Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Kalibo Agriculture Planning

The Committee on Agriculture, Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Kalibo invited me to attend a committee hearing on May 19 held in the SB Session Hall, Kalibo. Hon. Emmanuel Soviet Russia Aguirre Dela Cruz, committee chair, extended the invitation to discuss a proposed "Resolution Requesting Hon. Carlito S. Marquez…and the National Irrigation Authority in Aklan to Draw Up An Irrigation Master Plan for the Province Assuring the Efficient Use and Continuous Supply of Water in the Rice Paddies".

Present in the committee hearing were members of the SB Committee on Agriculture, barangay chairmen and other invited resource persons.

After the preliminary remarks of the chair, Hon. Dela Cruz, I was requested to give my comments on the proposed resolution.

The SB Kalibo may draft and approve a municipal agricultural development plan. In the plan, irrigation will be one of the components. When this municipal agricultural development plan is approved, it can be a pattern for all 17 towns of Aklan in the formulation of their respective municipal agricultural development plan.

As soon as all municipal plans are completed, it can be integrated into a provincial agricultural development plan with irrigation included.

The planning officers of every municipality may lead in this planning project with the guidance of the Provincial Development and Planning group. This is in consideration of the bottom up planning process enabling people participation for matters that affect them.

Listening to the opinions of the barangay chairs, the hearing was focused to the present situation of the irrigation system in Kalibo. Information on the zero maintenance of the lateral canals rendered some irrigation ditches non functional. With the information from the barangay chairs, the discussion shifted to the enforcement of irrigation laws. It was diverted from long term planning vis-à-vis formulation of irrigation master plan.

Overprice Road

"On Target", the column of Ramon Tulfo in the Philippines Daily Inquirer, May 16, 2009 revealed "a four-kilometer stretch of road in La Castellana will cost P115". However, road construction engineers revealed the average construction of one kilometer road is P15 million, hence only P60 million will be spent for that road. Where will the P55 million extra go?

La Castellana is 80 kilometers away from Bacolod City. This is one of the towns in the congressional district being represented by Cong. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, a brother of the First Gentleman.

GSIS Withholds $400M

The Government Service Insurance System has withheld the $400 million global investment program because of the worldwide financial crunch. This is announced by Cecil L. Feleo, GSIS senior vice president. Feleo is in charge of the GSIS asset management group.

It is ironic that the GSIS is investing GSIS money abroad when the Philippines is attracting foreign investment. If the GSIS money is invested in the Philippines, it will help solve many problems such as increase the gross domestic product, provide more employment, and conserve foreign exchange among others.

Investing GSIS money abroad which is actually owned by the government, specifically the GSIS members, is a demonstration of lack of love and respect among Filipinos and the Philippines.

Last year, GSIS allotted $600 million to ING Investment Manage-ment in Singapore and Credit Agricole Asset Management.

The GSIS report last year claimed GSIS earned P1.4 billion at the end of September 2008 from an initial investment of P25.12 billion.

If this huge amount was earned by the GSIS, what is the reason why GSIS does not pay members any dividend in December? Dividends were paid every December before Mr. Winston Garcia became GSIS president and manager. Moreover, the GSIS pensioners do not receive any increase in their monthly meager pension. Actually, what the GSIS invests is the pension fund. If GSIS investment is constantly earning, the pensioners whose money is being invested must be given their just shares. But they are not. /MP