A WORRYING fact against this global backdrop of hunger is food waste.
The FAO estimates that 925 million of the seven billion people on the planet are starving yet 1.3 billion tons of food – or enough to feed three billion people – are wasted every year.
Selina Juul, founder of the Stop Wasting Food Movement in Denmark, points out that over 30 percent of the world’s food supply is wasted.
In fact, the annual food waste in “Italy could feed 44 million people – all of Ethiopia’s undernourished population. The annual food waste in France is enough to feed the entire population of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just five per cent of United States’ food waste could feed 4 million people for one day.”
SOURCE: Stop Wasting Food Movement
She also adds that in the West, “we waste approximately 40 percent of our food. This 40 percent happens at the end of the food value chain – by retailers and consumers. The same percentage of food, 40 percent, is lost in developing countries, though here the food losses happen at the beginning of the value chain.”
Juuls also quotes Secretary-General of the Danish Red Cross, Anders Ladekarl, who said: “The Western world’s overconsumption of food is affecting global food prices: The more we in the West consume (and the more we throw out), the greater global demand for food becomes – and the higher food prices rise globally.”
Indeed, food, which is described as the “new gold,” and fighting its scarcity, will be one of the geopolitical issues of the future, Juuls says.
SEVERAL FAMILIES of victims of the Maguindanao Massacre are demanding the replacement of Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III as head of the Maguindanao prosecution team, saying they have lost confidence in the way Baraan has been handling the case.
The families made the appeal even as they disclosed alleged offers for money by people claiming to represent the Ampatuan clan in exchange for their withdrawal from the Ampatuan massacre case. The offers allegedly range from six million pesos to twenty million, with a more recent offer being made as late as March this year.
At least ten families of victims of the massacre flew from Mindanao to Manila Wednesday morning to decry the Department of Justice’s handling of the case. The ten families are part of a group of 44 families that are protesting the Justice Department’s decision to rest its presentation of evidence against members of the Ampatuan family for the 2009 Maguindanao massacre where 58 people were murdered.
Relatives of victims of the Ampatuan Massacre during a news conference yesterday in Manila, Philippines.
Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and three other relatives in the massacre, said majority of the families of the victims have lost faith in Baraan, who oversees the prosecution panel, especially after he held at least two private meetings with Atty. Sigfrid Fortun, lead counsel of the Ampatuans. Mangudadatu said the meeting was improper because Baraan is in charge of the panel prosecuting the Ampatuan family for the Maguindanao massacre.
“Ang pagbisita, sana hindi na pinahintulutan ni Undersecretary Baraan,” Mangudadatu said. “May secretary naman siya, he should have said huwag na papuntahin siya dahil ako ang abogado ng mga biktima ng Ampatuan massacre.”
(Undersecretary Baraan should not have allowed that visit. He has a secretary, he could have just said do not let Fortun come here because I am the lawyer of the Ampatuan massacre victims.)
“Maghanap na si (Justice) Secretary Leila de Lima ngmaghahandle ng kasong ito,” Mangudadatu said after a presscon held by the families of the victims. “Kaming mga kliyente niya, kliyente ng gobnerno, at kliyente ng DOJ ay nawalan na ng trust kay Undersecretary Baraan.”
(Justice Sec. Leila de Lima should find someone else to handle this case. We are (Baraan’s) clients, clients of the government, clients of the DOJ, and we have lost trust in Undersecretary Baraan.)
Private prosecutors Nena Santos and Prima Quinsayas revealed the meeting between Baraan and Fortun earlier last week, as they raised the alarm over what they called questionable decisions being made by government prosecutors handling the case. Both Baraan and Fortun have since confirmed the meetings, saying Fortun was just consulting Baraan on a land dispute case his family had in Cavite province.
“Ang laki ng tiwala at respeto namin sa Malacanang at kay Secretary de Lima, pero hindi ko masasabi iyan kay Undersecretary Baraan,” added Atty. Gemma Oquendo, a private prosecutor who lost her father and sister in the massacre.
Oquendo said it was also curious that Fortun could easily get an appointment with Baraan, whereas families of the victims have a hard time setting meetings with him. “Kami hindi pwede, pero si Fortun, pwede.”
(We have a lot of respect for Malacanang and Secretary de Lima, but I cannot say the same for Undersecretary Baraan. We cannot meet with him, but Fortun can meet with him.)
“Nandito kami para magpahayag ng pagtutol sa mga kaganapan sa prosekusyon,” Oquendo said. “Dapat pakinggan ang hinaing ng kanilang mga kliyente.”
(We are here to register our objection to what is happening with the prosecution. They should listen to the cries of their clients.)
Baraan could not be reached as of presstime. His secretary said he was busy in several meetings. Text messages to his mobile phone have been left unanswered.
