Press statement of Senator Loren Legarda

ON DESTABILIZATION

Secretary Eduardo Ermita's statement that the AFP is preparing to quell any security threats leading to the SONA is scary. It fits in with the display of tanks in military maneuvers explained by the brass as intended to address protests and potential disorders during the SONA.

It is common knowledge that the political opposition and the protest organizations have no capability to plant bombs nor do they intend to overthrow the government but to express only their grievances to express concern on government corruption, incompetence, insensitivity to hunger and poverty, to the cha-cha conspiracy and the plot to prolong the administration's tenure. It is the people's democratic right to voice their sentiments.

The danger is that the alleged destabilization plot is being touted by the administration as an excuse to use the armed forces to clamp down on dissent and the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to seek redress of grievances.

ON THE COTABATO BOMBING

I strongly condemn the bombing near a Cathedral in Cotabato City that killed three persons and wounded 45 others last Sunday. The killing of innocent civilians for any reason at all is unacceptable. But this also goes to show that the peace and order situation in Mindanao is worsening in the wake of the resumed hostilities between insurgent forces and the government.

The incident underscores the need for the government to give top priority to the solution of the southern insurgency to prevent further losses in lives and property. Already, international humanitarian organizations have already pinpointed the Philippines as one of the countries with the biggest problem of refugees from civil unrest.

The present administration cannot escape the charge of bungling the peace negotiations leading to the worsening of the conflict. The MILF cannot also escape part of the blame

ON RICE PROBLEM

The disclosure by a respected new agency (Reuters) that the Philippines paid 45 percent more for its rice importations from Vietnam deserves looking into. This is not just a question of overprice, which could mean another example of gargantuan government corruption. There is also the long-range need for the Philippines to stop being dependent on importations for its food staple.

There is a huge tinge of humiliation for the Philippines, an "agricultural country", to be reputed as the "world's biggest importer of rice." It cannot be that thousands of years ago, using only primitive tools, the Philippines was self-sufficient in rice as exemplified by the famous Ifugao rice terraces.

With a burgeoning population and long experience in intensive rice cultivation, it is difficult to understand why the Philippines has plunged from rice sufficiency to dependence. The only reason for this is government inefficiency or the adoption of the wrong policy. We must review and revise our rice production program to save our people huge expenses in rice importation, and wipe out the infamy of an agricultural people unable to raise their own food.