Malacanang to issue guidelines on excess NFA rice

Manila (12 August) -- Malacañang is now ready to issue the guidelines for the distribution of excess rice of the
National Food Authority (NFA) to poor communities and the government's feeding program nationwide.

President Benigno C. Aquino III will approve the guidelines for the rice distribution after his meeting yesterday
afternoon (August 11) in Malacañang with NFA Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky
Soliman, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Budget Secretary Butch Abad and NFA
Administrator Lito Banayo.

In a media briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Edwin Lacierda said that during the meeting, the President will
thresh out the guidelines together with the Cabinet officials concerned.

"They will be discussing it this afternoon and hopefully the guidelines will be issued either today or tomorrow,"
Lacierda said.

Earlier, Banayo said they are formulating guidelines for the President's approval on how to dispose the excess rice
stocks in their warehouses as a result of over importation during the past administration and in anticipation of the
palay harvest season starting this October.

The DBM is expected to fund the acquirement of the NFA rice for the DSWD's supplemental feeding program for
malnourished children and the DILG's food-for-work program.

Other local government units are also interested in acquiring the NFA excess rice stocks to be sold at cheaper
prices to poor communities.

Due to over importation, the NFA currently has 41 million metric tons of rice stocked in their warehouses which is almost
double their normal level. (lam 2.40 p.m.) (PIA-MMIO) [top]

NFA: It’s now or never! 

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:53:00 09/14/2010

Filed Under: Government, Food
Most Read

THIS IS in reaction to the news article titled “P8B more for poorest of the poor.” (Inquirer, 9/4/10) 

The Department of Budget and Management and the National Food Authority are taking the recurring issue of rice
subsidies and NFA’s precarious financial condition by the horns, so to speak. 

The need for cash grants for the poorest of the poor families has long been recognized by our government. In fact,
owing to NFA’s debt-riddled condition, the private sector was allowed in the past to import more rice. The Department
of Agriculture wanted to produce more in our own backyard too. 
The Department of Finance acknowledges that NFAaccounts for the biggest drain in state finances; $62 million in
2007, $1 billion in 2008. The figures are shocking for 2010, P172 billion. 

In view of the gargantuan problems and leakages, plans were drawn to overhaul the grains agency and to cut the
multi-billion-peso rice subsidies. But the plans never took off, and for years remained on the drawing board. 

In mid-April 2000, the Philippines was a beneficiary of loans from the Asian Development Bank, amounting to a total
of $175 million. These loans were meant to fund an ambitious Grains Program, to restructure NFA, to reform the rice
subsidy program, and to ensure the farmers’ profitability all year round. After some initial loan releases, the
government requested the ADB in April 2003 to stop further releases; and in June 2004, ADB notified the government
of the cancellation of the undisbursed loans. What went wrong? 

Is NFA now insolvent? Based on COA reports, its liabilities soared to P69 billion in 2007 from only P20 billion in 2000;
and its capital deficiencies swelled from P1 billion in 2000 to P45 billion in 2007—a banker’s nightmare! Is this
considered a “public service function”? The deficit for 2008, 2009 and 2010 could be staggering. 

Worse, the grains agency’s inventories were bigger at P9 billion in 2000 then P6 billion in 2007, despite the
magnitude of its liabilities in 2007, which was three times bigger than in 2000. Where have all the sacks of rice gone? 

According to reports, the issue of rationalizing the NFA is now in the hands of lawmakers. When is the appropriate
time to act? Perhaps, it is now or never! 

—MANUEL Q. BONDAD 

manuelbondad@yahoo.com

NFA stockpiling rice to keep prices stable 

By Marianne V. Go (The Philippine Star) Updated June 27, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) 

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) is stockpiling rice to prepare for possible calamities
in the second half of the year, in the process keeping prices of the country’s main crop stable.

With the onset of the rainy season, the NFA is taking several measures to cushion the impact of the
probable occurrence of La Niña which is predicted to start in the third quarter this year.

NFA administrator Jessup P. Navarro said the grains agency has strategically positioned its rice stocks
nationwide – particularly in calamity-prone areas.

He said the NFA’s rice inventory currently stands at two million metric tons, equivalent to 56 percent of the
total national inventory of 3.56 million metric tons.

Navarro assured the NFA stock is more than enough to meet the country’s requirement until the end of this
year based on its operational distribution target.

In the meantime, Navarro said prices of rice in the market remain stable.
The retail price of regular milled rice (RMR) ranges from P30.65 to P31.18 per kilogram, and from P34.20 to
P34.59 per kilogram for well-milled rice (WMR).

Navarro said he expects no increase in the price of rice during these lean months because of the pro-active
stance made by the government to import the commodity to fill in the gap in rice production due to the El
Niño phenomenon that affected the country early this year.

