Opinion

In just a few weeks, 2.6M small holder farmers from the mountains to the lowlands will start harvesting their palay.  But where is the market?  That is the $64,000 question.  This is because the palay traders have suddenly disappeared. They have become rice importers and are now making a windfall profit.  So why bother buying palay and milling it, when you can already import cheap rice (even as they are not sold cheaper as called for by the law of supply and demand). All that is said tongue in cheek. But as a rice eater – too much, to the consternation of our family doctor, Dr. Anthony Marquez, deputy director at the Pasig General Hospital – I am, as you are, too, concerned about what’s happening to our daily staple, beginning with its unhusked grain, palay. While waiting to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointment, newly appointed Agriculture Secretary William Dar has started going around the country to encourage the governors to do business, … [Read more...] about Have rice, will eat

AT 56 years of age, Malaysia ought to have developed a global culture of shared interests embracing the diversity that makes us truly Asia. But in shaping the nation we have failed to innovate a deeper multiculturalism. This lack of global shared interests is most pronounced in religion, with our continuing inability to grasp the idea of wholeness. We remain elitists favouring our own religion as “the only way” or the “only safe way” and the latest thrill is the spectacle of persuading adherents from some other religion to convert in front of a jubilant crowd. This is not propagation of religious values; it is subversion of interfaith solidarity. The practice of conversion originated from West Asia-Mediterranean Europe, a region known for its ceaseless wars between hostile civilisations over the past 4,000 years. In that context, when someone converted he crossed civilisational boundaries; he would now belong to another people. Switching communal alliances … [Read more...] about Lack of shared interests poses danger

Sometime in the late 1950s, the American scholar, John Provinse, made me an unusual offer. He had read my articles on agrarian reform and my short stories. He offered me a fellowship to live in Tondo for a year, after which I would then write about my experiences there. He gave me a copy of the book, “The Children of Sanchez” by Oscar Lewis, about the author’s life in a Mexican slum. It was at the time the most insightful exposition on poverty. Today, poverty is a global phenomenon afflicting millions, including many Filipinos who eat only once a day. Our foremost sociologists, Mary Racelis, F. Landa Jocano, and Aprodicio Laquian, have studied this condition assiduously, analyzing its causes and why it persists. Many Philippine scholars with PhDs from foreign universities are almost always middle class. They bring with them their social bias in their analysis of lower-class conditions. Most of the time, however, they are correct in their assessments of Filipino … [Read more...] about The plebeian mind

For several days last month, President Rodrigo Duterte was bombarded anew with severe criticisms from arch anti-administration leaders over his latest controversial public pronouncements. President Duterte was taken to task for publicly telling policemen it is not corruption to accept certain amount of money as “gifts” from people who want to show their appreciation of the services rendered to them. Administration officials taking up the cudgels for President Duterte did not help any. Obviously, they made things worse for him, even citing amounts of money or worth of gifts they claim to be tolerable – something that should not be more than the salary they receive from the government.  Critics of President Duterte accused him of abetting bribery as a normal way of life for policemen and the rest of those working in government service. This controversy all started from the President’s speech during the 118th Police Service anniversary held at Camp Crame, … [Read more...] about ‘Moderate the greed’

These days I unwind at the end of the day by watching movies on Netflix. They can be addicting. If they run for five seasons with 10 to 20 episodes lasting 45 to 60 minutes each and are never shown in cinemas, are they movies or TV shows? This has been a controversial issue at the Oscar awards. The Golden Globes now has a category for motion pictures made for TV, with the miniseries “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” reaping honors. Considering the quality of production of made-for-streaming serials such as HBO’s blockbuster “Game of Thrones” and Netflix’s “Vikings,” the TV / streaming service shows can truly compete with the best of the films made for the big screen. And the streaming features even have subtitles – a boon not just to the hearing-impaired but also to people like me who don’t like the volume in a movie theater. With films on cable TV, pirated Blu-ray DVDs (P20 for ordinary copies, P60 for the top grade) and … [Read more...] about 100 years of cinema