The families that faced the media Wednesday morning also revealed continuing efforts to entice them to withdraw from the case in exchange for money. In at least one case, people claiming to represent the Ampatuan clan even demanded a commission or a cut from the compromise settlement, they said.
Karen Araneta, widow of DZRH reporter Henry Araneta, said she attended at least five meetings in Mindanao last year where at least ten families of victims were being enticed by people claiming to represent the Ampatuans to sign a compromise deal. Araneta said the families were told by these middlemen to name their price, on the condition that they give a commission to the middlemen.
Araneta said the other condition was for the families to pin the blame for the massacre on Mangudadatu. Araneta said she refused to sign on to the compromise deal, and is not aware if any of the other families have done so.
“Pag bayad, may komisyon raw sila,” Araneta said. “Hindi specific kung magkano (ang settlement), kahit malaki raw, magbigkas lang kami.”
(Once you are paid, you give them a commission. There was no specifics on how much the settlement would be. You just tell them how much you want, even if it is huge.)
Araneta also called on other families of victims to come out in the open and reveal the offers they have gotten. “Kung sino man yung inaalok na nagpapabayad, lumantad din kayo para hindi lang ako magisa ang lumantad,” she said in the press conference. (Whoever else was offered payment, please come out so that I am not alone in disclosing this.)
Atty. Oquendo also furnished reporters copies of a draft affidavit of desistance that she said had been given to some families of the victims to fill out. In the quitclaim, families of the victims are asked to release Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son Andal Jr. of all criminal and civil liabilities as a result of the Ampatuan massacre. In exchange, the family is to be given six million pesos.
The document Oquendo furnished reporters was filled out, but the names and addresses of the family were blacked out for security reasons. The affidavit of desistance was dated March 2014, or just four months ago. It had not yet been signed and notarized. It was also not clear if the family named in the document eventually accepted the settlement.
A COPY of the affidavit of desistance presented to reporters yesterday. Family members who agree to the offer of settlements will be made to sign this document that will absolve two of the principal suspects in the murder case.
“For and in consideration of the full settlement, all of which are acknowledged to our complete satisfaction, and in grateful appreciation thereof, we, together with the imemdiately (sic) members of our family, do hereby release and forever discharge all the accused, particularly Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. and Datu Andal Unsay Ampatuan Jr. in criminal case nos. Q-09-162148 to 162172, Q-09-162216 to 162231, Q-10-162652 to 162666 and Q-10-163766,” the affidavit states.
Interestingly, the affidavit of desistance refers to the Maguindanao massacre only as an accident. The document further states that the affidavit is not to be construed as an admission of guilt or liability.
“This affidavit of desistance and release shall be pleaded as a bar to any suit or proceedings which may be taken or have taken in connection with the aforementioned accident, and the payment for compromise moreover, is not, and shall never be construed as an admission of liability but merely a final compromise ,” the affidavit states.
Ampatuan lead lawyer Sigfrid Fortun for his part denied knowledge of any compromise deal from the side of the Ampautan family. Fortun said he is only one of several lawyers hired by the clan, and that he was not aware of any offers being made by other lawyers.
“The Ampatuans have many lawyers. I am but one of them,” Fortun said in a text message. “What they or their other relatives are doing in Maguidnanao is mostly their own without prior consultation or by-your-leave from me. Sorry I have no info about that.”
It is not clear to the families of the 58 massacre victims if any of them have accepted a compromise deal or signed any affidavit of desistance. Some of the relatives of the victims however say that they would never consider a compromise settlement.
“Kahit isang sakong pera pa ang ibagsak sa harap ko, hindi ko talaga tatanggapin iyon (Even if they drop a sack of money in front of me, I would never accept it),” said Mary Grace Morales, who lost a husband and a sister in the massacre.
While members of Congress, guests and foreign dignitaries clapped their hands to a melodramatic State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno S. Aquino III, Filipinos from different walks of life listened to fired-up “alternative” SONAs in the streets, Monday.
As with the other Presidents and SONAs in the past, left-leaning militants held a SONA of their own along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, the main thoroughfare heading to the Batasan.
President Aquino’s penultimate SONA comes on the heels of the now controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP)—parts of which the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.
Multi-sectoral organizations under the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) marched along Commonwealth Avenue but were stopped by several layers of defense that include cyclone wire fences, four 20-foot container vans and a phalanx of anti-riot police.
The Department of Public Order and Safety of Quezon City estimated the crowd at 10,000 individuals. But Quezon City Police District gave a more conservative estimate at 7,000 to 8,000 people.
Despite the obstructions, the protesters still managed to hold their own SONA dubbed: “People’s SONA” on two fronts. The bigger was held along Commonwealth Avenue using a flatbed truck as a stage while another contingent managed to slip past security and held their own SONA at least 50 meters shy of the North Gate of the House of Representatives in Batasan Hills.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Secretary-General Renato Reyes said that they have leveled-up their call to an “ouster” campaign since President Aquino appeared to be sounding more like a “tyrant” in his recent pronouncements.
