THiNK DiFFERENT*

Ha. On Facebook, the National Economic & Development Authority (NEDA), who directed the preparation of the Updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, is asking for feedback. As a Filipino, I have downloaded the pdf, read it with the Editor In Chief in me, and these are what I have to say in summary: (1)  Vision is Excellent. “Metatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay (strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life for all).” (2)  Strategies are Well-Conceived: “Malasakit” (Concern for the people), “Pagbabago” (Transformation) and “Patuloy na Pag-unlad” (Continuing Progress) (English translations mine). (3)  Goal is Brilliant as well as Complete. “The Goal is to lay down the foundation for inclusive growth, a high trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive knowledge economy.” Excellent vision, well-conceived strategies, brilliant & complete goal – yet, even at 332 digital pages, The Plan is incomplete! It’s the lack in  Methodology . I wan...

For chicken ready to eat, in cities & many towns in the Philippines, my googling says we have Andok’s, Bojangles, BonChon, Chooks-To-Go, Chowking, Hot Star, Jollibee , Kfc , Mang Inasal, Max’s, and McDonald’s . A few I never heard. In my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, the very first to arrive as a fast-food setup is Chooks-To-Go . I don’t remember when, but that was years ago. The food store was right there across the street from the Danggay House, the home of our Nagkaisa Multi-Purpose Cooperative, located next to the town plaza. The Asingan town hall was also and still is nearby. The Chooks-To-Go chickens a-roasting were delicious to see, but I thought, “They’re all the same, those ready-to-eat birds. Grown with antibiotics, the antibiotic being used in a quantity that turns it into a growth hormone. How do I know that? I’m an Agriculturist, UP Los Baños ’65 (yes, I’m 80), and a wide reader. Here comes “Zero Antibiotics Chicken,” image above, a Facebook post of Bounty Agro Ven...

We are in the border of Ilocos Sur and Abra, in Pilar, landlocked town 2 of whose villages are “conflict-affected” – Nagcanasan and Ocup. In the Facebook sharing of Noel Ocampo Reyes , who is the spokesperson and Assistant Secretary for Communications & Media Affairs of the Department of Agriculture (DA), we are looking at 2 units of fish cage techno-demo projects installed in the Pagada River that passes through those villages. This effort of establishing a fish source was the initiative of the 81 st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. The idea came about during the soldiers’ “Serbisyo Caravan” (Service Caravan) last 24 November 2020. After that, the soldiers coordinated with the Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Provincial Fisheries Office in Abra to identify what fisheries intervention was feasible in the Pagada River. Four months after the Service Caravan, BFAR, the local government unit of Pilar, in partnership with the Community Support Program of th...

If you want to settle the dispute between which province should be declared “Cacao Capital of the Philippines,” I say you are being short-sighted. The Genius Rule is: To solve a problem, change the problem! So, look at my title again: “Davao As Cacao Capital Of PH – Bohol As Chocolate Capital Of Asia!” Given that, Davao can claim all the modern cacao credits it wants – and Bohol can claim all the historical chocolate credits it has! For instance, where else in Asia can you find the Chocolate Hills except Bohol!? Ha, ha. The upper image [1 ]  is from Garden Café Tagbilaran , Bohol; the lower image is captioned: “The province of Bohol has several cacao trees growing in the backyards of small farmers.” So, Chocolate Hills, cacao backyards: Beat that! Patricia Bianca S Taculao says (03 July 2020, “Bohol’s Chocolate Princess Revives Heirloom Cacao Planted In Backyards [2] ,” Agriculture.com.ph ): The province of Bohol, located in the Central Visayas Region, is known for its natu...

  “Ilocos Norte: Garlic Capital of PH [1] ” – You can easily look at it as Provincial Crop Dominance , while I look at it as The Natural Virtue Of Farm Clustering . The first emphasizes success in cultivating the crop, the second emphasizes success in grouping the growers. The value of farm clustering is emphasized by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar as part of the OneDA Approach to the survival , and beyond that, the triumph of PH Agriculture as a major contributor to national development ( inclusive of the poor). Emphasis on the Crop favors business for the few; emphasis on the Cluster favors business for the many. I choose the many. The new PH Agriculture must be inclusive business for the many! I wrote about farm clustering first day this year: 01 January 2021, “Whispering Hope Clustering – Interventions And Assistances Provided By PH DA [2 ] ,” Brave New World ). There, I quote Mr Dar as saying, “It is important to convince farmers and their respective (farmer) coope...

Negative. The Rappler essay by Nicolas Faller Jr (NFJ), published 16 March 2021, “No, We Shouldn’t Celebrate 500 Years Of Christianity In Our Country [1 ] ” is only contrarian, not convincing. All claim, no corroboration. Clearly, NFJ neither amasses his content nor argues his contention. So now I will argue to the contrary: “Yes, We Should Celebrate 500 Years Of Christianity In Our Country!” I do not know which school NFJ graduated from, but I am an alumnus of UP Los Baños and, for God’s sake, I got a perfect grade of 1 ( Excellent ) from our   UP Diliman professor in Western Thought , Mr Bituin . Now, NFJ gets from me a grade of 5 (Failed) on his essay. To justify the 5, since I am an agriculturist, I will concentrate on what the Spaniards did for PH Agriculture. In the “History Of The Philippine s [2] ,” Wikipedia says: Outside the tertiary institutions, the efforts of missionaries were in no way limited to religious instruction but also geared towards promoting social an...

In 2000, the community-based farm workers association Caridad Hog Raisers Association (CHRA) in Hacienda Caridad in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, started as backyard raisers of swine for fattening. In 2020, despite setbacks in the intervening years, the association generated sales of P 9 million! Surprise. That is from a report of April Grace Padilla , “ Beating The Odds, Rising Grander: Caridad Swine Raisers Opt To Upscale PRDP Livelihood Enterprise In Cadi z [1] ” (15 March 2021, PRDP.da.gov.ph ). Such million-peso success has been generated by Workers, Women and Will , not necessarily in that order. In 2013, super-typhoon Yolanda immensely damaged the breeding pens. The swine raisers persevered. In 2017, the PRDP came into the picture with financial assistance totaling P 563,000, the fund going into putting up new pens and completing 2 production cycles a year.  Wilma Dignos , CHRA Project Manager, says: We only started as 30 members and we gradually grew to 51 members afte...