[asia-apec 1484] Farmers, Unionists & Retailers Rally Against Foreign Impositions

[BAYAN]

From: KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) and COURAGE (Confederation for
Unity, Recognition & Advancement of Government Employees)



FARMERS, UNIONISTS & RETAILERS RALLY AGAINST FOREIGN IMPOSITIONS

FARMERS, retailers and government employees led by the Coalition of Farmers,
Organizations, Unions and Retailers (C-FOUR) and the National Food Authority
Employees Association (NFAEA-Courage) from Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central
Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, and the National Capital Region converged for
the first time yesterday at the Department of Finance (DOF). Together they
launched a protest rally against the privatization of the National Food
Authority (NFA) which is being imposed by foreign multilateral financial
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund-World Bank-Asian
Development Bank (IMF-WB-ADB) with the DOF as its spokesperson. 
 
The impositions are contained in the ADB-Grains Sector Development Program
(GSDP) Loan package which contains among others the de-coupling and eventual
privatization of the NFA. 
 
Amidst heavy rains and strong winds, the rally dramatized its disgust and
growing discontent on the DOF for actively pursuing the foreign-dictated
de-coupling and privatization of NFA. The privatization of NFA, through the
GSDP loan, will require among  other things, rice importation by the private
sector, the setting of procurement prices at current levels while rice
price is
increased by 45%, a limitation of the procurement volume to 30 day buffer
stock, and the elimination of cash incentives to farmers as well as divestment
from non-grains facilities and services. Meanwhile, the de-coupling of NFA
will
result to the privatization of its trading functions and transfer of its
regulatory powers to the Department of Agriculture (DA). 
 
The protest action coincides with the commemoration of the so-called
Filipino-American Friendship Day. The C-FOUR led-protest later joined a big
protest action led by BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance) and COURAGE in front of
the US Embassy. The protest action at the US Embassy is to protest a lopsided
"friendship" between the Philippines and the USA where the other party, the
US,
is dictating policies that is inimical to the interest of small farmers,
consumers and employees. 

The said rally aims to show its strong opposition to the US foreign policy as
being implemented by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the US-dominated
IMF-WB-ADB. These agencies are avid advocates of policies on privatization,
deregulation and import liberalization wherein NFA is one of those strategic
agencies to be privatized. 

The dictates of the US continue to exists even in the food security program of
the Philippines. The American interest is being represented by the
US-controlled IMF-WB-ADB-WTO. The said US dictates impose vital policy reforms
in agriculture in order to ensure the dominant role of the American Big
Businesses in Philippine agriculture and local  business. 
 
Even the before the creation of WTO, the privatization of the NFA, the
deregulation of the grain industry and the import liberalization of
agricultural products such as rice policy reforms being imposed by IMF-WB-ADB
will only result to displacement of small farmers, dependence on importation,
cartelization of rice and uncontrolled prices of the staple food, just like
what happened after the privatization of Petron. 
 
It is very clear that the sovereignty of the nation is at risk here because
these impositions show the omnipresent influence of the US-led multilateral
financial agencies in the affairs of our country. It also exposes their
primary
objective of fully dominating our economy. 
 
Not surprisingly, loan impositions of clipping the corporate wings of NFA
began
during the Marcos regime and a year after Aquino assumed the presidency. It is
very ironic that this is still being continued up to this time because it is a
known fact that the centerpiece program of the present Erap administration is
"food security". 
 
Rice is a political sensitive commodity. Being the staple food for millions of
Filipinos is crucial from the standpoint of food security. Its violent
distortion in price will have violent response from the people who will feel
aggrieve that the government virtually abandoned them. Leaving our food needs
to the vagaries of the world market as it is being pushed by the American-led
new world economic order of globalization will mean food insecurity for the
nation. One must bear in mind that the grain volume available for trade in the
world market is minuscule. 

As late as 1996, world grain stocks were described to be dangerously low that
prices were near-record levels. Given the scenario where the local rice
farmers
will shift to other crops because of reduced or eliminated government subsidy
and failure of foreign suppliers to honor their commitments to the Philippines
due to low exportable surplus or for political reasons, will have dire
consequences on the food security of the country. 
 
We in C-FOUR believe that in struggling against NFA privatization and foreign
intervention, we are not only fighting for the interest of the farmers, rice
retailers and employees but rather for the interest of the Filipino people,
the
sovereignty of our country and peaceful co-existence among nations, including
the US. #