The NFA has contracted 2.5 million metric tons of rice this year, including 200 thousand tons allotted to the
private sector. More than 2.2 million metric tons have already arrived in various disports and are now
strategically stored in NFA warehouses nationwide.

Navarro has ordered field officials to check on the proper execution of memorandum of agreement (MOA) on
disaster preparedness with the local government units (LGUs) from the provincial to the municipal level,
especially in disaster-prone areas. 

With the MOA in place, LGUs can purchase their rice requirements from NFA on credit terms for relief
operations during times of calamities.

Action groups, both at the regional and provincial offices,have also been organized to oversee
disasteroperations. Monitoring teams will monitor rice prices, supply and stock movements. 

During calamities, the operations center or command center will operate on a 24-hour basis to monitor the
situation in the affected areas and provide uninterrupted services to relief agencies, LGUs and even non-
government organizations.

NFA’s facilities and equipment used for disaster operations such as trucks, service vehicles, generators and
fire extinguishers are also being readied.

The agency also has an existing MOA with relief agencies such as National Disaster Coordinating Council
(NDCC), Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) to avoid delays in the issuance of rice for relief operations in times of disasters, natural or man-
made.

NFA stockpiling rice to keep prices stable 

By Marianne V. Go (The Philippine Star) Updated June 27, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0) 

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) is stockpiling rice to prepare for possible calamities
in the second half of the year, in the process keeping prices of the country’s main crop stable.

With the onset of the rainy season, the NFA is taking several measures to cushion the impact of the
probable occurrence of La Niña which is predicted to start in the third quarter this year.
NFA administrator Jessup P. Navarro said the grains agency has strategically positioned its rice stocks
nationwide – particularly in calamity-prone areas.

He said the NFA’s rice inventory currently stands at two million metric tons, equivalent to 56 percent of the
total national inventory of 3.56 million metric tons.

Navarro assured the NFA stock is more than enough to meet the country’s requirement until the end of this
year based on its operational distribution target.

In the meantime, Navarro said prices of rice in the market remain stable.

The retail price of regular milled rice (RMR) ranges from P30.65 to P31.18 per kilogram, and from P34.20 to
P34.59 per kilogram for well-milled rice (WMR).

Navarro said he expects no increase in the price of rice during these lean months because of the pro-active
stance made by the government to import the commodity to fill in the gap in rice production due to the El
Niño phenomenon that affected the country early this year.

The NFA has contracted 2.5 million metric tons of rice this year, including 200 thousand tons allotted to the
private sector. More than 2.2 million metric tons have already arrived in various disports and are now
strategically stored in NFA warehouses nationwide.

Navarro has ordered field officials to check on the proper execution of memorandum of agreement (MOA) on
disaster preparedness with the local government units (LGUs) from the provincial to the municipal level,
especially in disaster-prone areas. 

With the MOA in place, LGUs can purchase their rice requirements from NFA on credit terms for relief
operations during times of calamities.

Action groups, both at the regional and provincial offices,have also been organized to oversee
disasteroperations. Monitoring teams will monitor rice prices, supply and stock movements. 

During calamities, the operations center or command center will operate on a 24-hour basis to monitor the
situation in the affected areas and provide uninterrupted services to relief agencies, LGUs and even non-
government organizations.

NFA’s facilities and equipment used for disaster operations such as trucks, service vehicles, generators and
fire extinguishers are also being readied.

The agency also has an existing MOA with relief agencies such as National Disaster Coordinating Council
(NDCC), Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) to avoid delays in the issuance of rice for relief operations in times of disasters, natural or man-
made.
 Traders: Bidding for NFA rice importation
‘irregular’
By Carine M. Asutilla
Cebu Daily NewsFirst Posted 07:48:00 02/23/2010Filed Under: Government offices & agencies

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 ADVERTISEMENT

A group of traders yesterday accused the National Food Authority in Central Visayas
(NFA-7) of holding a “defective” and “irregular” bidding for the planned importation of
75,000 metric tons of rice.

Complainants said the NFA gave preference to the first nine bidders of the “2010 Private
Sector Financed (PSF)” tax-free rice importation program.

In a letter sent to the Ombudsman Visayas, the traders claimed that NFA gave priority
numbers to the nine bidders on Friday to allow them to submit their Letters of Intent
(LOI) ahead of the other interested bidders.

NFA accepted 24 LOIs from rice traders in the Visayas and Mindanao areas. 
Haide Acuña, the complainants’ lawyer, said they intend to exhaust administrative
remedies by filing complaints against NFA officials. 

They also wanted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to look into the complaint before
filing criminal and civil complaints against NFA-7 officials. 

