Embattled President sings the blues away

When the going gets tough, the tough guy sings the blues away.

Amid below-zero popularity ratings and pressing peace and order problems in Mindanao, President Estrada took to the microphone yesterday with his own version of the farmer's ditty Magtanim ay 'Di Biro (Planting Rice is Never Fun).

While the original song is a lament of the farmer's travails on the ricefield, the President's version was upbeat.

"Kung tayo'y magtatanim, dadami ang pagkain. Yayaman pa itong bayan, giginhawa pa ang buhay. Magtanim, magtanim, mayro'n kang aanihin. Magtanim, magtanim, mayro'n kang isasaing. Sa kubo ka matulog, katawan mo'y lulusog. Sa bukid manirahan, kay linis ng amihan. Ang sabi ng Diyos natin, ay dapat nating sundin. Ang lahat ng kakanin, sa pawis manggagaling.

(If we plant, food will be abundant. The country will prosper, life will be more comfortable. Plant, plant, and there will be rice to cook. Sleep in a nipa hut, and you will be healthy. Live in the ricefields, where the breeze is clean. What God has taught us, we should follow. And the food we eat should be the fruit of our labors)."

The President sung the ditty at the ceremonial harvest of the second cropping of the his agricultural enhancement program "E.R.A.P." (Enhanced Rice Action Program) at the Laguna Rice Agricultural Farm in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

The Chief Executive expressed confidence that with the program, the Philippines will become not only self-sufficient in rice production but also become an exporter.

"That's why I changed the lyrics of the original version of 'Planting Rice.' The original version says 'planting rice is never fun, bent from morn to set of sun. Cannot stand and cannot sit, cannot rest for a little bit.' That's why so many people don't like planting rice," the President and songwriter-for-a-day quipped.

The President boasted that agricultural production saw a robust 6.3 percent growth in his administration.

To boost it further, he said the E.R.A.P. seed program seeks to at least double the average rice production of 2.9 metric tons per hectare through the use of this high-breed rice. Through the E.R.A.P seeds, the President said, farmers can expect a harvest of six to eight tons of rice per hectare.

"I do not want to hear of Filipinos starving in their own land," he stressed.

The President cited the Sterling Group of companies headed by president and chief executive officer Henry Lim Bon Liong, which developed the E.R.A.P. high-breed seeds.

He expressed concern that only 15 to 20 percent of farmers use certified palay seeds and only two to five percent use high-breed palay seeds.

President Estrada said that China, Vietnam and Thailand plant high-breed rice seeds. He said Vietnam is now the world's third largest rice exporter while the Philippines still imports rice.

Among those present at the ceremonial harvest were members of the Cabinet led by Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. president Lucio Tan and Laguna Gov. Jose Lina. -