholes inherent in existing land reform laws.
To cite an example, the existing land reform laws are by far inoperative because the government is not akin on alleviating the socio-economic status of land reform beneficiaries.
For instance, a farmer awarded with a three-hectare lot as provided for under existing land reform laws, is left to fend on his own.
What is meant by "left to fend on his own" connotes various meanings. One, the government seemed to award the land "only" for compliance of the land reform law. Other than this, the government no longer give a damn.
On the other hand, some said the government extends credit to land reform beneficiaries. But, this argument is subject to debate.
True, there are farmers who avail of loans such as the "Masagana" loans for rice farmers. Yet, the interest of these loans are exorbitant that a farmer's income barely enough to pay the principal amount loaned.
Another thing, the existing land reform law is inoperative because it has been crafted not to benefit the landless farmers but the land owners themselves.
Under the existing land reform laws, the original land owners are given priority privilege to re-purchase the land if the beneficiary decides to sell the land.
Experience had it that farmer beneficiaries, more often, have to sell the land awarded to them for lack of capital to develop the lot.
In this case, the land is returned to the original land owner through the "deed of sale." Thus, the spirit of land reform is, once more, defeated.
There are dozen of loopholes under the existing land reform laws which are obviously designed to protect the interest of land owners.
Who would argue when the legislators who dispensed passage of the land reform laws are themselves landlords?
Our financial institutions are also very tight when farmers borrow a certain amount of money to develop their lands.
I heard a banker saying, "they don't need lands." Thus, if ever a lowly farmer succeeds in borrowing money from the bank, there is always the tendency that the land used for collateral is foreclosed.
That's why Roxas "new agriculture and land reform ideas" make sense.
Roxas said that subject lands to be awarded to farmers should be bigger than the required three-hectare lot under existing land reform laws.
He said the government should support farmer-beneficiaries in the availment of loans in financial institutions at a reasonable interest.
Aside from getting loans, the government should provide farmers all other necessary support so that farmers are encouraged to develop their lands in order to produce more.
Indeed, we want to hear more of Roxas "new generation ideas" in the coming days. These are the kind of thoughts we want to hear of our public servants today. Enough of this.
Wednesday last week, two legitimate members of the press in Cagayan de Oro City were briefly detained here.
Executive Editor Herbie Gomez of GoldStar Daily and Photojournalist Joey Nacalaban of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro City were arrested with libel filed by a public official in Misamis Occidental.
Nacalaban earlier told this columnist that they were facing libel for a story which "inadvertently" included the name of the public official.
The issue could have been settled if the paper where the mediamen worked for issued a "public apology" about the erroneous report?
Perhaps, the public official did not demand an apology and the newspaper too failed to rectify the error. Thus, the libel.
Anyway, it is always a rule that a newspaper should issue an apology for erroneous reports and voluntarily offer to correct the report itself.
On the one hand, it is also a usual practice for an aggrieved party to demand an apology. Seeking relief in court comes only when the newspaper failed to issue an apology as demanded by an aggrieved party.
After all, libel is one of the risks encountered by legitimate journalists. More often than not, officials who libel newspapermen are "onion skinned" who are allergy when their "dirty linens" are nonchalantly exposed in public. |
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