Senate probe: Whats in synthetic

rice? Is it healthy?
he sale of synthetic rice in the country has raised alarm bells about its
effects on the health of people if consumed, prompting the Senate and the
health department to investigate the matter.
Sen. Cynthia Villar on Thursday said the Senate would look into the possible
effects that synthetic rice would have on peoples health.
To determine the composition of the fake rice, Villar, who chairs the Senate
committee on agriculture and food, will invite experts to a hearing scheduled
next week.
Food safety is a crucial aspect of the issue, she said.
This is to inform the public what this fake rice really is. We have to
understand this so we will be careful. What is the health implication of fake
rice? she said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum.
Health authorities are coordinating closely with the National Food Authority
(NFA) to get more information on the synthetic rice smuggled into the
country.
The NFA Food Development Center in Taguig City, where the vNFA sent
samples of fake rice after someone came out in the open and complained
about the rice, will release the results of the laboratory analysis today.
Plastic rice was first reported in Davao City.
Its not supposed to be there but its there and some people have eaten it.
[We are going to find out] what its possible effects on the human body are,
said Health Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go.

Made in China
In Davao City, NFA officials are urging the public not to panic as they await
test results of samples believed to be fake rice.

Theres no cause for alarm yet, said NFA provincial manager Virgilio Alerta.
We are not yet going to open any warehouse unless we can trace and verify
the questionable rice samples.
The synthetic ricemade of potatoes, sweet potatoes and plastic shaped
into grainsis reportedly being manufactured in China and exported to Asian
countries, like Indonesia and Vietnam. Materials used in making pipes and
cables were also allegedly used in the fake grain.
Testing samples
Health Undersecretary Go said the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) would be
checking the contents of the fake grains to find out what risk they posed to
human health if eaten.
The NFA earlier said that scientists were having difficulty testing the samples
the agency received because these were less than the one kilo needed for
results to be conclusive.
The FDA is coordinating now closely with NFA on its observations and
findings in order to ascertain what kind of material this is, Go told reporters.
But definitely it does not look like food. I have not seen it myself but we are
still validating.
Dianne Silva, the Davao director of the NFA, told reporters that most of the
complaints the agency were receiving about fake rice were false, although
they were awaiting the release on July 3 of the laboratory results of the first
samples of alleged fake rice from Davao City.
Once, we traced the source of the questionable rice in Mintal (district),
which was also the subject of a complaint. We bought [rice] and tried cooking
it, and we did not see anything wrong with it, Silva said.
Be vigilant
Maybe, the consumers were complaining because the rice they got already
stayed too long in their hands. So, it was already spoiled, she added.
But Silva urged consumers to remain vigilant and to immediately alert the
NFA if they find something abnormal in the rice they buy.
Silva said the NFA was closely coordinating with the Bureau of Customs and
other concerned government agencies in tightly watching possible points of
entry for the reported fake rice.

Villar said the synthetic rice might have been smuggled into the country,
since the NFA had said that there would be no more import permits to be
given to private entities.
Mixed with real thing
Earlier, Villar called on the Department of Agriculture and NFA to investigate
the reported proliferation of synthetic rice. She also warned that the fake rice
could be mixed with the real rice.
Aside from a nationwide inspection of warehouses and rice shops to
determine who is peddling the fake rice, the senator said special attention
should be given to small shops in rural areas where synthetic rice could be
sold discreetly.
Economic sabotage
Villar said she was pushing for the approval of a bill that would categorize
the smuggling of synthetic rice as economic sabotage. Economic sabotage is
a nonbailable offense.
The measure will be presented to the plenary when session resumes later
this month.
She said she expected the measure to be approved soon, adding that she
would be surprised if it would not be passed during the Aquino
administration.
What is PH's missed opportunity under Aquino's admin?

