Their lands are parched and they have nothing to feed their animals.

For the farmers to let go of one of their prized possessions – their helpers in the farm – indicates a bleak situation.

According to senatorial candidate Erin Tañada, the farmers would not have been forced to sell their animals had there been intervention to help them battle the scourge of El Niño.

He said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and related agencies should be working double time to address the farmers' need for irrigation, seedlings, and feeds for their farm animals, if necessary.

“Short-term livelihood programs or jobs should also be at hand as alternatives to farming if the dry season will not make planting viable. The DA has budget and sources of funds that it can tap to aid the country's farmers and their best friends in the farm at a time they need help most,” explained the former deputy speaker.

Central Luzon, particularly Pampanga and Zambales have been severely affected by the earthquake on Tuesday. Another trembler hit Eastern Samar and some parts of the region yesterday.

“DA must step up and show the same diligence in helping those affected by the earthquake in Central Luzon and Eastern Visayas. Nature induced calamities have overtaken the capacity of our government to intervene to mitigate the impact and damages to people. It is doubly alarming to see them, especially the poor helplessly waiting for assistance from the government,” said Tañada.

Copra prices recorded its lowest farm-gate price in Western Visayas at P13.90 a kilo. Average prices a year ago was at P31.65 a kilo.

“May I remind the good Mayor that had the President not vetoed the Coco Levy Bill, the coconut farmers would somehow have a better fighting chance to keep themselves afloat amidst the greater poverty that this sector has already suffered. The approved bicam version of both Houses provides for some social protection for coconut farmers and their families. There are actually seed funds to start off coconut enterprises, access to capital and technologies to produce higher value added products and not rely on the now dirt cheap copra. I admit that there are some provisions that are not acceptable to Kilus Magniniyog in the bicam version, but my reading is that they are willing to live with it for the meantime and just have an amendatory bill later rather than further prolong the coco farmers’ agony,” Tañada said.

He added, “(i)t is quite ironic that the coconut farmers who rightfully own the levy fund would have to languish and suffer with the drop in copra prices. Bakit kailangan pa nilang manikluhod sa Department of Agriculture para sa tulong samantalang meron naman silang sariling pondong sana ay kanila nang nagagamit upang paunlarin ang industriya ng niyog?”

It may be recalled that Tañada, together with his father, former Senator Bobby Tañada and his brother Atty. Toby Tañada joined the coconut farmers long march from Davao to Malacanang in its Quezon Province leg in November 2014 to clinch an Executive Order from then President Noynoy so that the fund may be utilized.

This was the statement of Otso Diretso senatorial candidate Lorenzo "Erin" Tañada as he called on the local government units and the Department of Agriculture to work together to use the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) to give aid to the farmers and their families.

The PSF is a special fund in the National Treasury, created through Republic Act 10174 that was authored by Tañada when he was still the Representative of the 4th District of Quezon in the House of Representatives. The fund intends to finance adaptation programs and projects to address the harmful impact of drought, flooding and other extreme weather events caused by climate change.

The LGUs with the participation of farmers and other affected sectors were supposed to come up with adaptation programs and projects based on the National Strategic Framework on Climate Change.

“The farmers' losses are mounting. The agricultural sector is among those that are severely affected by the El Niño we are experiencing now. The PSF is in every way, an empowerment fund and should serve its purpose. The role of the legislators is to craft laws and it is the responsibility of the executive to implement it. How is the DA going to address the problem?" Tañada lamented.

In the beginning of each fiscal year the PSF's fund balance should be one billion pesos that the communities can access by submitting project proposals for consideration by the PSF board. If by the end of the fiscal year, only half a billion worth of projects are approved and disbursed by the Board and Secretariat, then Congress, thru the GAA will put incremental fund by allocating half a billion to bring back the fund balance to P1 billion pesos the following year.

PSF ensures that there is money for farmers and other vulnerable sectors should they be affected by crises, like typhoons and drought so that they can adapt and recover.

