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Friday, April 18, 2008
Estrada hits successor over rice anxiety (2:39 p.m.)
MANILA -- Deposed President Joseph Estrada blamed his successor for the skyrocketing cost of rice in the Philippines, accusing her Friday of neglecting agriculture and relying on imported grains.
Estrada's harsh words for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came a day before his 71st birthday as he passed out cans of food and bags of rice in his birthplace, the poor Manila district of Tondo, and sought to capitalize on growing public anxiety over the cost of oil and food.
"This government has been a burden to the people. It has made a crisis out of everything. It made a crisis out of rice," he said.
"During my time, there was no rice crisis," he said, adding that after he was elected in 1998, he started programs to improve irrigation systems and the roads from farms to markets.
Arroyo's administration says the country is importing 2.1 million tons of rice this year to make up for a 10 percent domestic shortfall, but that much of it has been imported already and that there is no rice crisis.
Arroyo also has declared war on rice hoarders, blamed for creating artificial shortages, and promised to improve distribution and invest US$1 billion (euro750 million) to boost rice production.
The Philippine archipelago has less land suitable for rice production than its Asian neighbors, and is a welcome mat for Pacific typhoons that frequently destroy rice paddies. Its domestic rice output has failed to keep up with a growing population, which topped 88 million last year, and it is one of the world's largest rice importers.
Estrada has been carefully weighing his options for a political comeback, leaving many to wonder if he will attempt to run for president again in 2010.
Beset by corruption allegations, Estrada was forced to resign in 2001, midway through his six-year term. The former movie star was convicted of plunder last September after a six-year trial, but was pardoned by Arroyo a month later.
On Friday, Arroyo's deputy spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo wished Estrada a happy birthday and said the president would likely telephone him on Saturday. Arroyo aide Cerge Remonde called on Estrada to do his part to heal the nation's political wounds. (AP) |
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