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Extra rice, please
If only it were possible to give up rice, perhaps Filipinos once again grappling with rising prices of the grain would prefer something else to go with their daing or adobo. Alas, kare-kare, caldereta, and most sauce-y Pinoy dishes are no good without steaming white rice. It’s not all about taste or eating habits either. Most Filipinos eat a lot of rice because it is filling. A movie starring the comedian Dolphy featured a family sharing a plateful of rice, taking turns sniffing at a piece of salted fish before gobbling down a mouthful of the kanin (cooked rice). It filled their bellies and certainly fired up their imaginations. In fact, jokes abound about the Pinoy getting by with unli (unlimited) rice, a little soup, or even that fried chicken gravy. It is no laughing matter, however, that many of our kababayans cannot afford a balanced meal containing proper amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and vegetables regularly. Rice is supposed to be cheap and readily available. Yet here we are, still on the hunt for the P20 per kilo rice promised during the last State of the Nation Address. We sent someone out to buy that rice, but he came back empty-handed. The cheapest kilo of rice, he said, cost P50. And news lately of rice prices expected to continue rising until September leaves us wondering — once again — how in the world did the agricultural Philippines end up importing rice in the first place? Vietnam, which learned rice technology from us, currently pegs the price at “$540 per metric ton, (or) about P30 to P32 per kilo,” said Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president Danilo Fausto in a dzBB Super Radyo interview, as reported in a news article. This, he added, is higher than its prices at other times of the year, at “$420 to $440, about P23 to P24 per kilo.” We need to import rice so that the country will have enough supply, he said, suggesting that government should “intervene” and discuss the supply issue with our ASEAN neighbors. Some sources blame the rise in rice prices on “the effects of price manipulation and price speculation,” pointing a finger at businessmen who use the supply and demand equation to make more profit. On the other hand, price watchdogs say it’s the government that has failed to keep a tight rein on prices, letting the fluctuations happen because of inaction. But, perhaps, it is more of slow action that is ailing our government. The Commission on Audit’s latest report released this month flagged the Department of Agriculture over one, “its failure to distribute a total of 855,493 bags of rice seeds meant for farmers under the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund;” and two, failure “to distribute 2,088 pieces of farm machinery, out of the total 22,520 procured equipment.” Also, some “14,192 bags of rice seeds were damaged” while the rest were either donated or kept for the next planting season. Whatever may have caused these incidents, the fact remains that our farmers were “deprived of their needed assistance,” said CoA, and state funds have been likely wasted over damaged goods and equipment rusting in their yards. A review of the Rice Tariffication Law is once more called for. Better prioritization is also demanded of the agencies concerned tasked to support our farmers and the local production of rice, as well as those tasked to protect consumers from price hikes. If the world supply is low, we could try to eat less rice and try other alternatives. There’s always a choice of bread or corn, or even the much-derided kamote, to eat with your Iberian roast chicken — but for bangus, bistek, and sinigang — extra rice, please. The post Extra rice, please appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
A flying fiasco
Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air has proven time and again that it is more interested in counting its profits than upholding its duty to the public. As irate passengers lined up to air their grievances during congressional investigations, it has become evident that Cebu Pacific’s approach to customer service is nothing short of a disaster. The tales of woe begin with the grim reality of overbooking, a practice that seems to have become the signature move of the budget behemoth. Countless passengers have found themselves heartlessly cast aside, denied the right to board their flights, while Cebu Pacific’s rapacity for more revenue reached obscene heights. As these passengers shared their nightmarish experiences, Cebu Pacific’s customer service had been exposed as a mere façade, masking the truth of their disdain for the people they are meant to serve. “Everyone should fly,” Cebu Pacific says. Yes, everyone should fly away from an airline that is a veritable circus of excuses for delays and cancellations. The airline’s explanations for rebooked flights are nothing short of outrageous insults to the intelligence of their customers, each excuse more pathetic than the last. Lightning strikes and bird collisions may be acts of nature, but Cebu Pacific’s callous disregard for its passengers’ well-being is an act of corporate mischief. And the airline’s people at its check-in counters have apparently been coached to lie. A group of journalists hustling back to Manila from a provincial coverage to catch and cover President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address discovered this for themselves. All were supposed to board a 5:30 p.m. flight, but one photographer was rebooked for the next day, while another was told to board the 10:30 p.m. flight. Explaining at the airline’s check-in counter that they could not afford to be offloaded, the journalists were told that a smaller plane than the one they were booked on was dispatched. Allegedly, the bigger plane encountered mechanical problems and did not leave Manila. Then the check-in staff started playing the guilt-laying game, saying: “We cannot sacrifice the safety of the other passengers by accommodating more people than the smaller plane’s carrying capacity.” “But who told you to sacrifice anyone?” one of the journalists retorted. “What we want to know is how on earth Cebu Pacific chose us to be the ones to be off-loaded. And why are we being told only now, just a couple of hours away from our scheduled flight?” Cebu Pacific’s check-in staffer then mouthed what we presume to be the routine argument-ender they’d been given as a tired script — that they could do nothing about the problem except to find other flights for the off-loaded who may then file a complaint with their customer care department. To the chagrin of the photographer and reporter, they were told by their colleagues who were lucky enough not to be taken off the 5:30 p.m. flight that, yes, the original plane that was supposed to fly them back to Manila was the very same plane they boarded. What happened to the smaller plane? Lies, lies, lies. The question that looms larger than an Airbus A380 is this: How can an airline that rakes in billions in revenue conveniently blame external factors for its failures? “Freak incidents” do not occur with such alarming regularity, and when they do, a responsible and reputable airline has contingencies in place to mitigate their impact on passengers. Cebu Pacific booked a net income of P1.08 billion in the first quarter of this year, tripling its revenue to P20.88 billion from P6.71 billion in the same period last year, during which it recorded a net loss of P7.6 billion. But the carrier’s return to profitability, alas, has been at the expense of customers forced to book hotel rooms at their own expense or sleep on airport floors. To add insult to injury, the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines have failed miserably in their oversight of Cebu Pacific and other erring airlines. Their inaction amounts to a dereliction of duty, leaving passengers vulnerable to the whims and caprices of a budget carrier that cares only for its bottom line. It is high time for Congress to wield its power and act decisively to protect the rights of the flying public. Rep. Rufus Rodriguez’s call for the suspension of Cebu Pacific’s legislative franchise echoes the sentiments of millions who have suffered at the hands of this budget airline. A suspension will send a clear message that reckless indifference and incompetence will not be tolerated, and the privilege of serving the public will be revoked if the airline fails to meet its obligations. We will not be saddled with Cebu Pacific’s flying fiasco. The post A flying fiasco appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
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