NFA admits rice shortage in south Mindanao

06/03/2008 | 07:48 AM 

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) admitted Tuesday a rice "shortage" in Southern Mindanao, where rice prices went up to as high as P50 a kilo.

NFA spokesman Rex Estoperez said the supply shortfall hit some 400,000 metric tons, prompting the area to get its supply from Iloilo, Central Mindanao and even Metro Manila.

"Noong nakaraang mga season pala, yung ating Southern Mindanao meron na talagang deficit na mga 400,000 metric tons. Ang nagsu-supply sa kanila na Central Mindanao, 40,000 lang ang surplus, so talagang kukulangin sila (In the last season, Southern Mindanao had a shortage of 400,000 metric tons. It had to get its supply from Central Mindanao, which at the time had a surplus of only 40,000 metric tons)," Estoperez said in an interview on dwIZ radio.

He said other rice supplies also came from Iloilo and Metro Manila, which he said was carrying high price tag due to transportation cost.

The revelation belied repeated claims by President Gloria Arroyo and agriculture secretary Arthur Yap of a bountiful rice harvest, at least in Southern Mindanao.

Estoperez said NFA administrator Jessup Navarro had flown to Mindanao to get a detailed report on the rice situation there.

But he insisted that the P50-per-kilo rice was the commercial variety, and not the NFA-subsidized rice.

According to him, the NFA will now "inject" supplies of subsidized rice priced at P18.25 and P25 per kilo to the markets there to prevent price speculation and manipulation.

"Gagawin natin ngayon i-adopt ang strategy sa Metro Manila. Mag-i-introduce tayo ng P25 mid-price at ituloy ang P18.25 (We will adopt the plan we implemented in Metro Manila. We will introduce the P25 mid-price rice from Thailand and America and continue to sell the P18.25/kilo rice)," he said.

In the meantime, Estoperez appealed to households to stop engaging in "household hoarding," including lining up for NFA rice more than once a day.

"Huwag magsayang ng bigas, at ang sa pila huwag bumalik-balik ... Sana huwag ganoon kasi masisira ang ating normal na distribution (Don't waste rice and don't line up more than once a day. We hope everyone will cooperate because this is disrupting our normal distribution flow)," he said.

Meanwhile, Estoperez reiterated his warning to rice dealers not to engage in hoarding and price manipulation, lest the NFA revive police "visitations" of warehouses.

He said tapping the police and National Bureau of Investigation is a "last resort" for the NFA.

"Ayaw natin mangyari yan at ayaw natin sa madaling panahon. Pakiusap natin normal ang pagbenta (We don't want to resort to that. So we are asking them nicely not to hoard)," he said. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/98810

Reaction:

Rice shortage is a problem not only in South Mindanao but all over the country. It really saddens me that some cities or provinces in the Philippines are importing rice to supply the shortage.  If we trace back our rice history, we can see that the Philippines is among the top producers of rice in Asia. I wonder how the tides changed; one of the top producers of rice before is now experiencing shortage. What could have been the reasons that brought us this trouble?

We had all the resources to start with: a vast area of land, blessed with the weather and temperature of our tropical location, and sufficient amount of rainfall. We had our Banaue Rice Terraces before that was considered one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It didn’t only provide us with tourism but also a hefty supply of rice. If I think of it, with all these in our hands, a rice shortage was the last thing our country would experience. Alas, we are currently expecting the least trouble I thought we would have: rice shortage.

I am not an expert with regards to how the economy of rice works in our present situation today but I will share my thoughts on why this barricade is blocking our way to the land of the prosperous. Allow me to share a little of my experience in relation to the matter. I live in a province where hectares of rice fields can be found abundantly. I am aware of this because travelling from one place to another the refreshing green aura of a rice field attracts my eyes. Now, as years are passing by, I can see less of the rice fields and more of Banana plantations, rubber trees, oil palms, new constructions of buildings, and etc. It made me think why people preferred to enter into those businesses mentioned above and not into the rice industry. With the help of my curiosity, I found out that rice farmers are paid with an amount that is not sufficient to support their needs while the processed rice being sold in the market is substantial or better. With this knowledge, I concluded that people, specifically rice farmers, are starting to shift away from producing rice because of the lower benefit they receive than planting bananas, rubber trees, and oil palms. Of course, there are more technical reasons as to why we are experiencing this hassle:  hoarding by greedy people, calamities destroying our land, drought depriving our plants of water, floods, etc.

