Heto at katatapos lang ng Mahal na Araw dito sa Pilipinas- almost a week- long holiday for most (walang pasok! But for the daily wage earner,walang sweldo!) for this predominantly Catholic nation to to give time daw to‘observe’ the true meaning of Lent.
And I will now be writing about PORK , the kind one eats – a commodity that most Catholics did without during the Lenten season, a family favorite on the dining table, and for me personally, a subject that evokes stories told by my dear, departed father of when he was a young lad and working in the slaughterhouse in his hometown in Camiling, Tarlac (also hometown of Carlos P. Romulo who saw it as the most beautiful in the world. For the very young who has the misfortune of not knowing about him, Mr. Romulo was regarded as the Pinoy of Substance- Pulitzer prize winner (for his book,’I Walked with Heroes’), diplomat par excellance, former President of the United Nations, educator and public servant.)
…and another kind- the one much desired by Philippine legislators, the pork barrel.
Heard some of my kabarangays na nag- uumpukan during the Lenten days’ lull kasi, some fears that raising pigs to raise extra income for households in the provinces (where there’s enough space to raise hogs) may dwindle and die because of the dumping to the country of this commodity. They heard over the radio daw the complaint of a local hog raisers’ group about the difficulty of competing with bigtime suppliers such as China and other neighboring countries allowed, by virtue of some agreement related to the nation’s participation with AFTA ( the ASEAN Free Trade Area ) at in this particular agreement, nakasali din ang China. Liberalization of trade nga daw- pero ang tanong ay naihanda ba naman ang bayan para dito?
Today daw, mababa lalo ang farmgate prices ng mga ito- dahil sa kamahalan ng gastusin sa pagpapalaki ng mga baboy, di na rin daw gaanong kalaki ang kinikita ng nag- aalaga nito. Maswerte na kung lumagpas ng sanlibong peso ang kita per head of pig- hosme, ito ay pinapalaki ng mahigit 4 months, pinakakain ng mamahaling feeds, nililinisan ng pegpen ilang beses isang araw para di malangaw at di makunsumi sa amoy ang mga kapitbahay! Kulang ang kinitang halagang iyan.
So today, small hograisers fear that they will not stand a chance in the competition that will take place. Panu na yun? Pwede pa bang urungan ng Pilipinas ang kasunduang pinirmahan? Meron ba namang magagawa ang gobyerno to provide measures (not palliatives lamang, ano kayo!) to protect these hograisers? Naku naman, ayusin nyo yan!
Reklamo pa rin about pork ang naririnig among legislators these days about an announcement made by Malacanang (specifically from the office of the Budget Sec. Florencio’Butch’Abad) that the release of pork barrels will henceforth be tighter. In earlier press releases from that office, sinabing ;sinisiguro lang nila na hindi naman magagamit sa pamumulitika ang budget allotted for development lalo na ngayong naghahanda na ang maraming pupuwesto for the 2013 midterm Philippine elections.
The Nation’s congressmen are allocated Php70million under the Priority Development Assistance Fund) while senators get Php200million each. The fund is used for hard projects (roads, bridges and other infra), and soft projects (livelihood assistance medical assistance, scholarships for poor but deserving students, etc.)
Now, the Budget office says these solons’ proposals must jive with the new Budget Office guidelines for them to be able to have their fund released.
Angas galore ang mga taga Congress- aba daw,’Yang si Abad acts like he is above Congress! Why will he add provisions to the ones already approved by Congress???’Unconstituional!!!!(daw).
Ito namang Jayvee Ejercito ng San Juan City, dating hindi naman reklamador against the Aquino administration says…’aba, pag sila pwede, pag Congress, depende pa sa kanilang moods! Bakit ang conditional cash transfer program nila ay pinopondahan nila ng Php39billion??? Bakit sa atin, karampot na e di nila iri release???? Sabi din ng iba na mukhang sila ang magmamanipula ng pondo for their own election objectives. Daming question marks na matitindi ang naglilitawan ngayon…
All because of the looming 2013 elections.
Mistulang isang bahay ng bubuyog na binulabog ang naging reaksyon ng Liberal Party, kinabibilangang partido ng PNoy sa anunsyo a couple of weeks ago ni VP Jojo Binay that he was tying up with former President Erap to form UNA, a coalition of Binay’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino- Lakas ng Bayan (PDP- Bayan) and Erap’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP). Mas lalo pang nataranta ang LP when UNA announced that it might invite possible candidates from other political camps to form its senatorial slate for the elections.
Press release agad ang ipinalabas ng LP leadership through Butch Abad (na naman?) and Cong. Joseph Abaya: hamon kay Binay kung kanino nga ba sya- kay former Pres. Gloria Arroyo o kay PNoy? Sinusuportahan bad aw nya ang anti corruption moves ni PNoy against GMA and impeached Chief Justice Corona or di sya agree dito? Bakit sya mag- iimbita ng mga dating taga kampo Arroyo?
Bwelta naman ni Binay-‘ e bakit ba?’ Yang partido lang ba nyo ang may mga myembrong mabuti ang hangarin para sa bayan???’Hypocricy’ daw ng LP ito and attempts to link him to Gloria Arroyo are ‘desperate’ moves na daw, ayon sa VP who incidentally, once again topped the Social Weather Station March survey of most appreciated/ liked officials in the nation.
Na pinanggagalaitian ng kanyang mga di kasanggang politico.
In this latest survey, three government officials received high public satisfaction ratings- Binay maintained his ‘excellent’ rating with a net score of plus 70 (79%satisfied, 9% dissatisfied), surpassing that of PNoy’s ‘good’ rating at plus 49(68%satisfied and 19%dissatisfied), a plunge for the President from his first quarter rating of ‘very good’ at plus 58 (71%satisfied, 13% dissatisfied).
The other 2 officials who got the high ratings were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ( previously ‘good’ rating and now up to ‘very good’ at plus 56, a 20% increase in public satisfaction) and Speaker of the House Feliciano Belmonte (up from a ‘neutral’ rating of plus 8 (33%satisfied, 25%dissatisfied) to a ‘moderate’ at plus 18 (39%satisfied, 27%dissatisfied).
At mabalik tayo sa sagutang Binay/LP- Binay says ‘no’, he is not forming an alliance with ex Pres. Gloria. Baka daw nakalimutan na ng LP na sya ay naging biktima ng Arroyo administration na nagtangka sa dalawang pagkakataon na patalsikin sya bilang Mayor ng Makati City noong October 2006 at May 2007. Di na rin daw isinaalang alang ng LP na he has always expressed support for the President in all his undertakings and pronouncements, being a member of the Aquino cabinet (Binay is this country’s housing czar and OFW caretaker.)
And true to form Binay, in thanking the public for his latest high popularity rating,once again acknowledges the Philippine President as the one who made this possible- ‘If it were not for the President’s trust, I would not have been given the chance to help our overseas Filipino workers and address the country’s housing needs’.
Lalong ninerbiyos ang LP!
THANK YOU PO, TORONTO!
