NEWS AT A GLANCE

Row over pork

Bayan Muna partylist, led by Rep. Satur C. Ocampo, urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo March 6 not only to intervene in the raging row between hog raisers and retailers, but also to take immediate measures to bring down the retail price of pork which now ranges from P140 to P150 a kilo.

Ocampo scored the Department of Agriculture's plan to resort to more pork imports to augment local supply. "Precisely it is the reckless importation of yellow corn and pork that has undermined domestic production since the last decade, gradually pushing farm gate prices to historic high levels," he said.

Bayan Muna attributed local hog and corn sectors’ woes to the removal of import restrictions on agriculture since the country acceded to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994 which, Ocampo said, “undermined the capacity of hog producers who became heavily dependent on cheap imported corn for feed materials.”

"As a key proponent of the GATT treaty as a senator in 1994, the President is in a perfect position to make necessary reforms in view of the ruinous effects of trade and import liberalization one decade later," he said.

Bayan Muna has been calling for the revival of the government's price support system to bring down local corn prices and the restoration of quantitative restrictions (QRs) on sensitive products such as corn, meat and vegetables, as well as higher tariffs on farm imports.

"Both measures are 'outlawed' under WTO rules, but we believe the collapse of agriculture negotiations in the Cancun ministerial meeting last year has opened up opportunities for developing nations to redraw their strategies for food security," Ocampo said.

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Teachers to boycott service in May polls, unless…

Bacolod City --- Gilda Quiatchon, chair of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) – Negros warned Feb. 28 in a press conference that their group might refuse to offer services in the May elections unless the Commission on Elections (Comelec) grant their demands.

The teachers’ demands include: compensation of P2,000 per day of election service; additional allowance of P500 to cover transportation costs of election materials; hazard pay of P1,000 for teachers serving in Comelec-declared “election hotspots”; and P500,000 insurance coverage.

As of presstime, Bulatlat.com source said that the Comelec has only granted them compensation of P1,000 per day of election service.

“Every time elections are held, teachers are always the first to render frontline service, but the last to receive special incentives and protection,” Quiatchon said. “Enough for this martyrdom because the government couldn’t care less.”

ACT is a national alliance of militant public school teachers in all levels fighting for teachers’ welfare and security. (Karl G. Ombion)

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Ka Roger notes Roco's stand against U.S. terror list 

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) acknowledged Feb. 25 presidential candidate Raul Roco’s stand to delist the group from the United States’ (U.S.) list of foreign “terrorist” organizations (FTOs).

In a Feb. 24 statement, Roco said that "the CPP-NPA, in many people's view, does not represent the terrorism of mindless attacks on innocent people," adding that the Philippine government had long repealed the anti-subversion law. He further said, "it is good for our American friends not to condemn any part of the political opposition in the country as terrorists."

Roco was reacting to U.S. Charge d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli statement that the CPP-NPA, which killed an American military adviser in 1987, were "rather infantile" to request for their removal from the “terror” list.

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal noted that only Roco (among the presidential candidates) “so far has openly recognized the CPP as a principled revolutionary force and not a terrorist organization.” Rosal also said that his definitive stand for national sovereignty and against foreign meddling in Philippine internal affairs in regard to the peace talks and the US ‘terrorist’ listing” “would definitely be a favorable factor in the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) - NDF (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) negotiations should he win the presidential elections.”

Rosal called on other presidential candidates to also make a categorical stand against the U.S. meddling in Philippine affairs, including the peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP.

Rosal, however, clarified that while the CPP-NPA-NDFP does not participate in the what they call the “reactionary elections,” they consider stands on these issues as important practical matters in determining its policy toward these aspirants.

  Bulatlat.com

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