'Puro research': Villar hits

agriculture budget on corn

program
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Oct 09 2019 07:17 PM

MANILA - Senator Cynthia Villar chastised the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday
over what she said was its bloated budget on research on corn.

During a Senate hearing on the agriculture budget, Villar said the DA's National Corn Program was
allocating too much on personnel services and research, and not enough on delivering actual services
to farmers.

“Ang budget nyo, puro sa PS [personnel services], overhead [expenses], research," Villar said after
finding out that the National Corn Program was allocating P150 million for research next year.

(Your budget is all personnel services, overhead expenses, research.)

"Wala nang nabibigay sa tao. Pera ng tao ‘yan eh. Taxpayers’ money ‘yan,” Villar added.

(Nothing is to left to give to people. That's the people's money. That's taxpayers' money.)

Villar said the department should be giving seeds to farmers instead of allocating so much money for
research. - With a report from Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News

ISPEAK

[OPINION] Cynthia Villar:

Champion of the 'personal
interest first' policy
'How I wish that in the future, the Senate may have a more strict way of selecting
chairpersons for committees. Put someone in the agricultural committee who does not
forget that their service is for the country and the people.'
Raymark Paul Trojillo Rigor
Published 1:00 PM, October 15, 2019

Updated 1:00 PM, October 15, 2019

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“Parang lahat ng inyong budget puro research? Baliw na baliw kayo sa research.
Aanhin 'nyo ba 'yung research (It seems that all your budget is put into research? You're
crazy about research. What will research do for you)?"
These words were from Senator Cynthia Villar – Senate committee chair on agriculture
and food, agrarian reform, and environment and natural resources, as well as your top
senator in the May 2019 elections – during the budget hearing of the Department of
Agriculture. (READ: The rise of Cynthia Villar: How politics, money, networks made her
No. 1)

Let me just air my disappointment as a researcher and as a son of a farmer. Hearing

this statement is so painful. This remark from a public servant who proclaimed herself
as intelligent will affect not just those within the Department of Agriculture, but all
researchers out there who, at this moment, are pouring their heart and soul into their
studies.

“Ako, matalino akong tao pero hindi ko maintindihan 'yung research 'nyo, lalo na 'yung
farmer. Gusto ba ng farmer 'yung research? Hindi ba gusto nila tulungan 'nyo sila? Bakit
ba lahat ng budget 'nyo research (I myself am an intelligent person, but I don't
understand your research, what more a farmer. Do farmers want this research? Don't
they want you to help them? Why does your budget go to research)?"

Research delivers outputs. Research delivers products. Research, the paper and the
process, is not directly being handed from the laboratory or the office out to the fields. It
is interpreted, then products may materialize from that research.

“Kung ako farmer, mas gusto ko nang bigyan ako ng seeds, bigyan ako ng machineries
kaysa 'yung mga kung anu-ano (If I were a farmer, I would rather be given seeds and
machinery than what-have-you)."

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Farmers like Mang Dante struggle to survive the severe effects of the rice tariffication law. It's because of
stories like his that farmers need your moral and financial support.
Rice tariffication: Birth pains force farmers' kids out of school
They're ditching farming as their children drop out of school. Will there still be Filipino rice farmers left in
this new decade?

If Senator Villar cannot see the importance of well-funded research, then I guess she
should first know the basics of science, technology, development, and advancement. It
is not only about providing seeds and machinery to farmers; it is about developing better
technology, giving them better seeds and modern machinery. That is the aim of
research. And developing something better for the country and the people is not easy,
nor cheap. I hope the senator knows that, being intelligent (or so she says).

The farming industry has already benefited from research in the past years: new breeds
of palay and other crops, new equipment, new methods. In general, research is about
creating something new, something better. This involves time and effort and investment
and dedication. Those are at the core of research, and mind you, Ma’am, they do not
come cheap. (READ: [ANALYSIS] Plummeting rice prices: How will our rice farmers
cope?)

The farmers are angry not because of research. They are actually voicing out their
frustrations about you, Madam Senator, and your selfish ways. From authoring the Rice
Tarrification Law, whose effects now impair the lives of fellow Filipinos reliant on
farming, to cutting the budget of an institution that focuses on upgrading the products
and tools for the agriculture industry, you are just showing your true colors. You really
do not care about the welfare of farmers and all those who rely on agriculture. Your
conflict of interest radiates so much that you have forgotten your role as a public
servant. You are serving yourself and you will always serve yourself. (READ: Cynthia
Villar slammed over business interests anew)

How I wish that in the future, the Senate may have a more strict way of selecting
chairpersons for committees. Put someone in the agricultural committee who does not
forget that their service is for the country and the people, someone who is truly an
advocate and champion of agriculture, and most importantly, someone who is not in the
business of real estate. – Rappler.com

Raymark Paul Trojillo Rigor, 22, is from Tarlac and finished his Bachelor's Degree in
Biology at the Central Luzon State University in Nueva Ecija.

