Pigs, LTO, hospitals, etc.

So many topics, so little space!

First up let’s talk about the government strategy of setting aside P27 billion for loan assistance to hog raisers. The idea is to give soft loans and easy terms to commercial hog raisers with the goal of keeping them in the game or to stay in the business. Such a strategy is SOP or Standard Operating Procedure for a government that is corralled or restricted by law in its tools or options in dealing with a one of a kind, first time in history sort of disaster. Sadly it is not a “Smart Bomb” to use on the enemy nor is it going to be effective or popular with hog raisers big and small who are already running scared and afraid of taking risks against the African swine fever.

It is unlikely that any credible and experienced hog raiser would be willing to go into debt, even with soft loans, given the high risk of bankruptcy from ASF. If a giant corporation such as San Miguel Corporation has decided to cut back and get out of the business in a matter of months, why would a much smaller businessman dare to buck the odds at their expense? Yes, you can borrow money on easy terms and fast processing but you will still pay the loan back and even if you got insurance coverage from the PCIC, I was told that ASF qualifies as an act of nature that can’t be covered. And even if it were covered, all the hardship and risk and eventual misery you go through because of ASF is simply too much of a hassle to go into debt or take out a huge loan for another try.

What the Department of Agriculture might want to consider is forming direct partnerships with every willing and able hog raiser, not just the commercial or cooperative groups. Create a barangay based hog raising partnership where the DA or its assigned representatives (perhaps the LGU) will fund the set-up or operations of registered piggeries, provide the needed livestock or breeders, give a feed budget tied up with feed manufacturers like BMeg Feeds, and come harvest time the DA or LGU buys back the produce minus the investments.

I heard of a similar prototype project in Central Luzon where an LGU experimented with teaching and setting up a backyard hog-raising module for a batch of 4Ps beneficiaries. The participants received training from BMeg technicians, bought BMeg feeds and were monitored by the LGU veterinarian. The program was a success and the recipients eventually made enough money to raise more capital for more pigs. In the US during one very bad recession, farmers were no longer able to pay back their loans so banks just kept foreclosing on their farms until one day the banks all had real estate indigestion. The banks also realized they knew nothing about running farms and it was at that point the bankers decided to roll up their sleeves and co-manage the farms from the accounting and investment side until the farmers got back on their feet and redeemed their beloved farms.

Instead of throwing money at the problem, the best approach for the DA to adopt would be to follow those two examples and partner with the hog raisers, especially the backyard raisers since they produce 65 percent of all the pork nationwide and with companies such as BMeg because they too have a stake in the matter. Without hogs and farmers, feed manufacturers serve no purpose. We are all in this together.

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For several years, I have openly showed my support for the LTO, particularly under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Ed Galvante, because I have seen his dogged determination to fix many of the major problems that were created in previous administrations such the license plate issue and enforcement of LTO mandates and responsibilities. Assec Galvante managed to resolve many problems, even reopening the plate making facility of the LTO, working out the IT upgrades and requirements, reviving law enforcement operations, etc. I have personal knowledge of his commitment and professionalism.

So it pains me to see and hear legislators zero in on the LTO regarding motor vehicle-related issues, particularly the PMVIC controversy. I myself want to put a stop to the PMVIC program, but let us be clear about one thing, this program was hatched by the DOTr and NOT THE LTO. If Assec Galvante is guilty of one thing it is perhaps being a loyal and faithful soldier who will not speak out against his superiors even if they are utterly and miserably mistaken. This brings me to the point where I wonder why none of the senators have raised the matter with the DOTr or with Secretary Art Tugade or his undersecretaries. Am I correct to suspect that while many legislators want to stand on their soap box and beat up the LTO for media value, none of them want to cross swords or draw the line against the alter ego of President Duterte? Investigate the LTO or PMVIC but let’s not make a zarzuela of it and please stop “whipping the wrong horse.”

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One of several expat readers of this column is asking what, if any, is the plan or provision of the DOH for the COVID vaccination of foreigners, primarily permanent residents or those stuck in the Philippines. I was told that foreign embassies have no plan or can’t undertake such an operation, which leaves several hundred foreign spouses of Filipinos/Filipinas worried that they have been left out.

In the meantime, I’d also like to know from the DOH how many new public hospitals have been built from April 2020 to present. I have written about this before and wish to reiterate that even before the COVID-19 pandemic the Philippines already had a shortage of hospitals and hospital beds. Instead of roads and bridges, we should build-build-build hospitals!!!

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