Agri Promise

COMMENTARY
OFWs and Philippine agriculture
Ernesto M. Ordoñez
Inquirer News Service

HOW big is the connection between overseas Filipinos and Philippine agriculture?

Today, it is small but a project proposed by a Filipino businessman currently living in the United States can change that. The good news is that this project can succeed without government support, though government assistance will always be welcome.

Background

In an e-mail group last week, a La Salle alumnus wrote, "Do you know that the combined income of the Filipinos in the United States is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of the entire Philippines?" He said there were 1.4 million registered Filipino workers earning an average of $70,000 a year, as against the per capita GDP of about $1,000 a year for our 88 million Filipinos here.

The Commission on Overseas Filipinos said that as of December 2004, there were 2.7 million Filipinos in the United States. This makes credible the claim that there are 1.4 million workers in the United States who are earning income. This is because both man and wife in a Filipino family there are working.

If we use the same ratio that approximately half of registered overseas Filipinos are earning income, then as many as four million out of the eight million overseas Filipinos are in this category. It cannot be denied that the 4 million overseas Filipinos definitely earn more than the country's entire GDP. This is where badly needed help for Philippine agriculture can come from.

Where remittances go

The Filipino businessman, who prefers to remain anonymous, said Filipinos in the United States invariably send money home, mostly to relatives. Though some of these remittances go to worthwhile causes such as tuition support, these funds are sometimes spent for unproductive activities such as gambling and drinking.

This is why many overseas Filipinos would rather contribute to productive projects. And while charitable works are liked, there is a desire to contribute to sustainable economically productive endeavors. They not only want to give fish, they also want to contribute to teaching people how to fish.

There are, however, two obstacles. First, they do not know the people who can teach their intended recipients "how to fish" or how to make a livelihood activity productive and profitable. Second, they do not personally know the recipients sponsored by the many organizations that ask for funds from them. Thus, they are reluctant to donate to these organizations.

The proposed project addresses both obstacles.

Alyansa Agrikultura

The Alyansa Agrikultura [Agricultural Alliance], composed of 39 national and local federations of farmers and fisherfolk in the country, is proposed to address the first obstacle. Though its members have their own outreach livelihood programs, they are limited in helping start small businesses because of lack of capital.

Going to banks is difficult because of lack of collateral, while relying on 5-6 loan sharks often means failure because of the 240-percent average annual interest rate. The funds from abroad proposed in this project will allow them to expand their program of transferring technology, ensuring markets, and generally making the livelihood projects successful.

The Alyansa Agrikultura members will provide guidance at no cost. They will even incur the obligation of helping ensure that the fund recipient gives quarterly progress reports to the donor. This has the added benefit of monitoring fund use to ensure that the funds are not used for non-productive purposes.

The second obstacle is also addressed by this project. The overseas Filipino will identify his or her intended recipient, usually a relative. The money will go directly to him or her, provided he or she identifies the project as well as the "big brother" or "big sister" from groups like the Alyansa Agrikultura. This way, the chances of success will increase. The project can then generate income for the recipient's needs.

Forum

Already, this Filipino businessman has identified several Filipinos in the United States who want to contribute to this project. Several Alyansa Agrikultura member-organizations have likewise expressed their support.

Albert Lim, president of the National Federation of Hog Raisers Inc. with its 34 associations nationwide, said, "This will certainly help our outreach program because of the additional grant funds."

Gregorio San Diego, president of the United Broiler Raisers' Association said, "This will be an added boost to the growth of the small broiler industry, which can benefit from new players using better technology."

Arsenio Tanchuling, a convener of the Kilusang Mangingisda [Fisherfolk Movement], said, "With this project, we can teach nontraditional technologies, such as crab fattening, seaweed culturing, and 'ginamos' making."

On Thursday, Aug. 11, the Alyansa Agrikultura is sponsoring a forum on this topic. This will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Philippine Social Science Center Conference Room on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. Interested parties in linking overseas Filipinos and Philippine agriculture may call +632 8516635 if they wish to attend.

The author is the chairman of Agriwatch, a private sector initiative. For inquiries and suggestions, e-mail agriwatchphil@yahoo.com or call or fax +632 8516635.

Another Jueteng Witness

Posted by Sheila Coronel
Filed under In the News

IN a hurriedly called press conference this morning, a Malacañang political operative made what are potentially the most damaging allegations of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's involvement in electoral fraud since the "Hello Garci" tapes were made public in June. 

