Press Release
March 16, 2008

Transcript of Senator Mar Roxas' interview at BOMBO Radyo Bacolod with Rommol Jamero

MAR: According to DA and NFA, we will be anticipating a 2 metric-ton deficit supply of rice this year. That's about 2 months' worth of consumption. Filipinos consume about 30,000 tons of rice each day. It's safe to say that we have enough supply of rice from January to October this year. Come November, where will we get our supply from? And that's a big concern for us. We cannot depend anymore on other country's exports. India will be consuming for itself the annual surplus it used to send the Philippines. That is why we have to secure our rice supply as early as now.

When I was still in DTI, about 8 years ago when I would look around the market places, rice per kilo would cost about P18. Today, you can't buy rice lower than for P36. What's sad is we can't track the NFA rice distributed by the government that costs P18 per kilo. You can see it being sold in wet markets for P24-P26. NFA is supposed to help impoverished citizens but the black markets get a run of their money. That is a big problem. It is a big problem because food prices are getting higher. If we don't put much attention to this, we won't feel it until we're completely out of supplies. As early as this month we should start putting action into this.

Q: There were those who suggested we stop eating, or limit our food intake.

MAR: Whoever suggested that must've been well-off because the only problem rich people have is they're fat. But for the poor who only eat rice, soy sauce and salt, that's all they ever have. How much more if they have to limit their rice intake? This is not the same as conserving gasoline when you should opt for a carpool or to commute instead of using your own personal car.

Q: What do you suggest we do to avoid this food crisis?

MAR: We have to call on the DA, the NFA and other government agencies. They said the hybrid rice has been a success but why do we have a shortage in production? Converting residential lots to commercial lots may have contributed to the termite problem farmers have as termites destroy rice plantations significantly. We also need new, effective programs for agriculture. We don't have irrigation systems, we need more farm-to-market roads. We don't even have good roads to cut transportation time. It's important that the DA studies this more because this isn't an easy problem to fix. This cannot be fixed within a year.

We project that in the future this problem will only get worse. Because India and China won't be sending rice exports here, we must fend for ourselves. In fact, one of my proposals is for the national government to release the calamity fund for our local LGUs so we can make sure we don't run out of supplies.

Q: What's your stand on extending CARP?

MAR: I am for the extension if there will also be a reform program implemented. I hope our national government can take action on this. We need to find solutions for LGUs so we won't panic and traders won't take advantage of the crisis. If the government chooses to continue the CARP, we need reforms. We can't keep repeating the same mistakes we've made in the past. First, nobody paid the beneficiaries. Second, people sold the lands or used these lands to pay for loans. Eventually, the land is in the previous owner's possession again. The people don't have the capital needed. Even if the land title hasn't been formally settled yet, the land is long gone. We've seen how unsuccessful the program was so it's important we learn from the mistakes. Let's correct it so we can continue with the program.

Q: How about the Cheaper Medicines bill? People have been waiting for it to be approved.

MAR: It is now being discussed in the bicameral level. House representatives and senators have already agreed on it 99%. We're currently discussing the generics law amendment that has proven to be difficult. The law at present already requires the writing of a medicine's generic name in prescriptions, stressing the importance of indicating the generic name while allowing doctors to recommend particular brands that they believe are more effective than others. And we don't want to merely pass on the problem of selection of the branded drugs, from the doctor to the sales girl. I believe it is still the doctor who knows what his patient needs. As for parallel importation, both parties have already agreed on that. We want to import cheaper medicines to promote competition. We also agreed on strengthening BFAD and also in promoting the local generics industry to be at par with multi-national companies.

Q: About the ZTE hearings in the Senate, people have been talking about it a lot. Although people say that the lie detector was a good proposal, they think this is mainly for grandstanding.

MAR: How can they call it grandstanding when we at the Senate are helping in realizing the truth? Lozada, Madriaga and De Venecia all said that San Miguel was involved in the deal. However, Sam Miguel is claiming otherwise. So I proposed to them to go through the lie detector test and they all agreed. There is a process, and the government doesn't even have to pay for it because we will be using private money. There's no bias here. People are complaining how long the hearings have been and now that we've seen a mechanism to achieve this, they're still complaining. The people called in by the Senate all agreed to go through the test. What's wrong with that?

Q: Senator, there are is news on other senators fighting, bickering and throwing words at each other. Can you comment on that?

MAR: That is why we have to be patient. If we join into little arguments such as these, nothing good will come out of it. We should be cool about it, and discipline ourselves so each senator gets his or her own time of expressing what they need to say. During the process, my fellow senators do not have ulterior motives. What we are fighting for her is the truth. Was Lozada really kidnapped? That sort of thing. We should remember that if it wasn't for the senate hearing on the ZTE deal, our children and grandchildren would be paying the $329 million foreign loan. The objective of the deal wasn't clear but it was clear that it was overpriced. It's a good thing we we're able to cancel it. First, it was brought to the Supreme Court. Second, it had a whistleblower. Third, the senate had the hearings. $329 million just so the government could have its own intercom system. We already have PLDT, Smart, and Globe. Why do we have to have our own system when such system already exists?

Q: Do you have a message for our listeners in welcoming the holy week?

MAR: This is your friend, Mr. Palengke, Mar Roxas. Let us all remember how Jesus died for all of us. Let us take the opportunity this week to be with our families and offer our prayers to the Almighty.

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