MANILA, Philippines Not being able to implement a wage increase for

Filipino farmers is the biggest missed opportunity of the Philippines under
President Benigno Aquino IIIs administration, according to Budget Secretary
Florencio Abad.
Abad told the audience of 2015 League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) expo
and conference on Wednesday, July 1, that the government should have
raised the salary of small local farmers which could have helped develop the
agricultural sector of the country.
If you were to ask me, although its really the mandate of the Department of
Agriculture, [the] biggest regret or missed opportunity is not being able to
raise the salary of small farmers; opportunity for greater productivity lies in

the rural areas. Through this, we could have developed our agricultural
sector more effectively, Abad said.
Poverty incidence among Filipinos in the first semester of 2014 was
estimated at 25.8%, according to the latest data of the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA). This is higher than the 24.6% recorded in the same period in
2013.
In fact, if you look at our poverty reduction performance since 2010, it has
been progressively falling. But in 2014, poverty incidence increased. The
average per capita per income of the populations lowest 40% was about 7%,
whereas those of the higher income bracket are at 4%, Abad said.
Poverty incidence, food policy
The poverty incidence in 2014 erased the gains the government made since
2010, Abad said.
The root cause of poverty in the Philippines is not being able to increase the
salary of Filipino farmers. This, in turn, decreased productivity of farmers and
raised food prices.
What was the factor then? Food price inflation. The price of food went up by
9.5% but the price of rice went up by 12%. It practically erased the gains in
per capita income growth of 40% poorest sectors, he explained.
Aside from raising farmers salary, Abad said he could have also helped
implement a food policy for the lowest 40% of the population.
Also, being able to come up with a food policy that really directs itself to the
poor people in this country, with that, I think poverty at this stage would be
less than 20%. So I think thats one of the areas we could have radically
made changes, Abad said.
The budget secretary said that these issues are for the next government to
worry about.
Weve seen the challenges within this administration and there is certainly a
lot of wisdom the next administration can learn from, Abad said.
2016 crucial for change

The year 2016 is crucial for Philippine development, as Flipinos will choose
the right leader who will sustain, and even further improve, the current
economic gains.
Abad, who served as campaign manager of the ruling Liberal Party in the
2010 presidential elections, said public and private organizations as well as
communities should frame 2016 as a continuity of that collaboration that
we started in 2010.
In 2010, you put the politicians and political parties in the right places. I will
concede to you for example, the Liberal Party wasnt the major party that
brought President Aquino into power. It was really a huge social movement,
Abad said.
The budget chief has been pushing for his party mate, Interior Secretary
Manuel Roxas II, as the best bet in the 2016 presidential race. (READ: Abad:
Choose the right leaders to sustain PH growth)
Businessmen who attended a recent forum favored their guest of honor,
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, while a Bloomberg poll showed that
businessmen support Senator Grace Poe.
Abad reiterated that the "character" of the next administration will play a key
role in continuing the development trajectory that the Philippines is currently
heading to.
What is the character of the leader we are looking for such another
undertaking? From that basis, we should make our choice, rather than
looking at surveys for the highest number of people rooting for a certain
prospect, Abad said.
The budget secretary ended his speech with this advice to private
organizations: This time around, if we go through a more deliberate
sustained public-private collaboration that continues from 2010, I think we
will not make a mistake from choosing the right leader in 2016.

Last woman Huk leader dies, leaves

legacy of dedication

SAN SIMON, PampangaUntil shortly before her death after a heart attack
on Tuesday, the last remaining female commander of the World War II
guerrilla group Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap) had been
keeping herself busy with serving her former comrades.
Simeona Punsalan, known in the Hukbalahap as Commander Guerrero, died
on the eve of her 93rd birthday and her body is at the family house in
Barangay San Miguel here.
Punsalan continued serving the Hukbalahap, a guerrilla group formed to fight
the Japanese occupation of Central Luzon during World War II, being able to
help more than 100 of former Hukbalahap members apply for pension.
Ligaya Tapang, Punsalans daughter, said her mother endorsed the
applications of more than 100 Huk veterans from Pampanga and Bulacan by
putting her thumb mark on documents submitted to the Military Service
Board (MSB).
approved 474 pension applications before it was dissolved on May 17,
according to a check made by the Inquirer.
Punsalan and the late Remedios Gomez-Paraiso, alias Commander Liwayway,
chief of the military provision division of the Hukbalahap in Central Luzon,
helped the late Huk leader Luis Taruc claim pensions for Huk veterans after
World War II.
Punsalan had asked local officials to look after the welfare of Huk veterans.
In a program recognizing her patriotism and nationalism last year, she
appealed to the government to give these veterans attention.
In June 2014, she worked to have the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office
(PVAO) restore her pension that stopped arriving in March that year due to an
error in record keeping. PVAO gave her pension back after it corrected her
status from deceased to alive.