Monday, March 31, 2008 Pangan: Bull's-eye hit where it hurts By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range
THIS is not a supplication for the current erratic upheaval of prices of basic commodities led by our staple crop, rice and other main ingredients such as cooking oil, laundry soap and such other things we cannot do without. It is rather an exposition of runaway prices of goods where we are hit most-the family budget.
Not even the bright DTI top gun Secretary Peter Favila and his equally talented and creative team can stop or put a cap on rising prices of basic goods, fuel prices and of course, the liquefied petroleum gas or LPG. Unscrupulous traders add to the woes of housewives: cooking oil containing 314 grams in “pirated” gin bottles now costs P31 and rising, LPG invariably costs over P500 and rising, a clove of garlic or onion may be had for not less than P5, walang tawad, and even the lowly sodium chloride or asin, the main staple of the poorest lot, now costs higher. Pranksters shrug off the rising prices by saying: wala nang mura ngayon, brads, so you and I are forced to believe them.
This is the real, agonizing story of our daily lives. Whether it ends gleefully or on a gloomy note, we will see as we enter the hottest months of the year.
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Today, the Clark Development Corporation, or CDC, headed by its president and CEO Liberato P. Laus, will turn over 13 passenger and utility vehicles to the Aetas living along the northern portion of Clark. Their chieftains are expected to accept the donation which is a goodwill gesture of the state-owned firm as a result of the Joint Management Agreement forged by the CDC, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the 12 Aeta tribes covered by the certificate of ancestral domain title.
This gesture will greatly improve the mobility of the tribes and enhance the transport of their produce to market destinations.
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Angeles City Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting can be commended for her serious concern on th city's women's health and for her active initiative in spearheading a free Cervical Cancer Awareness seminar, a fitting closure for the Women's Month being observed in March. I agree to, and would encourage, a year-round awareness program not only for Angeles City's women sector but also in other areas of Pampanga and Central Luzon. Some plus points for the feisty lady vice mayor, these.
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I thank SM Pampanga's Joann Castelo, that fair-haired beauty from Cabanatuan City for reminding me to participate in the Earth Hour observed from 8 to 9 p.m. last Saturday, where sensible participants were encouraged to turn off lights and unplug appliances (Hello, Engr. Rox Pena) and save on electricity and, as stated by environmentalist, councilor-to-be Rox, lessen the burning of fossil fuel.
Joann, with quiet demeanor but with captivating smile and witty repartee, she being a UP Masscom grad, had the grace of inviting me to lunch last week, together with her boss, Dean Roman Dizon, mall manager and brother Perry and brother-in-law Randolph. Many thanks, Joann and may your boyfriends increase! Thank you, too, Roman and, of course AVP Bien Mateo.
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The big push. Now that SCTEX will be operational by April, the central business district at Dolores-Tabun-Cacutud growth triangle in Mabalacat should now be energized and invigorated now in anticipation of the influx of investors therein and the massive improvement that follows. Mayor Boking Morales envisions a full-blown commercial district after the busy Dau district.
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Land conversion ban eyed-news item. Isn't the hero too late in the scene? Some issues ago, I wrote about the massive conversions of agricultural lands into subdivisions and the rampant sales of arable lands to moneyed realtors and buyers. Look at where we are now. We are into importing rice when we should be exporters of this grain and we are not even sure of the quality of the imported rice. Sus, sanamagan, as the late great writer Max Soliven would sigh in disbelief. Where have all our farmlands gone, I desperately sigh.