Michaelangelo "Louie" Zuce, a presidential staff officer assigned from February 2001 to July 2004 to the Office of the Presidential Liaison Officer for Political Affairs headed by Lakas stalwart Joey Rufino, also accused the Office of the President of directly bribing and otherwise getting the cooperation of elections officials in Mindanao to ensure Mrs. Arroyo's victory.

The burly Zuce, a nephew by affinity of the disgraced elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, whose wiretapped conversations set off the gravest crisis of the Arroyo presidency, also attested to his role in the fraud, which included conniving with election officials in Mindanao to make sure Mrs. Arroyo led in the count. (Click here for Zuce's sworn statement.) 

Zuce, who said he came out publicly because his life was in danger, apparently also acted as his uncle's trusted messenger, runner and companion. He said that his tasks, dating to 18 to 20 months before the May 2004 elections, included raising funds for, organizing meetings with, and distributing payoffs to, Mindanao election officials.

Even more damaging, Zuce said that some of the payoffs made to Mindanao-based provincial election supervisors and regional directors of the Commission on Elections came from Pampanga-based jueteng lord Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda and his wife Lilia. He also confirmed that 27 regional directors and provincial election supervisors from Mindanao had a secret dinner with Mrs. Arroyo at her La Vista, Quezon City home in January 2004.

During that dinner, which Garcillano and then Isabela Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. allegedly also attended, the election officials were introduced to the President by Mrs. Pineda, Zuce said. After the introductions, Mrs. Arroyo supposedly made a short speech asking for the officials' support in the elections.

The President then left and proceeded to another engagement. "As we were leaving, Mrs. Pineda gave RD (regional director) Johnny Icaro white envelopes for all of us," Zuce's affidavit said. "When we opened them in the vehicles, we found that each envelope contained P30,000." 

In impromptu remarks made in the launching of a breastfeeding program this morning, Mrs. Arroyo denied any involvement in election fraud and accused her opponents of "waging a black propaganda against me, saying I am this and I am that, especially those who are angry, those who are in need of money and whose testimonies are for sale."

Later, in an interview with ABC-5, she said, "Ang masasabi ko walang nagbibigay ng suhol sa harap ko (All I can say is no one gives out bribes in front of me)."

Indeed, Zuce said the President was no longer there when the payoffs were made. What his affidavit alleges is her "knowledge and direct participation" in the rigging of the elections as attested to by:

• Her canny appointment of Garcillano, after he had proven that he had a personal network of key Comelec people in Mindanao who would do his bidding;
• Her personal knowledge of the attempts to influence the election officials through meetings and "consultations," as attested to in the approval by the Office of the President of these consultations;
• Her approval of the release of funds for such consultations with key Mindanao Comelec personnel;
• Her personal appeal for support, as a candidate, from officials of a supposedly nonpartisan election body; and
• Her tacit approval of the role the Pineda couple allegedly played in getting the cooperation of the Comelec bureaucrats.

Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio called the charges "incredible and fantastic," saying that it didn't make sense that a minor functionary like Zuce would be included in meetings to which his boss, Rufino, was not. Rufino, he said, was ill with cancer and could not answer the allegations directly. (Both Claudio and Undersecretary for Political Affairs Raymundo Roquero, however, confirm that Zuce was employed in the Office of the President, first under Rufino, and from September 2004 to last May, under Roquero.)

While the account of the dinner at the presidential home may be the most sensational of Zuce's allegations, his sworn statement also reveals a deliberate and organized effort by the Office of the President to influence the outcome of 2004. 

Zuce's narration begins in October 2002, when he introduced his uncle, then Comelec Region 10 director, to Rufino, who subsequently endorsed Garcillano's appointment to the President. Apparently to ensure his nomination as commissioner, Garcillano proposed a "nationwide consultation" with Comelec officials, which was a thinly disguised attempt to get these officials' support for the president.

Garcillano, according to Zuce, was "used by PGMA during the elections in exchange for his ambition to become a Comelec commissioner." 

Garcillano began by asking for a budget of P2.4 million, but only P1 million was initially approved by the President and this was used for three "consultations" with Mindanao elections officials, some of them coinciding with the Comelec sports fests that Garcilliano was famous for organizing.

During the consultations held in Mindanao, these election officials "expressed their willingness to support PGMA's candidacy depending on what Director Garcillano wanted them to do," Zuce's affidavit said. "The Mindanao election officials present also said that  Atty. Garcillano should be appointed Commissioner so that he would be behind them and be able to answer for them in their efforts of supporting PGMA." 