“They cornered the entire quota for Cebu in effect shutting out the other traders nga
religious nga nipila ug ni-bid,” said Acuña. 

The NFA central office published an invitation to participate in the PSF tax-free
importation of well-milled white rice in a national daily.

Published guidelines said that priority numbers for the submission of LOIs would be
made available to interested bidders starting at 7:59 a.m. on Feb. 19.

The LOIs were to be submitted at the NFA-7 office from Feb. 22 to 26 on a first come
first serve basis.

Similiar notices were posted on the NFA-7 bulletin board and its website, said the
complaint.

Trader Lea Echeveria said she started lining up at the NFA office at 4 p.m. on Sunday
hoping to be the first to get a priority number. Her priority number was 14.

Echeveria said she was surprised to learn that the women behind her already had a
priority number 4.

Other rice traders also noticed that when the NFA-7 office opened yesterday, nine
people were already on the PSF logbook as among those who had ceived priority
numbers.

Camilo Cortezano, a trader from Luzon, said that by midnight on Sunday, several
traders were allowed to enter the NFA office in Banilad, Cebu City. They were allowed to
sleep inside the compound so that they would be first in line when the government office
opens and starts to distribute priority numbers.

Also, the Ombudsman complaint questioned the additional guidelines imposed on the
bidders which were not in the invitation to bid signed by NFA administrator Jessup
Navarro which they published in a national daily on Feb. 19.

NFA-7 director Danilo Bonabon said he did not know about the additional guidelines.
While he refused to comment on accusations that his office gave undue advantage to
some bidders, Bonabon promised to look into the matter.

Bonabon said he would look into the issued raised by the aggrieved traders once he
received a copy of the complaint.

Acuña said that PSF was designed to bring less costly imported rice to the Visayas and
Mindanao areas. 

With their protest, Acuña said they hope to unmask the “mafia” inside NFA.

She alleged that a group inside NFA would bid for less costly rice to meet their quota.
They would then re-sell these sacks of rice at a higher cost.

Under the PSF, winning bidders could import tax-free rice. They only needed to pay the
P100 per sack of rice as service fee. If the traders are able to deliver the rice to NFA
before the Aug. 10 deadline, service fee would be reduced to only P75 per bag.

Based on her computation, Acuña said the nine NFA selected bidders would deliver a
total 80,000 metric tons of rice. 

This means that all nine traders who offered to deliver 5,000 to 10,000 metric tons of
rice each would already meet their delivery of 75,000 metric tons.

Think-tank calls for rescue, not abolition of NFA 

By Daxim Lucas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 16:34:00 08/29/2010

Filed Under: Food, Consumer Issues, Consumer Goods

MANILA, Philippines -- The National Food Authority must be transformed into an economically viable entity that will
fulfill its mandate of pursuing food security and stabilize prices of rice for the benefit of underprivileged Filipino
consumers.

This was the stand adopted by the newly formed Forensic Law and Policy Strategies, Inc. (Forensic Solutions), which
made a stand against the abolition of the cash-draining state firm.

According to the legal think-tank, the NFA could tap various methods to convert itself from a money-losing venture
into a profitable agency, such as, among others, running a grains exchange market and investing its funds in financial
instruments.

In keeping with President Aquino’s personal push for private-public sector partnerships as the way to tap private
funds for big-ticket public infrastructure projects, Forensic Solutions said the NFA could support this priority program
by partnering with private groups to cultivate lands for farm production or even let the private sector handle rice
imports.

“The abolition of the NFA is a non-responsive solution to the impending food crisis,” said Forensic Solutions head and
former justice secretary Alberto Agra. “It will not help alleviate the rice shortage, and will ultimately prove to be a
disservice to the common Filipino who rely on the low-priced commodities offered by NFA,” he said.

His statements were contained in the group’s latest policy paper, entitled “A Grain of Hope for NFA,” which he co-
authored with former state solicitor general Lally Ortilla-Mallari.

“The NFA was not created as a money-making venture for government, but to promote the integrated growth and
development of the grains industry,” they said. “While economic viability is ideal for a GOCC, it is not the sole criterion
against which its performance is evaluated, or its continued existence determined.”

http://opinion.inquirer.net/opinion/letterstotheeditor/view_article.php?article_id=292255

NFA: It’s now or never! 

Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: September 14, 2010

THIS IS in reaction to the news article titled “P8B more for poorest of the poor.” (Inquirer, 9/4/10) 

The Department of Budget and Management and the National Food Authority are taking the recurring issue of rice
subsidies and NFA’s precarious financial condition by the horns, so to speak. 

The need for cash grants for the poorest of the poor families has long been recognized by our government. In fact,
owing to NFA’s debt-riddled condition, the private sector was allowed in the past to import more rice. The
Department of Agriculture wanted to produce more in our own backyard too. 

