No support for class suit

Ben Contreras .

SOMETIMES, we get interesting stories from interesting people. True or not, let’s hear them out.

What country is the No. 1 producer of avocado? Nope, we are not. Just because it sounds like a native fruit to us doesn’t mean it’s us.

The answer is Israel.

Israel students came to the Philippines to study and discovered what a great fruit avocado is. They gathered the best variety, brought them home, propagated it, and became its No. 1 producer.

We complain of expensive rice when we’re supposed to be a rice-producing country. And because of that, we rely on imported and cheaper rice from our Asian neighbors. Ouch.

Someone who travels a lot said that in one of our Asian countries, rice only costs the equivalent of P5 a kilo. The Vietnamese, like the Israelis, came to the Philippines to learn agriculture when we were once the best. Where do we stand now?

No wonder smuggling of rice proliferates because with huge profit, smugglers find it easy to bribe government officials or government agencies.

So, what happened to our agriculture? Are we encouraging our people to plant? Do we still have enough agricultural lands to produce enough food to feed a growing population that now stands at 110 million?

We seem to be losing our agricultural lands to housing projects, planting the wrong crops and worse, abandoning them to work in urban areas.

Robert de la Serna belongs to a group that helps our Muslim brothers in Marawi regain their lives by planting, starting the young right and to become productive in the future. Such commendable act should merit support from all of us, especially the government.

I support Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol’s suggestion to stop the 4Ps program and use the money to produce food. You can’t give people fish forever without teaching them how to fish. This program is a trap to lifetime bondage.

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Here is one about the recent mining summit. The Powerpoint presentation shows that in Canitoan, there is no more permit for quarrying filling materials for anyone. Then a participant asked: “Why are there (quarrying) activities going on?” Then our City Local Environment and Natural Resources officer responded: “Naa diay?”

Like his predecessor, he pretends not to know and projects innocence. Same dog, different collar!

Another same dog with a different collar is Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra who said there’s no need to review the contract with the security agency owned by Solicitor General Jose Calida. To some, delicadeza is passé. Anyway, the ax will fall on a head in due time.

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There is a deluge of complaints against the Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water Inc.un Cagayan de Oro Water District? It’s funny that we hardly get any support to file a class suit against COWD and its board of directors. No wonder COWD/BOD people continue to enjoy the comforts of their office.

One good-shot deal makes the difference for a few dishonest people.