Benjie Oliveros: Play of Words Does Not Make the Rice Crisis Go Away

First, its definition of and policy with regards food security is inherently flawed. It narrowly defines food security in terms of supply. Thus, according to the 2006 primer of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, “a nation could be secure although households particularly those with low income have nothing to eat.” No wonder the Arroyo government does not see the current rice crisis that is already staring it in the face.

Second, the government does not see the need to improve and increase rice production in the country- until the rice crisis imploded - as it deemed the international market as more “stable”. Even when the rice crisis was already intensifying Pres. Arroyo still declared that there is no problem where the country gets its supply of rice for as long as it is able to get it. This is exactly the policy that made the country vulnerable to price spikes in the international market.

Third, with the government’s economic orientation and programs, it is not surprising that the rice and food crisis would implode sooner or later. Its emphasis on exports rewards the shift of agricultural production from food to cash crops. Added to this, its thrust of enticing foreign companies and investors to set-up subsidiaries in the country and to invest in real estate development caused the massive conversion of land from agricultural to other uses. Complementing this are the numerous loopholes in the government’s agrarian reform program causing its failure. The government’s thrusts and the failure of the agrarian reform program facilitate the process of land use conversion and make the reconcentration of land - in the form of taking back Certificates of Land Ownership Agreements and reclassifying land previously awarded to farmers - profitable.

Fourth, the Arroyo government’s refusal to implement any substantial policy that would mitigate the effects of the crisis such as price controls and the removal of the 12 percent Expanded Value Added Tax on basic commodities show its total disregard for the people’s welfare.

It may be true that the Filipino people are not wont to resort to food riots and lootings. But the Arroyo government could not take comfort in that. The crisis is real and it concerns a gut issue: food. The only factor that prevents the Filipino people from resorting to random, desperate acts of anger and forcibly taking what they need is that we are experienced in collective action that has a clear goal: the removal of anti-people, corrupt presidents who worsen the people’s misery and sufferings. And that should serve as a warning to the Arroyo government. Bulatlat / (pinoypress.net)