The Department of Finance acknowledges that NFA accounts for the biggest drain in state finances; $62 million in
2007, $1 billion in 2008. The figures are shocking for 2010, P172 billion. 

In view of the gargantuan problems and leakages, plans were drawn to overhaul the grains agency and to cut the
multi-billion-peso rice subsidies. But the plans never took off, and for years remained on the drawing board. 

In mid-April 2000, the Philippines was a beneficiary of loans from the Asian Development Bank, amounting to a total
of $175 million. These loans were meant to fund an ambitious Grains Program, to restructure NFA, to reform the rice
subsidy program, and to ensure the farmers’ profitability all year round. After some initial loan releases, the
government requested the ADB in April 2003 to stop further releases; and in June 2004, ADB notified the
government of the cancellation of the undisbursed loans. What went wrong? 

Is NFA now insolvent? Based on COA reports, its liabilities soared to P69 billion in 2007 from only P20 billion in
2000; and its capital deficiencies swelled from P1 billion in 2000 to P45 billion in 2007—a banker’s nightmare! Is this
considered a “public service function”? The deficit for 2008, 2009 and 2010 could be staggering. 

Worse, the grains agency’s inventories were bigger at P9 billion in 2000 then P6 billion in 2007, despite the
magnitude of its liabilities in 2007, which was three times bigger than in 2000. Where have all the sacks of rice
gone? 

According to reports, the issue of rationalizing the NFA is now in the hands of lawmakers. When is the appropriate
time to act? Perhaps, it is now or never! 

—MANUEL Q. BONDAD 

manuelbondad@yahoo.com
NFA steps up palay buying operations 
Volume seen raised by 45%
By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:40:00 04/12/2009

Filed Under: Agriculture, Food, Government, Trade (general)

MANILA, Philippines—The National Food Authority is increasing its local procurement of palay or unhusked rice by
45 percent to one million metric tons in line with efforts to help raise the farmers’ earnings and reduce the country’s
dependence on imports.

NFA Administrator Jessup Navarro said the palay bought from farmers last year reached 685,300 MT. It was the
largest recorded by the NFA in the last 30 years. The agency’s palay procurement in 2007 amounted to only 33,000
MT.

Navarro said that under the NFA’s procurement policy, priority would be given to farmers who shifted from inbred to
certified seeds and to those switching from certified seeds to hybrid seeds.

“The NFA’s Cluster Farming Program will be among the priority beneficiaries of the agency’s procurement program
this year,” he said.

“Yields from the Cluster Farming Program will cover the bulk of the agency’s procurement volume in 2009 as
production is expected to reach a minimum of 700,000 MT from an area covering at least 235,000 hectares,” Navarro
said.

Malacañang last year ordered the agriculturedepartment and the NFA to dramatically increase the volume of palay
bought from farmers to encourage them to plant more of the staple and cut the country’s rice imports.

NFA was also ordered to raise its support price for palay from P12 to P17 per kilo to help farmers cope with rising
production costs.

In February, prices of commercial rice varieties were selling for an average of P31 a kilo, lower than what the price
should be based on the NFA support price of P17 a kilo of palay. At this support price, traders should be selling their
stocks for about P32 to P34 a kilogram.

As a result of the NFA’s record palay procurement volume last year, its rice stocks reached 843,700 MT as of
February, 205.6 percent higher than the year-ago level. This is enough for the country’s 24-day consumption, at
35,000 MT of rice per day, the NFA said.

Kids in 48,000 daycare centers to feed on excess NFA

rice 
By Jocelyn R. Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:05:00 08/11/2010

Filed Under: Food and Diet and Nutrition, rice problem,Children, Charity

MANILA, Philippines—Schoolchildren in the 48,000 state-run daycare centers across the country will have hot
porridge using surplus rice from the National Food Authority, NFA Administrator Lito Banayo said Tuesday.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is buying more than 400,000 bags of the NFA’s 2009
staple surplus for its feeding program to help the agency free up its warehouses of the rice glut, Banayo said.

“They’ve planned to come up with a different menu of rice porridges with iron and vitamin fortification to feed children
in daycare centers daily,” he announced at a forum sponsored by the Catholic Media Network in Manila.

But the DSWD program using NFA rice would only unload 1 million tons of rice, said Banayo. “Our bodegas have 41
million tons of rice which is equivalent to a 57-day stock,” he added.

Due to the overimportation of rice during the Arroyoadministration, Banayo said the stocks in NFA warehouses were
now double their normal level.

He earlier said that the country was “swimming in rice,” prompting civil society groups and lawmakers to demand that
the commodity be distributed free to the poor.