“Tulad ng nabanggit ko na noon, ang mga sitwasyong tulad nito ay nangangailangan ng preparation, vision, at foresight. Nabasa natin ang magiging takbo ng kapaligiran at panahon. Nakita natin na darating ang araw na lubhang kakailanganin natin ang higit pang pagkakapit-bisig. Ang pagsusulong ko ng PSF noong 2011 ay bahagi ng pakikipagkapit-bisig at pagkapit sa inyo dahil kailangan natin ang isa’t isa. Nananawagan ako sa ating mga lider sa mga komunidad na aralin ang batas na ito at gamitin upang mas maging handa tayo sa mga delubyong dulot ng pagbabago ng klima. Ang kahandaan ay nag-uumpisa sa mga komunidad nagtutulungan, hindi sa mga mamamayang nagsasarili at nagkakanya-kanya," Tanada added.

“While I welcome any initiative intended to make the country safer, I think this project should undergo greater public scrutiny. CCTV cameras are nothing new, but this is surveillance on a massive scale; an initial 12,000 surveillance camera will be installed by Huawei in Metro Manila and Davao. The same Huawei that is mandated by Chinese law to collaborate with the Chinese government in intelligence gathering. The same Huawei that has been banned by the United States from supplying equipment for critical telecommunications infrastructure,” Tañada said.

The former Deputy Speaker warned that even without the national security issues embedded in the surveillance network of Safe Philippines, the Chinese loan funding the project might be onerous and highly disadvantageous to the Philippines.

“I think the Duterte administration should practice the Executive Order on Freedom of Information that he put into effect in 2016, by releasing all agreements related to the China-funded infrastructure projects signed last year. This will go a long way towards easing the fears of the public that the Philippines might be falling into a ‘debt trap.’ If the projects are fair and above board, then the Palace shouldn’t have a problem with releasing the documents.”

Tañada also said that the loan agreement for the Safe Philippines project might contain the same objectionable provisions found in the agreement for the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, the contents of which were leaked to the media last month. “Baka ‘yung objectionable provisions sa Chico River project nandito din. ‘Yung mataas na interest rate; ‘yung requirement na gumamit ng Chinese contractors at workers; at lalo na ‘yung provision na nagsasabing pwedeng angkinin ng China ang patrimonial property ng Pilipinas kung hindi tayo makapagbayad,” he added.

The surveillance program, worth 20 billion pesos, has a bigger budget than the Chico River Project, which is worth 3.6 billion pesos.

On this latest development, Tañada has this to say: “Ipinamigay na niya ang ating teritoryo sa West Philippine Sea. Ipinamigay na rin niya ang kabuhayan na pwedeng mapakinabangan ng ating kababayan dito. Pati ba naman ang mga importanteng sekreto at impormasyon tungkol sa ating ekonomiya, politika, at sandatahang lakas, ibibigay niya rin sa China?”

Ibig sabihin, pupuwersahin tayong mga Pilipino na lunukin ang Cha-cha kahit na mismong mga kaalyado ng Pangulong Duterte ay tutol sa bersyon na ito ni GMA.

Bakit naman kasi pinipilit ihabol itong Cha-cha? Gusto ba nilang manatili sa puwesto? May eleksyon naman sa Mayo. Haya­an nating magpasya ang taumbayan sa nais nilang pagbabago sa liderato ng lehislatura.

Nagsalita na ang senado. Malinaw sa saligang batas na dapat hiwalay ang botohan patungkol sa Cha-cha.

Nagpahiwatig na ang iba’t ibang civil society organization na kanilang tututulan ang Cha-cha. Nagpahayag na rin ang Laiko Warriors, samahan ng iba’t ibang malalaking organisasyon sa ilalim ng simbahang Katoliko. Hinding-hindi sila papayag sa Chacha ni Gloria.

