CHIZ SCORES GOV’T ON RICE-IMPORT DEPENDENT POLICY
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Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday said the government’s rice-import dependent policy will only
continue to weaken the country’s agricultural sector and further entrench poverty in the countryside.
“We have become the world’s biggest rice importer. This administration appears hell-bent in keeping the
title by importing a record P59 billion pesos worth of rice this year. This nearsighted approach to food
security is deplorable. If the alleged overpricing of rice imports are true, then these deals can only be
described as unconscionable” he said.
“What we must do is boost domestic rice production by giving farmers incentives. Another way to lessen
dependence on imported rice is to plant other grains that we may be able to barter for rice. We just cannot
continue importing rice and be at the mercy of suppliers,” he said.
Escudero said his estimates show that the government may have lost 5.7 billion to 13.1 billion pesos in
kickbacks in the importation of 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam early this year.
He said that the alleged kickbacks are more than enough to pay for the P4.5 billion budget for farm-to-market
roads and P3.3 billion allocated for the purchase of fertilizers in 2009.
Escudero also said the report by Oxfam International that rice production in the country would fall from 50 to
70 percent by 2020 should spur the next administration to reverse this rice-import dependent policy.
“We have more than enough time to mitigate, if not prevent, this nightmare scenario from happening. We will
not be able to lift most of our rural communities out of poverty if we continue to neglect agriculture,” he said.
According to the Oxfam report, rice-producing countries will be hit hard by climate change. It said that farm
yields will drop by an average of 10 percent for every one-degree Celsius rise in temperature.
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PEOPLE’S TRUST IN CHIZ REMAINS HIGH
AND STEADY: PULSE ASIA
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Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero has consistently topped most trusted ratings among selected public officials
in four surveys conducted by Pulse Asia in the past year.
The polls show that the 39-year old Escudero was the only one among five probable presidential
candidates, whose ratings did not dip below 70 percent, averaging 73.8 percent in the polls that were
conducted in July, October, February, May this year.
Closely following Escudero was partymate Senator Loren Legarda who scored an average of 71.6 percent
and Senator Mar Roxas with 69 percent. At fourth was Sen. Manny Villar with 63.2 percent while Vice
President Noli De Castro trailed at fifth with 50 percent.
In its latest survey held from May 4-17, Roxas, Escudero, Villar, and Legarda were in a virtual dead heat as
the most trusted public official in the country.
Roxas had a “big trust” rating of 73 percent, followed by Escudero (71 percent), Villar (70 percent) and
Legarda (69 percent). Vice President De Castro had a rating of 48 percent while President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo was at 25 percent.
He is also the only candidate whose small/no trust rating has never been higher the 8 percent (high of 8%,
low of 6%) compared to Roxas (10%, low of 7%) ; Villar (high of 14%, low of 8%); De Castro (high of 23%,
low of 17%); and Legarda (high of 9%, low of 6%.)
The same Pulse Asia survey also shows Escudero placing second to De Castro in a very close race with
three other presidentiables if elections were held today.
De Castro topped the poll with 19 percent, closely followed by Escudero at 17 percent, former President
Joseph Estrada at 16 percent, and Villar at 15 percent. Legarda was at fifth with 12 percent. Roxas, on the
other hand, was trailing at sixth with 8 percent.
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