Surplus rice to be sold

But Banayo Tuesday said that the agency would sell the oversupply and start bidding out some 3 million metric tons
from the 2008 stocks between this month and September, prior to the harvest season.

“We will intensify our sale through market-determined prices to our outlets all over the country,” he said, adding that
the agency had at least until November to mid-January to make way for new harvests since the El Niño phenomenon
delayed the planting season.

In his first State of the Nation Address on July 26, President Benigno Aquino III said that the Arroyo administration
imported huge amounts of rice that were left rotting while many poor households faced hunger. He said the
importation bloated the NFA’s debt to over P177 billion.

Banayo said that the NFA financially bled further when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, without scrutiny
and basis, hiked the selling price of rice from farmers from P10.50 to P17 “in one fell swoop” but at the same time cut
the sale of rice to urban consumers at P16.25 in 2008.

A matter of political survival

If the buying price from farmers was raised to P17, the cost of one kilo of rice to consumers must have been pegged
at P34. “The NFA was losing more than 100 percent for every one kilo of rice sold to the market,” Banayo pointed out.

But he said that Ms Arroyo moved to raise the buying price of rice from farmers and lower the selling cost to
consumers two years ago for “political survival” following the tumultuous years of the “Hello Garci” controversy
beginning in 2005.

Political considerations had also attended the price regulation of rice during the Arroyo administration, he said.

Arroyo administration officials say that the government had to maintain a rice buffer for the lean months and that the
massive purchases abroad—decided by a multi-agency panel—were a result of a global food crisis from 2007 and
the need to subsidize the staple for poor consumers while at the same time protecting farmers.

No WFP rice in NFA

Also Tuesday, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman denied reports rice donated by the World Food
Program (WFP) had gone to the NFA. She said the donation went to her department.
“WFP did purchase rice from NFA during the immediate aftermath of [Tropical Storm] ‘Ondoy’ and other typhoons in
2009,” she said in a statement. She said this was donated to the flood victims, in partnership with the DSWD.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said during a visit in Davao City on Monday that the country would not only end
the importation of rice in the next three years but would also develop the upland organic rice variety for export.

He said that the government should increase assistance to rice farmers and intensify research and development to
develop the upland rice varieties. He said that continued importation of rice would kill rice farmers. With reports
from Leila B. Salaverria in Manila; and Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao

NFA sells P8B worth of 10-year bonds 

By Michelle Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:08:00 02/07/2008

Filed Under: Debt Markets, bonds and t-bills, Government offices & agencies, Agriculture

MANILA, Philippines--The National Food Authority (NFA) on Wednesday sold P8 billion worth of 10-year bonds at a
yield of 6.75 percent, proceeds of which will be used to fund operational requirements and pay maturing liabilities.

Finance Undersecretary Roberto Tan, the acting national treasurer, said the rate fetched by the NFA bonds was
reasonable at about 87 basis points over the rate for the national treasury’s own 10-year bonds.

The bond issue, which carries a national government guarantee, has a call-option feature. The bonds will mature in
2018 but the NFA has an option to buy them back in 2013.

Tan said it would be prudent for the NFA to exercise thecall option in 2013 if interest rates would be low
andrefinancing would be advantageous to its financial position.

The NFA decided to tap the capital market to meet its financing needs following the Department of Finance’s call to
state-owned firms to rely less on subsidies and loans from the national government and, instead, depend on their
own revenue-raising capabilities.

NFA Administrator Jessup Navarro told reporters that proceeds of the bond sale would be used not only for debt
servicing but also for funding part of NFA operational expenses this year, estimated at P56 billion.

He said the NFA this year would embark on a program to modernize its post-harvest facilities nationwide. The state-
owned firm will earmark about P1 billion to P2 billion for this project.

He also said the NFA had programmed to import 1.6 million metric tons of rice this year, compared with last year’s
1.8 million metric tons.

Of the 2008 rice importation requirement, about 860,000 metric tons were imported early in the year. Another
400,000-450,000 metric tons will be imported this month or next, Navarro said.

The NFA, the biggest loss-maker among government corporations, is mandated to ensure steady supply and stability
of the price of rice.
He said this mandate made it difficult for the NFA to avoid losses. This is because the NFA is forced to sell rice at a
lower price, although imported rice are sometimes costlier.

He said NFA was still computing its budget position last year but added that the deficit could be close to P4.3 billion.
The agency has yet to determine its projections for this year.

The NFA is keen on pushing for the proposed rationalization plan for the agency, Navarro said. Under the plan, the
NFA’s regulatory and commercial functions will be segregated.

A bill on the proposed rationalization scheme has been pending in Congress. Navarro said the bill was recently re-
filed in Congress. Edited by INQUIRER.net

Are bookstores dead?