Habang niluluto ito sa Kongreso, unti-unti namang nagiging seryoso ang lagay sa Mindanao bunga ng panukalang Bangsamo­ro Organic Law (BOL). Nakatakda ang isang plebisito sa Enero 21 at Pebrero 6.

Marami pang maaaring mangyari bago ang naturang plebisito. Maaaring pigilan ito sa pamamagitan ng Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) ng Korte Suprema. Naaalarma ang ating kababa­yan sa Mindanao na maaaring isabotahe pa rin ang inaasahan nilang transition ng Bangsamoro government.

Nagbigay si ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman ng isang madamdamin ngunit maliga­yang pamamaalam noong Disyembre 19, 2018. Ayon sa masugid na tagasuporta sa prosesong pang-kapayapaan sa Mindanao, sinubukan nilang ibigay ang mga kailangang tulong ng ating kababayan, sadyang hindi sapat ang kayang tugunan ng ARMM. Kung mapapagtibay ang BOL, higit na malaking espasyo ang ibinibigay sa Bangsamoro government at mas malaking pondo ang mailalaan para maipatupad ang mga proyektong inaasam ng kababayan natin doon.

Tañada emphasized that the same government officials who had mistakenly predicted monthly inflation rates said that oil prices for January 2019 would not be as high as it was in 2018.

“Kung sinasabi po nila na ang projection ay hindi tataas ang presyo, eh nagkamali na sila noon. Pwede silang magkamali ulit ngayon,” he said during a press briefing in Quezon City.

[When they said their projection was that the price wouldn’t go up, they were wrong. They can be wrong again now.]

“Sabi nila hindi tataas ang inflation. Ngayon sinisingil sila sa sinabi nila na hindi pagtaas ng inflation. Ano’ng sinasabi nila? Wow, Mali. Pwedeng ma-wow, mali na naman sila rito,” he added.

[They said inflation would’t rise. Now they’re being called to task for saying that inflation won’t rise. What are they saying? Wow, it’s wrong. They could be wrong again this time.]

On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte approved during a Cabinet meeting the second round of excise taxes for oil products, as mandated by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inflation (TRAIN) Act.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said this move was based on predictions that world crude prices would further go down in 2019.

“At its peak, diesel price was P49.80 per liter,” Diokno said. “It will be P37.76 in January [20]19, inclusive of the P2 peso excise tax. For gasoline [95 Octane] it was P60.90 at its peak, it will be P50.82 in Jan ’19 inclusive of P2 additional excise tax,” Diokno said.

Inflation for August reached 6.4 percent — the highest in nine years. That was surpassed by a staggering 6.7 percent in September. Both figures are way above government estimates.

Oil prices have gone down steadily since peaking at around P60 for gasoline and P50 for diesel, prompting the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to bring back the minimum fare for jeepneys in Metro Manila to P9.

Despite the recent strings of oil price rollbacks, Tañada said that this was not enough reason to continue with the implementation of excise taxes.

“Unang-una, hindi pa naman bumababa ang presyo ng bilihin,” he said. “Ang importante dito, hintayin mo muna bumaba ‘yong presyo ng mga bilihin natin para hindi mahirapan ang ating mga mamamayan.”

[First of all, the prices of good have not gone down. What’s important here is to wait for the prices of good to go down so that our countrymen won’t suffer.]

“Ayokong gamitin na porket bumaba lang ang presyo ng langis ay pwede nang itaas ulit ang excise taxes,” he added. “Importante ang mga projection na ginagawa nila eh pag-aralan nang mas mabuti at mas mahaba dahil alam naman po natin ang problema no’ng 2018.”

[I don’t want to use the justification that just because the price of oil has gone down then we can again raise excise taxes. It’s important for them to study the projections they’re making more closely and longer, because we all know what problem we had in 2018.]

The senatorial candidate also asked the government to provide a safety net for the poor and widen the coverage of the cash assistance, especially since minimum wage earners did not benefit from the income tax exemption — because they were exempted from it to begin with.

