Unsaid

Because our deadlines happen ahead of the delivery of President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address, this commentary cannot be on the things said. It will therefore be on the things that will likely be left unsaid. These are things that run against the grain of current public orthodoxy.

Foremost among the things that will be left unsaid is a rollback of the land redistribution program.

The breakup of landholdings in the name of “land reform” is one of the main reasons our agriculture stagnated the past few decades. The small farm lots defy the economies of scale. They are resistant to the capitalization of our farming and the mechanization of our farms.

Worse, they are unable to support the basic family that is supposed to tend to the micro farms. In many cases, farming is done only because the family’s earnings are supplemented by non-farm incomes.

Our laws require banks to lend a portion of their funds to agriculture. But there are little qualified borrowers and banks end up paying the fines instead. This raises banking costs while delivering no palpable benefit to the economy.

With micro-farms, our farmers are prohibited from investing in new technologies, even at this time when, in other countries, artificial intelligence and vertical farming are transforming the economics of agriculture. Our farming remains at subsistence level. This puts our food security at risk, given climate change and disruptions in global grains supply because of war. Recently, for instance, India restricted its exportation of rice, given supply uncertainties.

The only way to rescue our agriculture is to allow farmland to be consolidated to take advantage of the economies of scale, encourage food processing, enable higher value crops and construct better logistics systems.

The only concession we won from China recently is the opening of her markets to our durian. This is an empty concession: our small durian orchards are unable to meet the volumes demanded by the China market.

Harmful as land redistribution has been to our agriculture, public orthodoxy continues to support this path.

Another point that will likely be left unsaid in the SONA is the reversal of the devolution of power to local governments.

The policy of devolution has its advantages. But those are overshadowed by the disadvantages.

Devolution has diminished the fiscal strength of national government, disabling it from investing in strategic infrastructure. The local governments, on the other hand, use much of their increased revenues in growing the public payroll. This is politically profitable for local powerbrokers.

Many of the social services that are supposed to be devolved are kept in the account of the national government because the local governments profess incapacity to fund them. The income gaps between rich and poor provinces widened. Warlordism consolidated.

What has been devolved are opportunities for corruption. This is the reason why dynasties have prospered and investments are not dispersing to the rural areas.

Congressional abuse

Much has been said about the abuse of congressional hearings by legislators wishing the grandstand. Little has been said about the use of congressional powers to settle local political rivalries.

Recently, Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez called for an inquiry into the case of DBSN Farm Agriventures, Inc. The enterprise operates the largest agricultural facility south of Luzon. It employs over 500 individuals in the locality.

It turns out, the enterprise is owned by the family of Pamplona, Leyte mayor Ramon Oñate.

The purpose of the hearing is unclear.

Gomez accuses the farm of violating our environmental laws. But the farm has all the permits from the DENR that such an enterprise requires. DBSN has every permit required for its operations: an ECC that was recently amended to take into account its expanded operations, a discharge permit and a permit to operate a standby generator. It even has a hazardous waste ID for its used oil and used oil containers.

If Gomez could document any violation of environmental regulations, the proper course is to simply file a complaint with the DENR. It is never correct use of legislative time to encroach into the work of agencies in the executive branch.

Gomez very clearly oversteps his bounds by calling on the LandBank to withdraw the loan granted the company to grow its Albuera, Leyte plant. The bank has its own procedures for evaluating loans. If Gomez insists, he can go to court and sue the bank – not by way of press releases and congressional hearings.

The officers of DBSN insist that the company has maintained good housekeeping standards and ensures the best business practices. This is the reason the venture has prospered since its very modest beginnings in 2016 – the pandemic notwithstanding. The economic success of DBSN apparently threatens the configuration of power in the province.

DBSN insists its long-term business goals can only be achieved by protecting the ecosystem and bringing benefits to host communities. That is true for any business venturing in the rural areas. No company would want to scorch the earth on which its business thrives.

Mayor Oñate says the “court hearings are the rightful forum for both the accused and the accuser to argue their differences instead of the bar of public opinion where the truth can be easily distorted and the untruth touted to the maximum to serve vested interest.”