In all three consultations, Garcillano distributed P20,000 each for regional directors and provincial election supervisors, P15,000 for city election officers, P10,000 for municipal election officers and P5,000 for selected staff of Comelec Mindanao, said Zuce. Garcillano, Zuce added, made the point to say that the cash was "being given by PGMA in appreciation of their expression of support of her candidacy."

A second round of payoffs was made to Mindanao regional directors and provincial elections supervisors at a meeting organized by Rufino's office at the Grand Boulevard Hotel on Roxas Boulevard in Manila in late 2003.  During that meeting, Zuce said that he personally distributed to the Comelec officials P17,000 each in white envelopes. 

A third meeting with Mindanao Comelec officials, again at the Grand Boulevard, was held in January 2004, where three of Rufino's staff distributed P25,000 each to the attendees.

A month later, Garcillano was named Comelec commissioner, with strong endorsements from Rufino and a manifesto signed by Comelec officials in Mindanao. Zuce said that Garcillano told him that Mrs. Pineda "was asked by higher-ups to help in the confirmation of Comm. Garcillano before the Commission on Appointments."

Once ensconced in the Comelec, Garcillano began planning a "big special operation" in Mindanao under his supervision, said Zuce. 

To get the ball rolling, the Comelec commissioner planned a junket in Manila for 27 Mindanao regional directors and provincial election supervisors. Zuce said that his uncle asked him to get Rufino to fund trip. Garcilliano also allegedly brought Zuce to the Pinedas' Greenhills, San Juan home to plan such an operation, which would include the assignment of people and the vehicles that would be needed.

Also at that meeting, Bong Pineda, according to Zuce, gave him P150,000 to cover the costs of the Manila junket, including a three-day stay at the Rothman Hotel in Malate. It was also then that the dinner with Mrs. Arroyo was announced. 

For the election operations proper, Zuce said he was asked to:

• Prepare the budget for the Mindanao operations, on the instructions of Garcillano and Rufino
• Coordinate the delivery of vehicles needed for the Mindanao operations (four Pajeros and two jeeps courtesy of Pagcor chief Ephraim Genuino)
• Monitor and coordinate with Comelec officials and employees to ensure Mrs. Arroyo's victory. "In places where PGMA would be losing, I was to talk to them to find ways to reduce her loss or to add votes in her bailiwicks," said Zuce's affidavit. His area of operations included the Misamis provinces, Lanao provinces, Marawi City, Cotabato City, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sarangani. He was also coordinating, through mobile phone, with operatives in the Zamboanga provinces, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Zamboanga City.

Among the more sensational contents of Zuce's affidavit is the revelation that Garcillano was given P12 million for the Mindanao operations, an amount the commissioner said was not sufficient. Zuce said he was brought by his uncle to a condominium on Macapagal Blvd. in Pasay and shown a closet filled with P1,000-bills wrapped in plastic.

Gloriagate Blogs

Posted by Alecks Pabico
PCIJ

LET a thousand (journalist) blogs bloom.

No doubt about it, the current political crisis rocking the Arroyo administration has made blogging, for all its unmediated, instantaneous and personal nature, an attractive reporting medium for Filipino journalists. Of course, the case for blogging journalists has already been made by the likes of Manuel L. Quezon III, Jove Francisco (By Jove!), Chin Wong ( Digital Life), Erwin Oliva (cyberbaguioboy), to name a few, even before we at the PCIJ started venturing into the blogosphere ourselves.

Recent welcome additions to the journalist blogging community are GMA Network's Howie Severino (Side Trip with Howie Severino), who has a blog on blogs today, and Philippine Daily Inquirer's editorialist John Nery (Newsstand). Much earlier, we also saw GMA reporters coming out with blogs of their own — Tina Panganiban-Perez ( crimson page) and Joseph Morong (Essays and Other Lullabies). The media network is said to be encouraging its reporters to go into blogging.

Another journalist has also been blogging anonymously since May at The Early Edition.

While the mainstream media based in Metro Manila seem slow in grasping the potential of blogging as an important addition to the journalistic toolkit, interesting developments have happened elsewhere. In Cebu, Sun.Star has spiced up its coverage of "Gloriagate" by launching the Citizen Watch: The Arroyo Presidency blog. There's also dyAB, the first radio station (as far as I know) that is complementing all its programs with blogs ( dyAB Abante Bisaya). 

Hello, Garci Ring Tone Download

Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Indymedia server:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (124.1 KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (72.1 KB)

Server Mirror 1:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

To save, right-click on the file and click save as.