I can still remember years ago the rice shortage and price inflation of rice had a big impact on the consumers. People are lining up on designated NFA stores to buy subsidized rice due to the high prices of commercial rice. Today, if I am not left behind, we are experiencing little to no rice shortage but we still import rice in cases of rainy days. Hopefully, with the joint effort of the Government and its people we can maintain our situation today and perhaps in the near future we can take back the recognition of one of the top producers of rice.

Singapore economy set record growth in 2010

By Staff Reporter | January 3, 2011 1:18 PM EST

The economy of Singapore surged by 14.7 percent in 2010, primarily driven by a surge in manufacturing activity, versus a 1.3 decline in the prior year, making it Asia’s fastest-growing economy.

The GDP performing from 2010 surpasses the prior record growth of 13.8 percent established in 1970. According to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Singapore’s performance last year was second only to Qatar, which grew by 16 percent in 2010.

The economy expanded by 6.9 percent (on an annualized basis) in the fourth quarter. The services sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of Singapore's economy, grew by 8.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 alone.

"Economic growth in the fourth quarter was primarily underpinned by a strong expansion in the manufacturing sector," the government’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.

"This strong growth was led by the biomedical manufacturing cluster, which saw a strong rebound in pharmaceutical output."

However, the city-state’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cautioned the growth would slow down in 2011. Official estimates are expecting 2011 GDP expansion of between 4 percent and 6 percent.

One of the few weak segments of the economy is the construction sector, which shrank 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter, after growing 7.1 percent in the third quarter.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/96966/20110103/singapore-gdp.htm

REACTION:

Amazing! It is just amazing how such a small country can do so much to their economy. Before, Singapore was not more than just a small island but now it has one of the most productive economies in the world.

Last year, I travelled to Singapore with some friends. As soon as our airplane was flying on top of the island, I can already see how productive Singapore is. Tall buildings, high towers, big factories, a lot of transportation road. After the sight, I wondered why I can’t smell or see pollutions like what I’ve seen in the Philippines. Then there I saw the answer: decade-year-old trees and some even centuries old. I find it very inspiring that they didn’t sacrifice their environment for industrial purposes.

One fact I learned from my visit there was almost 98% of their citizens have jobs and that one goal of their government was to provide a house for their people in which the people themselves own.  It moves me to know that their government is doing their job to help the people. From a Filipino point of view, their government is perfect.

                Another thing that I like about Singapore is, if my information is correct, that Singapore has very little natural resource. I find it remarkably astonishing that despite the fact that they have such little resource they still prospered. They started with so little but now they have so big. This just proves that big things come in small packages. I hope our country is not far behind. We already have a hefty amount of resources to start on. A little more political will from our leaders and cooperation of the people, and maybe we can be in par with other 1^st world countries. 

Online game addiction rising, counselors warn

• Obsessed players may forget to eat or sleep 
• Patient, 23, treated with 12-step abstinence course

·         Owen Bowcott

·         guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 October 2009 19.47 BST

·         Article history

Addiction to online games is becoming more widespread among vulnerable young people, according to a treatment centre that has begun running abstinence courses in Britain.

As games become more visually enticing and the recession leaves people at home in front of computer screens, therapists are encountering more cases of people obsessed with being online. In extreme circumstances game players can, they warn, become detached from normal existence and forget to eat or sleep as they interact with screen characters such as wizards and monsters. Youngsters can also develop posture problems.

Broadway Lodge, a residential rehabilitation centre in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, that normally deals with alcoholics and drug addicts, has recently treated a 23-year-old for his obsession with online games.