Paul is a youth leader, advocating for the attainment of Sustainable Development

Goals, environmental and wildlife conservation, youth empowerment, and community
building.
[OPINION] Let’s have
coffee, Senator Villar, and
talk about research
'You are one of the country’s best entrepreneurs.... I am confident that you know the
significance of research and early innovation in an industry’s success, as smart a
woman as you claim to be.'

Rob Julian M. Maghinang

Published 10:00 AM, October 19, 2019

Updated 10:00 AM, October 19, 2019

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As I write this, I just finished another day of school and decided to try your family’s
Coffee Project café for the first time. All I thought as I entered the place was, “This one’s
gonna give Starbucks a run for its money.” The wooden walls, faux flowers, and
incandescent lights give off the ambiance of a countryside café, far from the hustle and
bustle of the city.

But as I settled down with my Café Americano, I suddenly remembered your remarks
against corn research. “Parang lahat ng inyong budget puro research? Baliw na baliw
kayo sa research. Aanhin niyo ba yung research?” you said. (Why does it seem like
your whole budget went to research? You're going gaga over research. What will you do
with this research?)

Sen. Cynthia Villar, the rich grand dame of the Senate, we need to talk.

Agricultural research is essential to support a growing young population. With more

yuppies entering the workforce, we need to provide affordable and nutritious food to fuel
our economic growth (which I am very sure your family’s empire is poised to benefit
from). With such a small country, how do we come up with ways to supply more food?
Arguably, you do not want to import more as it will widen our already distressing trade
deficit and weakening peso. (READ: [OPINION] With rice tariffication, what happens
with food security?)

Research on agriculture allows our scientists to create plant variants that are pest- and
flood-resistant. The onslaught of pests like talakitok and dangaw cost our already
impoverished farmers billions of pesos every year. And did I already mention the more
than 20 typhoons that inundate our farms annually?

Innovations brought about by research prepare our country for the impacts of climate
change. A recent United Nations report puts the Philippines as one of the countries that
will be hit worst by the changing climate. Certainly, you do not want tons of food go to
down the drain every time a storm hits or serve as fertilizer when they dry up. Our
scientists are developing plant variants that require less water and land, plus resistant to
the capricious weather and drenching rain. (READ: What you can do to help Filipino rice
farmers)

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[OPINION] A victim of a voyeur, and the tragedies of filing a report

'How can the victim of a practiced voyeur have a copy of the video? How can the victim have access to
the perpetrator’s database, hard drive, memory, or cloud? Must they demand it from the voyeur?

Our farmers are already at the rock bottom of our country. The Philippine Statistics
Authority rated their poverty incidence at 34.3% in 2015, which is the highest in the
nation. And your Rice Tarrification Law does not help, either. Though the price of rice in
our pamilihang bayan (community market) has stabilized, which I appreciate, this is
achieved at the cost of our farmers’ livelihood. The price of palay (rice grains) is already
pegged at P7 per kilo in some provinces. Where is the help you said is allotted for
farmers out of tax revenues from rice imports? Is this another TRAIN Law-like problem
where it took a long time before the unconditional cash transfer of P200 was distributed
to the 4Ps beneficiaries? (READ: Butterfly effect: How rice tariffication bill affects
everyone)

Your law is like adrenaline: it is helpful during emergencies (like the ballooning inflation
in 2018) but pernicious in the long run. There is already a delay in the help that you
promised farmers out of RA 11203; don’t make it worse by scorning our researchers,
which will unequivocally discourage them from developing strong plant variants in the
future.

Regretfully, I find it very ironic, almost hypocritical, for you to utter these despicable
words months after you posted a picture of yourself holding a bundle of palay during the
campaign trail.

"We need to invest in research and development [so] we can increase the productivity
of agriculture and boost job creation in the industry through science and technology.”
That was you in a rice conference back in 2013. What happened?

Instead, we want you to keep a watchful eye on agricultural research. Make sure that
nothing in the budget lands in the pockets of unscrupulous officials, and that only the
most promising research receives funding. You are one of the country’s best
entrepreneurs; a powerful woman behind the success of one of the richest men in the
country. I am confident that you know the significance of research and early innovation
in an industry’s success, as smart a woman as you claim to be.

Certainly, you want to be seen as the vibrant matriarch of the Senate – glorious,
graceful, and generous. Not a rapacious businesswoman who is out to starve our
farmers until they are forced to sell their lands so you can build your grandiose
subdivisions on them.

