Alter Trade a usurer?

Today, I yield some space to a reactor to both this column and to my ANC television show VIEWPOINTS. The group that wants to present its side is the Alter Trade Foundation, Inc. (hereinafter Alter Trade).

If you recall, Alter Trade was the subject of a surprising tirade by Bayan sectoral Rep. Etta Rosales who condemned the burning of a company truck by armed partisans of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.

Rep. Etta had fumed that the burning of the only truck of Alter Trade, which had been used for hauling muscovado (a.k.a. "poor man’s sugar") and bananas for export, was the "penalty" assessed by the CPP-NPA for the company’s refusal to cough up P30 million in "revolutionary taxes." She branded the act "downright gangsterism."

We said, though, in our column last August 31st that we weren’t sure whether Rep. Rosales was personally condemning just this particular act of hooliganism or whether she was lambasting "revolutionary taxes" as a whole. We also wondered whether that view also represented the position of the entire Akbayan group. Alter Trade, it turns out, was organized by former NPA members. It is also reputedly a "pro-poor" company.

If she spoke against the practice of revolutionary taxation, then to me that was an important development –dare we say turn-around? – since it rejects the insurgents’ distinction between a tax paid in territories it supposedly controls to a "revolutionary" government, i.e. the NPA, and another tax paid to the "reactionary" government, i.e. the Philippine government, which is still, last time I checked, the only legally constituted government in this country.

On our TV program last Monday, September 4th, Etta confirmed that she was expressing not only her personal position but that of the entire Akbayan group as well. Since she has not been contradicted, I’m taking her word for it. I am also convinced that that "rift" within the Left is real, and that the fissure has grown wider.

In that same program was the Secretary General of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Mr. Danilo "Ka Daning" Ramos, who seemed to downplay the NPA act. According to him, the local KMP group in Negros Occidental had reported to the national leadership that Alter Trade was lending money to farmers and agrarian reform at allegedly "usurious rates."

The company, Ramos claimed, was an "usurero," a categorization which puts Alter Trade in the same dubious company as landlords, transliterated in the vernacular as "mga panginoong lupa." While not exactly exonerating the NPA for the destruction of the truck, the clear implication of the charge was that other persons, perhaps the victims of a hated usurero, could have been the culprits.

I am now in receipt of a reaction, written by Alter Trade’s Executive Director Edwin Marthine O. Lopez, which I excerpt hereunder:

"It is evident that Mr. Daning Ramos is misinformed on the real history and status (of) Alter Trade as a social development program, its efforts on poverty alleviation and on the empowerment of marginal farmers in Negros. KMP’s vilifying attack on Alter Trade is not based on concrete facts and is thus unfounded.

"Contrary to Mr. Ramos’ claims, Alter Trade continues to be a socially responsible enterprise, with majority of stock-ownership by the Alter Trade Foundation and the Consumers’ Cooperatives of Japan. It engages in people-to-people trade to generate support services to small farmers.

"It provides access to capital to marginal farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries through affordable credit at 10% interest per annum from 1992 until 2005, and adjusted it to 14% per annum lately due to inflation and advises by its funding partners.

"Alter Trade’s interest rates are even lower than Philippine micro-finance organizations (36% p.a.) or commercial banks (24% p.a.). On the other hand, usurers charge at 120% p.a. or in other cases 240% p.a., if KMP still doesn’t know. (Itals. ours)

"Alter Trade is a fair trade organization. It is dedicated towards creating opportunities for marginal farmers; exerts efforts to improve women and children’s situation in farms; pays more than the minimum wage; adds quality and fair trade premiums to the buying prices, and maintains transparency and open negotiations in all its transactions with farmer beneficiaries.

"These are but some of the Fair Trade Standards that Alter Trade complies to and it is strictly inspected yearly by the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) for compliance to these standards. Mr. Ramos’ allegations that Alter Trade ‘exploits the farmers’, would have caused the decertification of Alter Trade from Fair Trade if his claims were true.

"We take pride that our partners among agrarian reform beneficiaries, could now maintain a 99% loan repayment rate yearly, have accumulated net income of P13.5M for the year 2005, with seven of its partner growers’ associations earning net incomes from P1M to P3M.

"The farmers have accumulated Capital Build-Ups (CBUs) from 30% to 70% of their production capital needs, and have acquired their own farm equipment such as ten-wheeler post-harvest trucks, farm tractor, irrigation pumps, generator, hand tractor, etc.

"We are inviting you and Mr. Daning Ramos to visit our partners growers’ farms and look into the association’s bank accounts to check if Mr. Ramos’ accusations could hold water.

"Alter Trade promotes awareness in sustainable agriculture through Farmers’ Field Schools, in a program supported by the Small Projects Facility of the European Union, benefiting growers in banana and sugarcane farms from Negros Occidental to Negros Oriental.

"The program has successfully developed farmer-generated technologies in organic farming and in crop diversification for food security. Alter Trade maintains linkages with government agencies, educational institutions, non-government organizations and party-list organizations to facilitate access of farmers to existing support services and farm resources.

"It is in these small victories in the lives of our partner growers that we find self-fulfillment and happiness in our work. We hope that Mr. Ramos is not being used to justify any move to juice out rebel taxes from Alter Trade."