By Dennis Posadas on September 3, 2010 9:21 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Are bookstores dead? With the advent of cheap e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle ($139 with wifi)
and cheaper versions available from China, and with the news that ebooks have overtaken paperbooks
saleswise at Amazon.com, logically it becomes a question worth asking. Plus, looking at the way Apple
iTunes and MP3 players laid waste to businesses like Tower Records, technology's role in demolishing
entrenched businesses is worth looking at in this case.

But paper books do have their merits. First of all, they do not require electricity or batteries. If you drop
them, they are shockproof. Also, the merits of reading metal typefaces on acid free paper, with nice
artwork covers, in a comfortable library or bookstore with a cup of coffee at hand, is one of the cheap finer
pleasures in life. On the other hand, if you are a medical or a law student and have to lug around several
books, ebooks (if you like them) might be a useful alternative if the books you need are available in that
format.

In the traditional book business, for a book that sells for around $10 (around P400), roughly 30-40% goes
to the bookstore. Bookstores in a way do not really sell books; they sell consignment space in most
cases, but in some cases (like Harry Potter) they do purchase the books. The publisher and the author
split the difference minus the printing cost, which depending on the type of paper used and quantity of the
print, would probably run from $1-2 per paperback, more for hardcovers. The publisher contributes the
editorial review, copyediting, book layout and cover design, and the actual printing and distribution.
Except for the actual printing of the book, ebooks still retain this arrangement. This means that despite the
literary merits of your book, there are real costs that need to be hurdled before a publisher will consider
your book.

There are some inefficiencies in the traditional book business. Some branches may carry some copies of
the book you are looking for, while others may not. So here you are looking for a copy in one branch, but
the book you are looking for might be in another branch. This is in my opinion, the main advantage of
ebooks at the moment - efficiency in distribution. You want a book, it is always there as a pdf (or ePub or
other formats) electronic copy waiting to be distributed to you wherever you are with your ereader and a
wifi connection. Less trees are cut to make the paper for the book, but there is a very small carbon
footprint when you consume power for your ereader.
As for the reading experience itself, there are some people who swear by ebook readers, and there are
those who prefer the feel of paper. That's like asking people whether they prefer beer or wine. That's fine;
let people read in whatever way they feel comfortable.

Here in Asia, ebooks and ereaders have not really taken off yet. This is not surprising since majority of the
population cannot yet afford ereaders (nor want them). But it is important to note that most of the
manufacture (and even some design) of these devices comes from this part of the world. And with the
increased adoption of smartphones running Google Android and other advanced smartphone OS'es that
can actually run ebook apps, any smartphone is technically (but not optimally) an ereader. It might be
able to display the ebook, but ereaders built specifically for that purpose are easier on the eyes if you plan
to read a long ebook.

There are even more advanced ebooks that are coming out called "enhanced" or multimedia ebooks,
which should play to the strengths of devices like Apple's iPad and similar devices. However, as Jeff
Bezos of Amazon.com puts it (Amazon owns the Kindle device), putting a video on Hemingway's books
will not necessarily improve it. Maybe in some cases it might be useful, especially for a generation that
doesn't read and prefers to tweet or network socially, but in general a well written book does not require
too many bells and whistles to be appreciated.

From my perspective, ebooks and ereaders are an alternative - and not a replacement.Reading is
reading, whether on paper or on an ereader screen. We shouldn't automatically think that they will
make bookstores obsolete, but neither should we automatically count them out. Bookstore businesses
may be affected, but not necessarily be replaced yet, by ebooks and ereaders. After all, there are times
when you just want to turn off the computer (or whatever device you have), and just be in the real world.

But whether traditional bookstores can survive is really a function of how they adapt or choose to pretend
they can ignore this new trend.

Dennis Posadas is the author of Jump Start: A Technopreneurship Fable (Singapore: Pearson Prentice
Hall, 2009) and recently came out with a Kindle ebook,  Bay of Reckoning, on the 1898 Battle of Manila
Bay.

Aquino to meet with chief justice to address judges’

pay issues 
By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:18:00 09/14/2010

Filed Under: State Budget & Taxes, Judiciary (system of justice), Wages & Pensions

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday asked the country’s trial court judges to stop their plan
to go on mass leave after they failed to get their increases in allowances under the proposed 2011 budget.

Aquino said he would arrange a meeting with Chief Justice Renato Corona to iron out differences in the interpretation
of laws on the government’s salary structure.

“On the leave, hope they are not going to do that,” President Aquino said in a news conference after the PNP
turnover ceremonies in Camp Crame.
“They are a very necessary function and I’m sure most if not all of them are very upright individuals who would want
to do real service to the people," said Aquino, adding the problem was a matter of a "misunderstanding of the
pertinent laws.”