As I try to finish my cup of coffee, a question dawned on me: Did the coffee in my cup
come from farmers of another country, as ours are too hungry to till the land? –
Rappler.com

Rob Julian M. Maghinang is a proud Iskolar ng Bayan from the Polytechnic University of
the Philippines Manila. His opinions are his alone and does not represent any of the
organizations he is affiliated with.

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I am fond of good and heartwarming stories about family-whether in book form, theatrical
adaptations, musicals and films. One of my favorite past times is watching quality films and Seven
Sundays is certainly one of them for it delves deeper connections that are opulently gratifying and
fulfilling. I was excited because the movie trailer immediately got my attention with the all-star
grouping of actors with fine histrionic chops that were gathered for this film project. No actor
upstages his fellow actors in here, they had their own defining and shining moments in the film. Now
that I have already seen the movie, I am giving full positive credit to the director and scriptwriter for
this exceptional, intensely motivated masterpiece forming results that really made this film even
more unique than it already was on a fat gray matter.

Since we Filipinos are family oriented, the story tugs right at the heart strings because it is about
love in the family. It is about Manuel, a father who is dying of lung cancer and asks his four children
to spend seven Sundays with him before passing on. The four Bonifacio siblings Allan, Bryan, Cha
and Dex with families of their own and leading and living their own lives, come together to spend
seven Sundays with their beloved patriarch and tried their best to set aside their issues and
differences with each other.

But as the story went along, they were able to patch things up for real as they help support one
another’s problems most especially when the father bridges the gap between Allan and Bryan to
save the family store from financial breakdown and restore to the grandeur that it was to keep the
legacy alive and relevant to the times. What the head of family said struck me: “Gusto kong
nagtutulungan kayong magkakapatid.”

The exchange of dialogue in every scene was filled with true to life emotionally charged statements
and sentiments interwoven through the various stories (or subplots) of the film’s lead protagonists.

This one said by Allan in one scene with his eldest son, Marc is my favorite:

Allan: “Kung naging mabuting kuya ako sa mga kapatid ko, hindi sana ito nangyayari.”

Marc: “Pero Dad, hindi pa naman huli para makabawi kayo sa kanila, diba?”

Allan: “Oo naman.”

We all have families, which is why the story connects and resonates very well with the movie goers.
It is rich in experiences that the major characters went through and able to resolve them that
somewhat inspires people that no one is alone or left behind because they have a family to back
them up. In a world that is complex and broken, you have no one but God through your family. That
is why God created families. He is a part of a Family, the Holy Trinity the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin Mary with her spouse Saint Joseph.

The family has such power because it is bonded by love, and this is why the family accepts and
forgives many times and stands through the test of time. It just came to me that maybe the film’s title
is Seven Sundays, reminds me of the Lord’s answer to Saint Peter’s question on how to forgive,
which is, seventy times seven times. Without it, there would be no healing. The family may be tried
and tested in rough and turbulent waters but will remain strong and united as they face it together
head on, game on.

Since members of the family have different quirks and personalities, it still manages to reach out to
one another to co-exist peacefully and harmoniously despite being imperfect but that is what makes
families special because those imperfections and frivolities are the ones that endear themselves to
one another, to help, empower, respect and support each other. Sometimes we need to disconnect
in order to reconnect and rebuild family ties and come out stronger because of it. The film proves
this saying: Ang magkapatid, magaway at magkagalit man magkakabati at magkakampi pa rin sa
bandang huli. No one can ever take that away!
The films aptly states that love is spelled as T-I-M-E. Quality time well spent with one another! One
of the scenes I find very touching is that when they all headed to the beach and read letters
addressed to the patriarch, those that he had not read because he was away from them at the time
all tucked inside a large biscuit tin can. I like this scene a lot because it is a bonding activity that is
worth doing to forge stronger family ties and connections that are gratifying. I like the balance of the
use of social media here as well. Not all too far or too near.

We need not wait for a tragedy or death to happen to be united through force or love or get our act
together. The best time is always N-O-W! This film will make you go hug and kiss your loved ones
and say I love you to them in our own special way, every day.

What I like about this film is the “bali” to it. Typical of a Filipino film, I suppose. It shows that we are a
happy and resilient people. Its final scene at the ABCD’s Family Store, sees a complete chunky
unwieldy dance showdown between the Bonifacio family and Mr. Kim with his cohorts, made me felt
uneasy and uncomfortable given the intensity of drama prior to it but I presume it is there to end the
story on a positive note.

Quoting the patriarch in the film, I rate it as ALL GOOD!