The Palawan Times

By Cheryl A. Galili

TO PROVIDE solution to the persistently increasing rice prices in the province, Board member Ernesto Llacuna is proposing for Governor Joel T. Reyes to allocate P2.5 million to be distributed to municipalities to subsidize the production of rice.

In a resolution he authored, Llacuna said 5,000-10,000 farmers can benefit from certified seeds under a 50-50 scheme sharing that can be implemented. Around 10,500 bags of certified seeds can be distributed to all rice-growing municipalities that can help sustain rice production for the province.

Palawan, he said, is one of the provinces that have a large potential for rice farming. Base on the record of the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA), around 74,000 hectare are being planted with rice every year that have a total production of 260,000 metric tons of palay.

Llacuna stated that if the 260,000 metric tons of palay will be made into rice without the supply that will be used for next cropping, they will be equivalent to a 170% increase in the supply of rice based on consumption level.

But the 170% self-sufficiency can decrease if it will start this year because of the increase in prices of farm inputs, such as fertilizers, seedlings and pesticides that are needed. This can affect the increase in prices and also the rice production of farmers because they would opt to use ordinary seedlings than purchase quarantined ones and use fertilizers that cost less.

He said that having the rice subsidy for rice-growing municipalities is a recommendation too of the OPA to help farmers in increasing rice production.

“The provincial government should have a contingency measure and we are recommending the rice subsidy for rice-growing municipalities. At least, the provincial government can help many farmers spend less on certified seeds,” he added.

In Puerto Princesa at the New City Public Market in Barangay San Jose, where most farm products are delivered first during weekends, rice prices have noticeably gone up. The cheapest kilo of rice costs P25 while the highest is being sold at P35-P36. Llacuna said this is surprising because prices have already gone down in other provinces.

He informed that information has also reached him that in other towns, rice is being sold at very, very high prices, sometimes reaching P74.

He called on the National Food Authority (NFA) to coordinate with concerned agencies and verify the report so appropriate solutions can be done since it is hard for the provincial government to do something about rice price regulation.

“Maybe through the coordinated efforts of the NFA, Department of Agriculture and Department of Trade and Industry, something can be done about this,” the board member said.

Llacuna’s resolution has already been forwarded to the Committee on Agriculture in the Provincial Board for the next deliberation. If the resolution is approved, he said it can be done this May until December 2008.

Social Markers

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

By Cheryl A. Galili

THE CONTROVERSY surrounding the purported plan of the government to win back the control of the Mount Mantalingahan escalated anew after a coalition of indigenous people (IP) condemned its advocates for being “disrespectful” of their lawful right, culture and political traditions.

In an apparent move to refute the claims of its detractors, the Brooke’s Point Federation of Tribal Councils (Brofetrics), a federation of IPs from the province’s southern corridor, recently issued came out with an open letter that says it is “saddened by the fact that the very people who were supposed to politically lead and socially help them are completely clueless and unmindful of the ways and workings of the IPs.”

Chieftain Renila Dulay, president of the Brofetrics, said “all IP communities under our coalition were insulted by public insinuations of certain quarters, supposedly of honorable and high social stature, that our broad unity against the reclassification of our ancestral domain (Mount Mantalingahan) is spurious.”

This newest development came following a news article published in a national daily that claimed the 28 tribal chieftains who signed a position paper against the proposed reclassification of the controversial Mt. Mantalingahan into a “protected zone” was “spurious.”

Quoting Vice-Mayor Jean Feliciano and the Palawan NGO Network, Inc. (PNNI), the news article further asserted that the coalition leaders are not being truly supported by the tribes.

“Our detractors’ demeaning statements show how very little their understanding is on the ways of the tribes. They also exhibit utter disrespect of our traditions and processes. In fact, we assert our claim that we were never consulted in their plans to propose the declaration of Mt. Mantalingahan as protected zone, despite the fact that we are the ones who will be immediately and directly affected by their them,” Dulay continued.

