Who’s Accountable? Media on the Food Shortage Crisis
CONTINUOUS RAINS along with typhoons have affected Philippine agricultural and aqua-cultural harvests this year, resulting in lower supplies and higher prices for such basic commodities as rice and fish. To address the problem, the Department of Agriculture (DA) imported these Filipino staples.
But the DA’s 330,000 bags of imported rice turned out to be bukbok – or weevil-infested; while the fishers’ group, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) warned that imported galunggong (round scad) could be tainted with formalin, an embalming chemical, to preserve it.
While the media promptly flagged the possible contamination of these basic food items, it did little to examine the issue of accountability.
CMFR monitored the reports on the issue by the newspapers Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, and The Philippine Star and their online editions; the online news site Rappler; as well as Cignal’s One News from August 25 to September 4.
Edible and safe?
Much of the coverage reported what key persons said about whether the food was edible and safe to eat. In an August 28 explainer of Rappler, Josine Macaspac, entomologist and Global Forum on Agricultural Research awardee, said that weevil-infested rice can be safely consumed provided the infestation is “manageable” and the rice is fumigated and washed. (“EXPLAINER: What is bukbok?”)
In an August 25 report, The Philippine Star quoted Eduardo Gongona, DA Undersecretary and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director, as saying that no formalin was found in galunggong from Balintawak Market, Farmer’s Market in Cubao and the Navotas Fish Port. (“No formalin in galunggong; importation to proceed”)
But The Star and other media failed to note that the fish sampled were locally-sourced, since the importation of the fish began only on September 1.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol quickly resorted to the publicity stunt of eating bukbok-infested rice and galunggong last August 31. Since the imported fish was scheduled only to arrive on September 1, Piñol was obviously eating local galunggong, an important detail that media did not point out. Nor did media ask any health expert whether continuous consumption of infested, fumigated rice would have long-term damage on a person’s health or on vulnerable individuals such as the sick or young children.
As to the issue of rice infestation, media also failed to probe into the accountability of public officials and their agencies. Journalistic inquiry should have asked questions to establish whether the rice was infested from the source or was due to improper storage to review areas of accountability.
“I Will Not Resign”
Media reports gave Piñol ample time to insinuate that the failure was all NFA, but did not sufficiently interrogate his claim.
In the August 30 episode of One News’ The Chiefs, Piñol said he will not resign because it would be “answering for the sins of my neighbor.” Piñol did not specify what he meant, and apparently, the media did not ask. But reports gave him time to stress that the NFA was not part of his department and that he had no authority over NFA activities. However, according to an April 28 Rappler report, the DA has regained supervision of NFA, the Philippine Coconut Authority, and the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority. (“NFA transferred back to agriculture department”)
In the same report, it was explained that these agencies were placed under the office of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. through Duterte’s very first executive order but was now given back to the DA as an “attached agency.”
Other current reports missed this, failing to connect crucial dots that would have belied the claim that Piñol had no share of the blame.
CMFR checked further and found that according to the Administrative Code of 1987, “attachment of an agency to a Department is one of the three administrative relationships where a lateral relationship between the Department or its equivalent and the attached agency or corporation exists for purposes of policy and program coordination.” The attached agency should also have periodic reporting to its Department, which shall reflect the progress of programs and projects. The Department can also provide general policies through its representative in the board, which shall serve as the framework for the internal policies of the attached corporation or agency. (“Executive Order 292: Instituting the Administrative Code of 1987”)
The NFA itself has yet to admit its lapses, despite its responsibility for the importation of weevil-infested rice via the PHP 6.1 billion government-to-government (G2G) scheme, under which the government of the Philippines negotiated the sale with the government of Thailand.
After all, President Duterte himself said that he was not firing anyone on this issue, and that he did not think there was a problem with food shortage.
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Media on Food Price Woes: Beyond Band-Aid Solutions PRESIDENT DUTERTE scoffed at the idea of a food shortage. But he failed to acknowledge the real problem of available food that so many people cannot afford. Cheers to Rappler, Philstar.com and MB.com.ph for departing from the usual practice of merely quoting the statements of government officials on how they’re supposedly addressing the current scourge of food prices. Rappler reported the government’s failed attempt to reduce rice prices by importing the commodity, while the Manila Bulletin called attention to the agriculture sector’s problematic “middleman” system that’s partly responsible for the escalating prices of food. Meanwhile,Philstar.com simplified rice tariffication and how it is supposed to tame inflation. In a July 31 report published by Philstar.com the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) estimated that allowing the importation of cheap rice with tariffs will instantly lower the inflation rate, but only by 0.4 percent, while an increase in rice imports can reduce prices of the food staple by as much as PHP7 per kilo. But the BSP noted that the tariffs will not be enough to bring the 2018 full-year inflation rate to its 2-4 percent target range. The report noted that “agricultural groups such as the Samahang Industriyang Agrikultura (Sinag) believe going after rice importation cartels and boosting the productivity of Filipino rice farmers is a better approach.” Rosendo So, chairman of Sinag, said in an ANC report that more rice imports could lead to higher prices, the report said.(“Rice tariffication: What it is and how it can ease inflation”) Rappler’s August 7 report pointed out that the government imported 250,000 metric tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam last June to control rising prices. The law of supply and demand says that if supplies meet demand, prices will remain steady or even fall, but the price of rice still rose by 4.7% in June and by 5% in July, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. (“Rice imports fail to tame inflation in July 2018”) Providing an added dimension to understanding the problem, the Manila Bulletin, in an August 23 report, quoted Pambansang LakasngKilusangMamamalakayangPilipinas (Pamalakaya) Chairperson Fernando Hicap’s statement that importing fish will not lead to lower prices since it is middlemen and retailers, not fisherfolk, who control the market prices of fish. (“Fisherfolk group urge DA to stop importing ‘galunggong’ possibly tainted with formalin”) The Bulletin also reported on August 24 the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) crackdown on wet market retailers charging higher prices for basic commodities in an effort to control prices. DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the campaign will force retailers to pressure middlemen into reducing the prices they charge vendors with, resulting in lower retail prices. In the same report, some vendors revealed that middlemen buy products from farmers and fishermen at low prices, but resell these to them at higher prices. The vendors have no choice but to sell the goods at even higher prices. (“Crackdown on rising prices”) These reports are excellent leads that should be followed up by more journalists assigned to these issues. Periodic shortfalls in the supply of agricultural products have always been a problem for the Philippines, a country susceptible to typhoons and heavy rainfall. In these circumstances, the government should have developed a system by now to curb profiteering and to ensure that supplies last, rather than focusing on reactive, ad hoc, band-aid solutions to a problem that affects millions of Filipino families. The media could do much more by focusing attention to this imperative– and beyond it, the urgency of putting in place the means of assuring food security for a growing population. |
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