Brian Dudley, the centre's chief executive, said: "He was staying online for seven or eight hours at a time. We developed a treatment for him which followed the 12-step [abstinence] approach, but you can't tell someone never to use the internet again. He had eating issues, he wasn't eating properly. He did very well. He has … the mechanisms now to cope with it.

"The problem is not just restricted to young kids. We know parents who are hooked on these things. It's only a small percentage of people who get addicted but it's also only a small percentage of people who gamble too much. I don't know anybody else who is treating [such cases] in this country. There's no helpline."

Peter Smith, another counsellor at Broadway Lodge, said: "It's not unusual for people to get so obsessed with online gaming that they forget to eat and drift towards an anorexic and undernourished state. You can play online with people around the world, so it can be at odd times of the day – when it's 5pm in Chicago or evening in Japan. You have a relationship with characters in the game that give you an artificial feeling, created by your body's natural endorphins, when you have killed some monster or solved a problem."

"Addiction" is a loaded term among psychiatrists and psychologists, with many disputing whether the dependency exhibited by a few constitutes the same type of physical craving triggered by opiates such as heroin.

Online Gamers Anonymous, a US website, classifies "massively multiplayer online roleplaying games" as the most addictive. "Success in these games is highly dependent on the amount of time you put into them. Playing the game casually will leave you trailing behind others who put in more time, possibly making you feel as if you aren't as good or are falling behind."

Online role-playing games, the site adds, "encourages interaction amongst other people and development of groups, allowing people to flourish socially online, providing an escape for their struggling social life"; however the games could also ruin a "successful social life".

ELSPA The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association denied that playing online games could lead to addiction. Its director general, Michael Rawlinson, said: "Playing video games is becoming increasingly mainstream in the UK and we firmly believe in the positive impact playing games can have."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/08/online-games-addiction-on-rise

REACTION:

                To start this reaction, I would like to say that I, myself, was a victim of this phenomenon.  I wouldn’t say that all those gaming hours I’ve spent were all bad memories that I regret doing them. Yes, those experiences had done me bad but it was not all that. They also contributed to shape the better part of what I am today. Like everything else, online gaming has its advantages and disadvantages.

                Online games are fun, trust me. You get to do things inside the game that you can’t do in real life. You can walk for hours without getting tired. You can fight enemies using those skills you have learned. You can be strong. You can actually do whatever you want and be whoever you want to be. You can be a different person. Of course, those normal experiences you do in real-life can still be done in the game. Make new friends. Chat with them. Hang-out.  Even have a relationship. There was this love story of two persons; they met each other in the game, fell in love, and got married in real-life.

                Online games are not also limited to teens or young people. I know a few 30-ish to 40-ish individuals who are hooked with these types of games. They say it relieves their stress after a long days work. And yeah, I agree with them. When you log-in that character of yours into this different world, you immediately feel the stress go away. It is really hard to explain that kind of feeling. You need to experience it to know it.

                Too much of anything is usually a bad thing. Even how positive it is, if it’s too much it is too much. Being someone who had experienced what those online-game addicts had experienced, I can say that you can’t really put all the blame to them. I mean, who doesn’t want to be someone strong, to be someone you have never been, to be someone you have ever wanted to be,  and to be someone without flaws or imperfection. Especially, when you are not recognized in real-life or you are neglected. You can be the god of this virtual world in which you can do anything you want without anybody stopping you. Once you get a hold of those things it is hard to let go. Perhaps those are the reasons for their addiction; at least those WERE my reasons.

                 The sad thing about this is that you already know what is happening or what will happen and yet you still continue. Some manage to let go and moderate the possession of that virtual power, but some end up in news articles or news papers. I am glad to hear that people are aware of this phenomenon, that perhaps this could be more of a problem than drugs. I remembered the days where I didn’t eat dinner just to play all night. Woke up late, eat a piece of bread for breakfast and started playing again. I know that there are more people out there doing those kinds of things or even worse. I just hope that they wouldn’t be confused on which the real-world is and which the virtual one is.