The leaders of Brofetrics said the situation has now forced them to show their strength, if only to debunk allegations that they have no popular following. Right now, they want to discuss the matter to their 7,500-strong IP membership network to build up support in their fight for their ancestral domain rights, according to Dulay.

Dulay and the rest of Brofetrics denied too that mining firms exploring and operating in the area have a hand in their opposition to the reclassification of Mt. Mantalingahan as a “protected zone,” saying “we know our fight and we certainly know our rights. If others do not want to respect our unity, the least they can do is to respect our culture and beliefs.”

It is supposed that the proposed protected zone will help preserve the mountain’s landscape and natural resources, which the IPs’ oppose because it is their lawful right and responsibility on how to best manage and take advantage of their lands under Republic Act 8371, or the IPRA Law that empowers them.

Social Markers

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

By Ines B. Tagacay

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Palawan is set to file murder raps against City PNP Chief P/Supt. Enrique Ancheta for the death of a 40-year old suspected theft in March.

Lawyer Alex Cabornay, executive officer of the NBI, said the case will be filed as soon as they finish its formal transmittal to the fiscal’s office.

The case against Ancheta is in relation to the death of Eduardo Tipanao alias Eddie Pitong of Barangay San Isidro on March 28 at the Quito area.

Cabornay said that before his death, Tipanao was able to belie that he grabbed the gun of Ancheta’s driver that’s why he was shot inside a police patrol car. Investigations conducted by the bureau, he added, told a completely different story from the one the City PNP chief related.

It can be recalled that the incident happened after Ancheta and his driver, PO3 Ronnel Cacal, responded to a report that the suspect was seen in Quito while selling a military uniform he stole.

After hauling Tipanao inside the patrol car, Ancheta alleged the suspect tried to snatch the gun of Cacal on the way to the City PNP.

He claimed further that he had to shoot Tipanao to protect his and his driver’s life. Two gun shots were fired from a caliber .40 Glock by Ancheta. One hit the suspect in the abdomen and the other landed on the door of the Innova.

By Ines B. Tagacay

THE BANTAY Dagat of the city government has sent words to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the PNP Maritime to find a new docking site for the foreign and domestic vessels it is holding under custody because they are unsightly and to keep the bay safe from toxic chemicals and oil slicks.

This development came following the Bantay Dagat’s retrieval of at least a thousand bottles of what is believed to be formalin in shallow waters off the bay.

Joel Desierto, a diver of the marine watchdog organization, said they apparently came from foreign fishing vessels that submerged a long time ago due to poor maintenance. They were salvaged from a depth of more than 10 feet

Ian Marcelo, the head of Bantay Dagat, said it was his recommendation to Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn to ask the PCG to look for a new docking location for the vessels it is holding under custody.

He said this is the best thing to do to avoid similar incidents and also because oil has been found to be leaking from the vessels.

The toxic bottles might have allegedly been hidden inside secret compartments of fishing vessels that have already gone down under while the cases of their owners are being heard at the Palawan Regional Trial Court.

To date, the PCG and the PNP Maritime are looking after vessels from three poaching cases that involve Chinese nationals.

Meanwhile, Hagedorn said he was shocked to learn about the report. He said the foreign fishing vessels should have been divested of all their contents as poor maintenance would really send them underwater.

Maritime authorities, he added, should have turned the inside-out of the vessels to look for other evidence other than the ones readily seen by the naked eye. He has ordered lawyer Arnulfo Tagle to assist in investigating the case so charges can be filed against concerned agencies for alleged negligence.

Until the time Hagedorn showed disappointment, the PCG and the PNP-Maritime reportedly did not help in the retrieval operation of the Bantay Dagat. This has apparently irked the mayor more to order that cases should be filed for responsible agencies that allow foreign fishing vessels to just sink without proper reports.

He said the boats were large enough in order for maritime authorities not to realize they’re already missing from where they’re docked.