Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ambrosio R. Villorente

Mocking The Party - List

The Arroyo family is making a mockery out of the Partylist representation driven by their greed for more power. The family has fielded a number of persons from the Arroyo family as Partylist nominees. Do they belong to the marginalized members of the Philippine society for whom the Party List representatives are intended? Mikey Arroyo has consented to represent the tricycle drivers in congress. Maybe, he drives a dilapidated ‘trisikad’

There are others like a military general who claims he belongs to a most marginalized member of the Philippine society. Hence, he also aims to represent in congress his marginalized group.

These persons are of fame, resources, and power. They want more. This is one reason why most Filipinos are poor, not empowered and humiliated. These most advantaged few get so big share of a small pie and left a minuscule share to a large number of Filipinos who became impoverished.

No Way To Win An Election

In 1977, an idea was conceived. While the farmers and fisherman are the majority of the Philippine populace, they can never win in an election. They are not capable to embark and finance a massive election campaign. They cannot match the gold, guns, and guts of the wealthy.

But all laws, rules, and regulations and administrative orders promulgated and approved by those in the executive and legislative powers cover all citizens of the Philippines in the implementation, including farmers and fishermen. This is legislation without participation.

Basing on the above rationale, the Federation of Farmers Association of the Philippines (FFAP) approved a Resolution requesting His Excellency, Ferdinand E. Marcos thru the Minister of Agriculture to provide representation for the Agriculture labor sector to the Batasan Pambansa by their leaders. The resolution was favorably acted upon.

The Agriculture labor sector in 1978 was represented to the Batasan by the late Ka Luis Taruc and Mr. Jose Cervantes for Luzon, Mr. Rolando Bayot of Capiz represented the Visayas and Dianalan, Provincial Agriculturist of Lanao del Sur represented Mindanao. Other marginalized groups like the Youth, Industrial Labor, and Women sectors were also represented by their leaders who were automatically appointed by President Marcos.

Moreover, earlier than the appointment of representatives of the marginalized sector to the Batasang Pambansa, they were accredited and allowed to be members of the municipal councils and provincial councils. The FFAP was also appointed to the National Agriculture and Fishery Council (NAFC), Quezon City.

Today, agriculture and fishery sector is organized in the Barangay, Municipal, provincial, regional and national levels as BAFC, MAFC, PAFC, RAFC, and NAFC respectively. These farmers and fishermen organizations participate in farm planning, policy formulation and monitoring of agriculture, fisheries and allied projects.

Those wealthy families must obey the purpose and spirit of the party list law. They should allow the real persons to actually represent their sectors in congress. If not, they are cruel.

A friend reported, there is one Aklanon, a businessman whose volume of business reaches multi billion dollars a year. I hope he is real sensitive person and let the genuine marginalized members of society to represent them in congress. I hope he stops faking himself and identify himself where he truly belongs.

If Villar Is Poor

A housewife asked her husband: "Kon pobre si Manny Villar, hay paano pa kita? Owa eot-at may una-una sa Pilipino?

KIA

KIA is not a brand of South Korean car. But KIA is Kalibo International Airport. I was at KIA’s departure area on Monday, March 29 waiting for the departure of a flight Kalibo – Manila.

As usual, the departure area was congested. The sound system was blurred. It was hard to understand the announcement no matter how loud. The sound system badly needs repair or replacement.

But the worst is the dusty floor with litters. After the departure of two flights of PAL and Cebu Pacific, no janitor came to clean the area. I saw two empty cans of soft drink, one empty bottles of mineral water and receptacles of bread. I looked for any CAAP employee. I saw one in the CR. I requested her to accompany me. She picked up the garbage.

But before entering the airport terminal, I passed by the façade with destroyed roofing. This roofing was the remembrance from Typhoon Frank in June 2008. The CAAP wishes perhaps to retain it for it has not repaired for almost two years now.

P40 Terminal Fee

KIA management has not budgeted ample amount to put the KIA even within the national standard. How does it spend the money it collects daily as terminal fee of P40 per local passengers and P500 per passengers bound abroad? This terminal fees amount to millions of pesos weekly.

I believe our leaders are capable to make representations to officials concerned to improve the services in KIA. Can they? Yes. /MP