Reyes cited the President’s July 14 speech on live television where it was like “PNoy is saying that he is beyond the reach of the Supreme Court.”
“We filed an impeachment against the President. He should be held accountable to the people regarding the scandal that is DAP. Hindi nararapat, hindi na uubra. Hindi na patatapusin pa ang kanyang termino,” Reyes said.
He added that aside from the impeachment cases they filed against the President, they are also filing a case with the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Aquino will be condemned as the President who brought back the US military bases and sold out the nation’s sovereignty through the PH-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA),” said Reyes.
Meanwhile, a different contingent led by women’s rights organization, Gabriela—numbering about a hundred—came out from their communities in Payatas and other neighboring communities in the second district and massed up along IBP Road, near the North Gate of the Batasan Pambansa Complex.
The protesters near the House of Representatives consisted mostly of women and children who tried to get near the complex but were held back by a phalanx of anti-riot police.
Representatives from the Makabayan bloc—Karlos Zarate (Bayan Muna), Luz Ilagan (Gabriela), Terry Ridon (Kabataan), Antonio Tinio (Act), Neri Colmenares (Bayan Muna), Emmi de Jesus (Gabriela), and Fernando Hicap (Anakpawis)—joined the protesters near the Batasan Complex after they walked out on the President’s SONA.
“We walked out because we know that he (President Aquino) will just lie again to defend the unconstitutional DAP,” Tinio told the protesters.
There were other sectors that were dismayed with the President’s report to the nation.
Advocates pushing for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill noted how the President again avoided any mention of the FOI bill in his SONA, even though he claims to espouse transparency and accountability.
Three days before the SONA, members of the Right To Know, Right Now! Coalition delivered to Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda at least 38,000 signatures they gathered from a petition calling for the President and Congress to take decisive action on the FOI bill.
The information advocates had hoped that President Aquino would at least mention the FOI in his presentation of his legislative agenda.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Chair Rowena Paraan expressed her disappointment on her Facebook wall saying: “Wala na naman ang FOI.”
For his part, NUJP Cagayan de Oro Chapter Chair Froilan Gallardo reacted to the President’s statement that his administration did well in responding to Typhoon Yolanda last November.
“In his SONA, President Aquino says the government response to Tacloban during typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan was quick and decisive. Aquino even praised DILG Mar Roxas and Defensec Voltaire Gazmin. #%& Ugh! Every journalist who covered Leyte and Tacloban knows the truth,” said Gallardo.
THE WORLD is already eating way beyond its means, yet those who produce the food barely have enough to eat.
This dual layer of ironies was highlighted during the Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture in Manila this week, as experts from around the world emphasized how growing consumer food demands are far and fast outpacing the ability of the world’s natural resources to provide this need.
The challenge, says World Wildlife Fund-Philippines president Lory Tan, is to find ways to produce more food while using up even less resources such as land and water.
Tan cited the country as an example in showing the pressure that people are placing on the natural resources of the world that would be compounded by problems brought about by climate change and water scarcity. In the face of the need for food, participants discussed the need to improve agricultural productivity while improving rural livelihood and reducing its impact on the environment.
“We are eating ourselves up; (the Philippines) sits 117 percent beyond our natural capital,” Tan said as he opened the two-day forum that gathered representatives from various agricultural sectors and business leaders throughout Asia.
Resources persons underscored the need to rethink food production. Jason Clay, senior vice-president, Markets and Food of the World Wildlife Foundation-USA cited as an example the growing of cattle for beef, which takes up 60 percent of land yet only provides for 1.3 percent of the total needed calories.
Tan and Clay said the answer to this problem is not to use more resources such as land for food production, but rather to find more efficient ways to produce the food that more people really need. In addition, both cited the need for people to be more efficient in their consumption of food, as a significant percentage of the food produced is really just wasted because of the nature of a consumer-driven society.
At the same time, experts noted how this growing food consumption is not reflected in the plight of those who have a direct hand in food production – the farmers.
Sec. Francis Pangilinan, presidential assistant on food and agricultural modernization, pointed out that Philippine farmers remain among the poorest of the poor.
Coconut farmers, for example, earn only an average of P23,000 a year, or not even P2,000 a month.
This, even as food prices have risen by 7.4 percent, or well above the inflation rate of 4.4 percent, Pangilinan said.
Even as the Gross Domestic Product of the Philippines rose last year, the second fastest-growing in Asia next to China, 20 out of 100 Filipinos remain hungry while four million households or at least 20 million Filipinos cannot feel the growth and do not have enough food, he added.