Aquino, nonetheless, stood firm on the executivebranch’s position that the judiciary actually received a five percent
increase in its budget in 2011 compared to its allocation in 2010.

He also said the judges have been getting increases in allowances since a few years back.

“But the bottom line is I have been made to understand they have been getting what is due them under the pertinent
laws,” Aquino said.

New consumer group focuses on food issues

By Linda B. Bolido 
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DateFirst Posted 22:05:00 06/30/2010

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PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME ABOUT consumer groups, wanting to be part of such organizations.
I told them that most of those I knew were more environmentalist groups that often had to
comment or act on consumer-related issues because of their impact on the ecosystems.

Recently I found out that there was a new consumer group whose members appeared to be
mainly based at Miriam College in Quezon City. The year-old Consumer Rights for Safe Food is,
as the name suggests, pretty much focused onfood issues particularly the problem of GMOs
(genetically modified organisms). Still that is a good start. Consumers who wish to link up with
this group, which now has about 200 members, can visit consumer rightsforsafefood.ning.com.

Grace Chua said the group got together after hearing a talk on genetically modified food. “In
general we want to raise the awareness of consumers about safe food. In particular, we are
advocating organic products and lobbying that genetically modified foods and plants not be
planted, sold and eaten in the Philippines,” she said. “We want to teach consumers to research
and use their buying power to influence what is sold in the market.”

Ink-like icing

Kaye Bondoc said her family’s lawyer was preparing to bring a case to court against the Red
Ribbon Bakeshop chain after the failure of negotiation talks with representatives of the big food
company.

Bondoc said they were unable to eat a birthday cake one of her sisters ordered from Red Ribbon
Quezon Avenue branch for a nephew’s first birthday. Not only was it unusually dark, almost inky,
in color, but it also had a very bitter taste that everyone who tried it could not even swallow the
piece they ate. It was even difficult to remove the color of the icing from the hands and tongues,
she alleged.

She said they brought a piece of the cake to Red Ribbon to show it to the quality control people.
Area manager Mechelle Paguagan promised to look into the problem and give them feedback.

But Bondoc said they only heard from the Jollibee group, to which the Red Ribbon chain
belongs, after they alerted media to the problem. But, she said, in all the meetings it was never
explained how the cake got its taste and color although the Red Ribbon group assured them
the food coloring used was edible, safe and not contaminated.
Bondoc said, a piece of the cake was brought to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for
testing (before the expiration date of the product). The agency found that, while the ingredients
passed standards, the odor and taste failed the tests, making the cake “not safe for human
consumption.”

Bondoc said, because of Red Ribbon’s inability to give a satisfactory explanation for the poor-
quality cake, their lawyer advised them to seek redress from the court.

Red Ribbon’s response

The company said it maintained the “highest quality and integrity of all our products,” as a duly
registered company with FDA and was “fully compliant with food safety standards
and good foodmanufacturing practices... Our ingredients, including food colors used in our
products, have certificates of product registration from FDA, demonstrating that these conform
with the strictest food quality standards and are deemed safe.” The Red Ribbon management
said it had given proper attention to the Bondocs’ complaint, constantly communicating with
them and their lawyers. Company representatives met with the customer and her lawyer on
several occasions.

Red Ribbon said, the company, while regretful that its efforts at conciliation “were deemed
insincere,” welcomed the Bondoc family’s decision to take the matter to court “where this issue
can be resolved objectively, based on facts, and in a manner that will be fair for both parties.

Takeout fee

Donnabelle Lee wonders if anyone has heard of “takeout charge.” She found out recently, when
ordering food to-go at UCC Café in Greenhills, San Juan City, that the food establishment added
a five-percent charge to takeout purchases.

Lee said the takeout charge was too much given the bad service (she claimed to have been
ignored by the service staff that she had to approach one of them before she got attended to) and
high prices. She said the takeout fee was totally unfair and unacceptable.
 Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces
Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail
lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.

Back to 1st choice: Robredo to DILG 

By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:51:00 07/10/2010

Filed Under: Government, Benigno Aquino III

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III on Friday ended his short stint as head of the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), appointing Jesse Robredo as the new interior and local government
secretary.

Robredo, former mayor of Naga City and Ramon Magsaysay awardee for government service, became the newest
addition to the official family of Mr. Aquino, whose latest appointments of known allies of fugitive Sen. Panfilo
Lacson to non-Cabinet, but key government positions created a stir.

The appointment of Robredo ended suspense over who Mr. Aquino would pick to head the DILG, a department
which Vice President Jejomar Binay had cast moist eyes on.

It came nine days after Mr. Aquino, in his inaugural speech on June 30, announced that he was assuming the
DILG portfolio amid speculation that Robredo was a shoo-in for the post.