“I-expand po natin itong mga tumatanggap ng conditional cash transfers dahil alam naman po natin na hindi naman lahat ng mga tao ay nagbenepisyo sa pagbaba ng income tax,” Tañada said.

[Let’s expand the coverage of the conditional cash transfers because, as we all know, not all people have benefited from the lower income tax.]

“Marami po ang hindi, lalong-lalo na sa probinsya, sa Quezon, kung saan umaasa po sa niyog. Ang presyo po ng niyog ngayon eh talagang bagsak. Uumaabot po ng P4 kada kilo. Ito po ’yong nararanasan sa kanayunan ngayon — at umaaray sa usapin ng excise taxes,” he added.

[So many did not benefit from it, especially in the provinces, like Quezon, where they’re all relying on coconuts. The price of coconuts now is really down. It has reached P4 per kilogram. This is what they’re experiencing in rural areas now — they’re hurt by excise taxes.] /atm

Source: https://business.inquirer.net/261704/tanada-managers-may-be-wrong-again-about-oil-prices?fbclid=IwAR0Pdixnn43KL12yW90C3hIFeqZ19v1Ny611jDosje34MYZFYRMauVW6bbk

Lawyers Florin Hilbay and Chel Diokno, ex-Quezon congressman Erin Tañada, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, and Samira Gutoc, who are all senatorial bets for the 2019 polls, said this in reaction to the P55 to a dollar forecast.

Diokno, a human rights lawyer, said the current administration may be “out of touch” with what is happening in the country, after he claimed it knew the “indicators” but it still “failed to enact safeguards that will protect our citizens, especially the poor.”

“It pushes for costly programs like Charter change while the real concerns of ordinary people are being ignored. And to top it all, it is imposing a higher excise tax on oil, which will greatly affect prices for everyone,” he said.

Hilbay, a former solicitor general who grew up poor in Tondo, pointed out how the government leaders seemed indifferent to the impact of weakening peso to Filipinos. “It’s hard to listen to the cries of hungry and poor Filipinos when politicians enjoy so much pork barrel,” he said.

Hilbay previously said “no” when asked if he will partake of pork barrel if elected in the Senate.

Gutoc, a Maranao civic leader who opposes the imposition of martial law in Mindanao, raised concerns that the depreciation of peso will lead to rising prices of fuel and consumer products.

“Every centavo of increase pains our countrymen, who only have enough for fare, food, and other needs. We hope those in government are able to see this,” she said.

London-based research firm Capital Economic said it expects the Philippine peso to weaken to 55:$1 next year due to a wider trade deficit, driven by the government’s infrastructure program.

Tañada, another opposition senatorial bet, recalled that the peso’s value did not fall this much during the previous administration. “Do you still remember when the peso was 42 to a dollar? That was in 2012. Government officials should really focus on the basic economic indicators,” he said.

Alejano is concerned over the effect of the peso fall on the government loans with China. “We have been borrowing from China left and right, and with the fall of the peso, we will sink deeper into debt paying for higher interest rates,” he said.

Source: https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/12/20/focus-on-economy-prices-not-chacha-pork-barrel-senate-opposition-hopefuls/?fbclid=IwAR1sB_1YFNmROaVUKu7J4pDqykVZ1AlYuOO7ZxVFHg7azaTTL6F3DyIhGoo

Lumalabas na wala nang pakialam ang ating pamahalaan anuman ang epekto ng dagdag-buwis sa ating mga kababayan. Hindi pa bumababa ang presyo ng mga bilihin dahil sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis ng mga nagdaang buwan. Heto at nakaamba na naman ang panibagong pagtaas ng presyo dulot ng mas mataas na excise tax sa langis sa Enero 2019.

Napakalaking kalokohan na ia-announce nilang suspended ang excise tax sa langis tapos ibabalik nila na parang lastiko. Samantala, nasaan ang ipinangako nilang tulong para sa mga mahihirap na hindi naman nakinabang sa pinagmamalaki nilang pagbaba ng income tax sa TRAIN?