Appoint an agricultural attache and send high level delegation to Tehran to save our Banana export industry

We propose that the Philippines appoint an agricultural attaché to Iran and send a high-level delegation to Tehran, preferably headed by our trade or agriculture secretary, to address the gaps regarding trade agreements between the two countries.

Both the farmers and the Department of Foreign Affairs deny that there is a trade ban on our bananas being imposed by Iran. However, Iranian businessmen are having difficulty in securing letters of credit as their currency is not accepted in trading; dollars are. And this is where the US sanction on Iran affects local banana exporters.

Iranian traders mainly get their letters of credit through Dubai, which trades in dollars. Unfortunately, Dubai is complying with the US sanction on Iran. Consequently, Iranian traders aren’t able to pay our exporters.

The US imposed sanctions against Iran as the latter continues to build nuclear weapons. The Philippines and its banana exporters stand to lose $170 million in annual revenues. Fifteen percent of the country’s fresh bananas were exported to Iran in 2009.

Kawawa naman ang mga magsasaka natin at wala naman tayong kinalaman sa awayan na ito.

We therefore suggest that we appoint an agricultural attaché to Iran and send a high-level delegation to Tehran so we can address the gaps. That would be the first step. Also, let’s look at other markets we’ve yet to explore: China, Kuwait, etc. We must find immediate solutions to address this impending crisis.



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SUC budget cuts will deprive our youth a chance to fulfill their dreams

I have reservations on the P1.1 billion budget cut for the operations of 97 state universities and colleges nationwide, plus the zero allotment for capital outlay for SUCs and the slashed funds for scholarships within the Commission on Higher Education.

For most of our countrymen, state universities and colleges are their only hope of getting affordable, quality education. Slashing their budget will deprive our youth a chance to fulfill their dreams of getting a diploma and becoming productive members of society.

I am a product of a great educational system of an SUC, I was chairman of the student council at UP, so I am aware of and can certainly sympathize with the issues confronting students of SUCs that will be affected by these budget cuts.

The University of the Philippines, arguably the country’s premiere state university, will see its budget slashed by P1.39 billion in 2011 from its budget in 2010—thus making it one of the universities around the country that is set to suffer the biggest budget cuts next year.

Education is an extremely important pillar of the country’s goal of reaching first world status. We should not deprive the future of our nation their basic right to have quality education. Let us not be hesitant to invest in our country’s future.