‘In a rush’

Edwin Lacierda, Mr. Aquino’s official spokesperson, said the President was “in a rush” to appoint a DILG head. “It’s
really difficult to be both President and concurrently the DILG secretary,” said Lacierda.

Robredo, who holds a masters degree in public administration from Harvard University, carries with him a string of
awards that were bestowed on him as a public official.

His election victories—he was mayor for six three-year terms from 1988 to 1998 then 2001 to 2010—could be
considered proof of his political skills.

Robredo is nephew and protege of Luis Robredo Villafuerte, one of Bicol’s most influential political leaders and
head of a team that reorganized government under the late President Corazon Aquino.

Jose Barrameda, second cousin of Villafuerte and local historian, said Robredo knew how to use power without
offending his opponents.

“He has learned to use power but not nakedly,” said Barrameda. “He sets certain limits and would not go beyond
them.”

Efforts to get in touch with Robredo failed as his phone turned busy after the announcement of his appointment.
Lacson’s men

Ahead of Robredo, Mr. Aquino appointed former police officer Magtanggol Gatdula as head of the National Bureau
of Investigation (NBI) and Joselito Banayo as head of the National Food Authority (NFA).

Gatdula was Lacson’s subordinate in the defunctPresidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (Paoctf) while
Banayo was one of Lacson’s most trusted consultants.

Their appointments, particularly that of Gatdula, became controversial because of their association with the fugitive
senator.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, however, said she was giving Gatdula the benefit of the doubt.

Gatdula’s appointment to the NBI, an agency under the Department of Justice, came as the department
announced a review of the Dacer-Corbito double murder case and just as reports came out that Lacson has
reportedly sent surrender feelers to the DOJ.

Dacer-Corbito case

Lacson, a former national police chief, has been named one of the accused in the case. He was ordered arrested
by a Manila regional trial court after the DOJ found probable cause to charge him with involvement in the murders
of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000.

De Lima said she won’t pass judgment on Gatdula based on his association with Lacson.

“The final gauge would be the performance,” said the justice secretary.

Lacson’s alleged involvement in the case was revived after a former subordinate, ex-police officer Cezar Mancao,
testified that he heard Lacson give orders to have Dacer killed.

Prior to his flight, Lacson repeatedly said he was ready to reveal everything he knew about the double murders,
but also kept denying that he had a role in it.

Lacierda said the appointment of Gatdula had nothing to do with the case against Lacson.

“The senator’s feelers were done prior to the appointment of Mr. Gatdula,” Lacierda said in a briefing in
Malacañang.

He said if there was anything that would make Lacson come out of hiding, it would not be Gatdula’s appointment
but “the belief that Senator Lacson will be able to obtain a fair trial under the Aquino administration.”

No connection

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said Mr. Aquino signed Gatdula’s appointment papers on Thursday and he
doesn’t see any connection between the appointment and Lacson’s case.

“One has nothing to do with the other,” Ochoa said. He said Gatdula’s association with Lacson is “not a
consideration.”

Gatdula, according to Ochoa, was recommended by Rep. Feliciano Belmonte, a key ally of Mr. Aquino and
believed to be the next Speaker.

But Ochoa said Gatdula was appointed mainly “because of his credentials.”
“He’s a lawyer, too,” Ochoa said of the incoming NBI chief. “In the NBI, it’s important that you’re also a lawyer.”

Ochoa, considered the most powerful member of Mr. Aquino’s Cabinet, said there were no other considerations in
the appointments of Gatdula and Banayo except their credentials.

Gatdula, Ochoa said, had a good record as head of the then Quezon City Police District.

The other Lacson ally, Banayo, was also highly qualified to head the NFA, the agency in charge of keeping an
adequate supply of rice, the country’s staple, said the Palace officials.

“I think he has a study that (says) within three years, we might not import rice anymore,” said Ochoa of Banayo,
whose previous government position was postmaster general.

Not a reward?

Lacierda said while Banayo had been a big help in the campaign of Mr. Aquino, his appointment was not a reward
for Lacson’s support for the President during the elections.

Banayo, said Lacierda, was appointed not “because he’s related in a professional manner with Senator Lacson.”

“Mr. Banayo shared the common vision of (then) Senator Aquino,” Lacierda said.

Months before the campaign period for the 2010 presidential election started, Lacson delivered a privilege speech
directed at ex-President Joseph Estrada, who was convicted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan but pardoned by
former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In that speech, Lacson called Estrada a corrupt and greedy official who stood in the way of opposition unity.
Lacson also dropped hints at Estrada’s possible involvement in the Dacer-Corbito murders.

Lacson supported Mr. Aquino along with Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero. With a report by Juan Escandor Jr.,
Inquirer Southern Luzon