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In my last column, I discussed the advantage and the wonder of a federal system of government. But since it is not yet in place, we can do our share for now and contribute in cushioning the ill effects of the rice problem.
For one, we could be satisfied with half orders of rice in restaurants and avoid wastage. Many restaurant patrons don’t consume the rice ordered. This little thing would really help our country cope with the rice shortage. Let us make this appeal to the business sector. And let us inspire our friends in business to avoid hoarding. Today is the time to be honest in our business dealings.
On the high price of rice, prices will remain high as a global trend because of many factors beyond our control like the ill effects of climate change on rice production, increased prices of fertilizers, etc.
Many farmers no longer want to plant rice because the government is buying it at a very cheap price of P12 per kilo. So farmers would rather use the land for other purposes. I don't know if it is wise for the government to continue to subsidize the price of rice. It is also important for the government to resolve the issue of whether to make the Philippines a dominantly agricultural country, and to give priority to agriculture in its program and budget.
For many years and many governments, we have failed to maximize the use of agricultural land. If we only gave priority to agriculture, many of our people would have not gone hungry. The government should learn from this rice shortage and seriously consider prioritizing agriculture.
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I agree wholeheartedly with the proposal of the Cebu Provincial Board to use Cebuano as the “bridge language” in elementary and high school. In its proposal, the board is requesting the Department of Education to prescribe “Sugbuanong Binisaya” as the indispensable bridge language in teaching English and Filipino. The proposal is based on a study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the Philippines (Unesco) that the medium of instruction in schools predetermines the students’ understanding of the lesson.
The board resolution asserts that “the use of English and Filipino as the mandated language of instruction has greatly contributed to the poor performance of our students in national achievement tests since these languages may be foreign to the majority of the students.”
Time and again, we, especially the non-Tagalog speaking regions, have advocated the use of our first language as a medium of instruction in school.
It is scandalous for the national government to have us speak Tagalog on the pretext that it is considered a national language even though we don’t understand Tagalog and we have our own rich Bisaya language whose history outdates the arrival of the Spaniards.
Language is part of our heritage and should be encouraged instead of being killed by imposing another local language that has no trace of history for us Cebuanos and other non-Tagalog speakers.
Let the people in Manila speak Tagalog and we will not object to that, but imposing on Filipinos from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to speak Tagalog is unfair and unreasonable.
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Another proposal that needs public support, given the statistics on crime, is the imposition of a curfew covering minors from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. in Cebu City. All sectors should give it a serious look considering that many youths are seen loitering outside their houses at night, putting their safety at risk.
The city government can justify the curfew. Many parents have neglected their children and allowed them to roam around the city on late evenings, making them vulnerable to crime either as victims or as perpetrators. In support of the primary right of parents to rear their children, the government could, in the absence or neglect of the parents, stand in as parents and impose the curfew.
We have to guard against blaming children for crime when explaining the need for a curfew.
Let me repeat that children in conflict with the law are victims of harsh realities like being exposed to pornography and crime early in life.
One thing a “caring” government can do is give life to the mandate of the law for local government units to establish a Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Intervention Program to extend a helping hand to children in conflict with the law.