“We should treat our farmers like our parents,” Pangilinan quoted his own young daughter as saying. Pangilinan said people should place more importance on farmers, perhaps even more than lawyers and engineers, since people rely on the output of farmers three times a day, compared to the few times that people need lawyers in their lifetime.
Among the agricultural commodities addressed during the open and working group discussions were rice, poultry, fisheries and aquaculture, palm oil, coffee and cocoa, and sugar.
Juan Farinati, vice-president for Asia of Monsanto Corporation, said that there should also be a focus on “innovation and partnerships” that would lead to producing more food with less resources.
He cited the case of Vietnam where farmers have shifted to corn from other crops and were able to export it only a year using Monsanto bio-engineered seeds that increased the income of farmers to more than US$400 per hectare.
Aside from the shift to other crops, Matthew Morell, deputy director general for research of the International Rice Research Institute, said there is also a need to improve production systems like moving to mechanized farming to boost yield.
He added genetics would play a “strong role” in improving rice strains that would have higher yields.
Guy Hogge, head of sustainability of Louis Dreyfus Commodities, on the other hand, said farmers in rural areas might not have access to markets as he raised the need for government intervention in agriculture.
Sugar, on the other hand, once the biggest export commodity of the Philippines, was described by Sugar Regulatory Administration Gina Martin-Bautista as a “game changer” because it can be used to branch out to other industries like bio-water and bio-plastics because it is a “green commodity” or environment-friendly.
Bautista, however, pointed out that Thailand, which learned sugar production from the Philippines, has outstripped the country in terms of production.
Second only to Brazil in terms of sugar production, Thailand now has more than one million hectares planted to the crop compared to the Philippines’ 420,000 hectares.
Yet while Thailand only has double the hectarage devoted to sugar compared to the Philippines, it is producing more than four times the sugar output, or 11 million metric tons for Thailand compared to the Philippines’ 2.5 million metric tons.
Amid the problems posed by climate change and limited resources, Pangilinan said, using the words of his then nine-year-old child, that “we must treat farmers like our parents” because “we need them on a daily basis” for us to eat.
He also said that if the country’s framework for sustainable agriculture must put farmers, fisherfolk, and agricultural first, integrated environmental care and preservation and must show “new way of doing things” while going back to basics.
THERE ARE those who say that Freedom of Information (FOI) is not a “sexy” topic, and that many people would rather talk about issues of food and shelter than issues about information.
Not so, say veteran and award-winning photojournalists who have taken up the challenge of grounding the FOI issue on something more basic – corruption, poverty, and the lack of basic services.
FOI advocates have created a special Facebook album where any photographer, amateur or professional, can share images that illustrate the connections between the lack of transparency and the lack of basic services.
The first eight photos uploaded into the album strike a clear message for all: Without the transparency and accountability that Freedom of Information can bring, corruption will go unchecked, basic services will not be delivered, and poverty will continue to haunt us like a persistent shadow on the pavement.
So far, the uploaded photographs share a common theme: FOI! Saan napunta ang pera? or FOI: Where did our money go? However, photographs and images do not necessarily have to be limited to this theme. Contributors are encouraged to be creative too and see how they can visualize other connections between the FOI and the concerns of Filipinos.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Chairperson Rowena Paraan said the first eight images were contributed for free by various award-winning photojournalists, including Jes Aznar, who recently won the Excellence in News Photography Award from the Society of Publishers in Asia for his coverage of Supertyphoon Yolanda; Raymund Villanueva of Bulatlat; and Julius Mariveles of the PCIJ, “to help the public learn and understand the impact of FOI to every Filipino.”
More than ensuring greater and genuine transparency and accountability in government, an FOI law may also lead to higher and more substantive citizen engagement in governance – the very essence of a democratic government.
Paraan encouraged other photographers and visual artists to contribute to the Facebook album with their own interpretation of FOI and its connection to the many issues that are now topmost on Filipinos’ minds. Everyone is also encouraged to share these photos on other social media sites.
The Facebook album is part of a bigger campaign to push the passage of the FOI bill that remains stalled in the 16th Congress, four years into the term of President Benigno S. Aquino III. The President has indicated that he supports the principle of the bill, but has hedged his endorsement of the measure for the last four years. Many legislators have said that all it takes for the bill to get through the congressional wringer is a simple endorsement by the President.
The Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition, a network of 160 media, civil society, and lawyers groups, is already collecting online signatures in support of the FOI through Change.org. The petition has already gathered 15,353 signatures as of Wednesday, July 9. The coalition plans to hand-deliver the gathered signatures to President Aquino before he delivers his State of the Nation Address on July 28.
In the recently concluded FOI Youth Congress at the University of the Philippines, PCIJ Executive Director Malou Mangahas stressed that access to public information is not the exclusive concern of journalists; rather, this access is grounded on a more basic human right guaranteed by the United Nations. The PCIJ is one of the convenors of the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition.
