Day: July 12, 2014

Philstar photo by Boy Santos.

Some say that picture, which has gone viral, is photoshopped. We had the photo analyzed by professional photographers and they said it’s genuine, not digitally tampered with.

They explained that the reason Roxas hoisting of the sack looked effortless was because the content as indicated in the sack was not regular rice but “broken rice residue” or darak used for animal feed.

A Philstar report said, “in a surprise move, Roxas before leaving Purefeeds warehouse in Malolos pulled a bag of rice from a pile and carried it on his shoulder for a photo opportunity.”

It was a desperate act, presumably aimed to boost his 2016 presidential bid which cannot seem to take off. He looked ridiculous.

The warehouse inspection pictures are by themselves politically loaded.

Security expert Ace Esmeralda posted this comment in Facebook: “I must be out of the currents events. I didn’t know that Mar Roxas is now the Dept of Agriculture Secretary. Or, was he helping NFA and CIDG in enforcing the law? But NFA said they are not raiding. They were just visiting warehouses, with bolt cutters.”

Oh well, the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) is an office of the Philippine National Police which is under the supervision of the secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, which is headed by Roxas.

The inspection was done to bolster the line of Malacañang that the increase of prices of rice is a conspiracy of unscrupulous persons . A friend who does her own marketing, said the price of rice she buys has gone up by 20 percent the past weeks. “What I used to buy for P38, P40 pesos is now P50, even more. And that is not the premium rice, the jasmine rice that is mabango,” she said.

Last June 27 in Iloilo City, President Aquino insisted there was enough supply of rice (and also garlic). He said agriculture officials suspect a conspiracy among dealers of garlic and rice to create a shortage in the market and drive up prices. “Now, nagkulang ba ang supply? Pinipilit sa atin na marami ang supply pero tila merong suspicion, uulit-ulitin ko lang, suspicion, merong mga nagkunstambahan para i-maintain ‘yung presyong mataas, lalo na diyan sa bawang,” he said.

Roxas was accompanied in the inspection by former senator Francis Pangilinan, who has been appointed Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization. Four agencies, including the National Food Authority, were taken out of the Department of Agriculture and transferred to the Office of the President and put under the supervision of Pangilinan.

Political observers, seeing photos of Roxas and Pangilinan inspecting the rice warehouses commented, “Are we seeing the 2016 Liberal Party team?”

Putting aside political speculations, the more serious message of the rice warehouse inspection photos is that the President’s promise of rice self-sufficiency which he wanted to be one of his legacies has become doubtful.

In a July 5, 2012 speech at the Agri Machinery Roadshow at the World Trade Center, the President boasted of the country becoming not only rice self-sufficient by 2013, but also possibly a rice exporter.

He said “Sa katunayan, ayon kay Kalihim Procy Alcala, sa susunod daw pong taon, hindi na po tayo mag-aangkat ng bigas dahil rice self-sufficient na tayo. Kaya naman po pakitulungan niyo si Secretary Alcala sa kanyang pangako sa taumbayan. Kung papalarin at hindi tayo masyadong babayuhin ng mga bagyo, mukhang pagdating ng 2013, hindi lang po tayo self-sufficient: tayo na po mismo ang mag-eexport ng bigas.”

Sources said the reason for the government’s delayed reaction to the problem of increased prices of rice was Aquino’s obsession with rice self- sufficiency, cultivated by fawning officials.

Last week, Aquino approved the importation of additional 200,000 tons of rice from Vietnam to stabilize stabilize retail prices.