Many thanks to QC Indymedia and Yuga of PinoyBlog and Ploghost for hosting the files.

Links to the entire tape are at the PCIJ blog.

How do I put it in my phone?

1. Download your choice by clicking any or all of the files.

2. Transfer the downloaded file/s from the computer to your phone using either an infrared connection or a USB-to-phone cable.

3. For those whose phones have GPRS/WAP access, point your phone's browser to www.txtpower.org and download it directly to your phone.

4. Once transferred to your phone, the sound file may be used as ringtone for calls or text messages.

Other options

1. Ask for file-transfer from friends who may already have the ringtone. Both your phones should have either infrared or bluetooth connections.

2. Join any of the future anti-GMA rallies and look for the TXTPower banner. Next big date is June 24.

3. Watch out for the TXTPower "Hello Garci" Ringtone Download Team when they go around offices, stores and tiangges, communities and schools!

Download Garci Ring Tone From TxtPower

June 17, 2005
Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Server Mirror 1:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

To save, right-click on the file and click save as.

Many thanks to Yuga of PinoyBlog and Ploghost for hosting the files.

Links to the entire tape are at the PCIJ blog.

Kapamilya Run

Registration Centers:

• Ayala Center (beside the Activity Center)
• Aboitix Express in E-Mall
• SM City (beside the Supermarket)
• Cebu City Sports Commission (Cebu City Sports Center)
• ABS-CBN Broadcast Complex, Jagobiao, Mandaue City

The P100 registration fee entitles each runner singlets, snacks and giveaways.

 

Pulso sa DYAB Abante Bisaya, Maayong Buntag, Kapamilya ug TV Patrol Central Visayas

Tagbaw ka ba sa pagpatuman sa gobyerno sa iyang sports programs?

Please text your answer to DYAB REACT (opinion) and send to 2366.

Typhoon Dante Is Here

Typhoon "DANTE" was estimated based on satellite and surface data at 1,080 kms east of Visayas (12.1°N 135.4°E) with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph. It is forecast to move west northwest at 19 kph. Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao. Southwesterly surface windflow prevailing over Western Luzon.

Metro Cebu: Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the south and southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 24 to 30°C (75 to 86°F).
More Weather

ABS-CBN In Europe

 

 

 

 

 

Jueteng Payolas

Former gambling lord Wilfredo Mayor, right, talks beside Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Cruz as he answers questions from Filipino senators in Manila. The senate opened a probe into allegations that illegal gambling operators have paid huge bribes to government officials, including President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's husband and son.

Politics Update

• Bush: America Will Honor Fallen Soldiers 
• White House to File Case Over Airbus 
• AP: Lawmakers Belatedly Disclose Trips
• Cheney Offended by Amnesty Int'l Report
• Democrats Defend Wash. Governor Election 

» All Politics from AP

Weather Update

 

Frontal system affecting Luzon. Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affecting Southern Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan.

Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy skies with rainshowers and thunderstorms, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 24 to 32°C (75 to 90°F).
 

More Weather

Patrulla Aguila

 

Members of the Spanish Air Force acrobatic group 'Patrulla Aguila' fly in a mirror formation over the northern Spanish town of A Coruna.

Weather Update

 

Frontal system affecting Luzon. Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao and Western Visayas including Palawan.

Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy skies with rainshowers and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the south and southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 25 to 33°C (77 to 91°F).
 

More Weather

Weather Update

 

Tail-end of a cold front affecting Luzon. Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao including Palawan.
Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the south and southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 24 to 34°C (75 to 93°F).
More Weather

Pulso sa DYAB Abante Bisaya, Maayong Buntag Kapamilya ug TV Patrol Central Visayas

Kon mag-plebisito karong adlawa, uyon ka ba sa pagtukod sa bag-ong tulo ka probinsiya sa Sugbo?

Please text your answer to DYAB REACT (opinion) and send to 2366.

Weather Update

Frontal system affecting Extreme Northern Luzon. Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao including Palawan.

Metro Cebu: Partly cloudy to cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the south and southwest, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 24 to 34°C (75 to 93°F).

 
More Weather

Weather Update

Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao. Frontal system affecting Northern and Central Luzon.

 
Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southeast, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 24 to 34°C (75 to 93°F).
More Weather

Weather Update

Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) Mindanao. Frontal system affecting Northern Luzon.
Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southeast and south, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 26 to 34°C (79 to 93°F).
More Weather

Weather Update

Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Metro Cebu: Mostly cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southeast and south, coastal waters will be slight to moderate, temperature range 26 to 34°C (79 to 93°F).
More Weather