Food and water crisis to hit home

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

I DON’T want to sound like an alarmist but I sense something is dreadfully ominous in the weeks ahead.

So far, life in urban towns and cities goes on like there is no tomorrow. Each time a natural calamity hits, the urbanites shrug it off with – “it’s their problem, not ours” – until it hits home.

The El Nino phenomenon is slowly creeping up on the province and still, I can sense that no sector is truly alarmed by it except the farmers. El Nino is for the farmers to worry about, not the blessed urbanites who, after all, don’t make a living in farmlands. For some, it merely suggests a long hot summer season that will necessitate light brightly colored clothing, new eyeshades, stylish shirts and pants to survive the heat. El Nino, as in the past, is about summer fun.  Still for many, El Nino is surreal… treated merely like a political event in the media, here today, gone tomorrow, or so they hope.

Somehow, urbanites and local government leaders have only come to understand that that when farmers cry about increasing costs of fertilizers and seeds, the resulting action is merely about a bump in prices of goods.  Not so in the case of El Nino.

What many still don’t seem to realize is that lack of irrigation water in ricelands and farms immediately translate not only to higher costs of food, but a potential . food and water crisis.

A crisis arising from El Nino out in the farms knows no boundaries. It will hit urbanites hardest before they realize what hit them. Need I elaborate further what a crisis in food and water can mean to your family, your business, your health?

Hopefully, the provincial government will help make people realize that serious trouble lies ahead, and calls for real conservation will be heeded.

Heads up, guys! It is coming.

* * * * *

POLITICAL NUCLEAR ACCOMMODATION.  Leave it to the provincial board members to show how far elected officials can go just to extend a grand political accommodation to another politico in need.

When Rep. Mark Cojuangco failed to get his pet bill, promoting the use of Korean technology in nuclear power, off the ground in Congress, he certainly knew he could get a semblance of support to save face with his friends in South Korea. The reliable cooperative, if not the gullible, provincial board of Pangasinan!

He brought his case to the board members and within minutes, a resolution was passed endorsing his idea – lo and behold – including the identification of a Korean supplier.  Only in Pangasinan!

Of course, I suspect that the honorable board members themselves knew that the Cojuangco proposition was a crazy brainchild that would no national agency would even give the resolution a minute, nay a second, to read it. They all understood that the measure would be ignored anywhere but it would serve the purpose of a dear political ally. It didn’t matter to them that they went on record espousing a ridiculous proposition for as long as someone like Rep. Cojuangco would remember who his true friends are. Surely, the agreeable board members now look forward to a reward that would come handily when the campaign period of local candidates start.

So what does that make our board members? What else, but no better than the fake diploma producers in Quiapo, Manila…they don’t care what customers do with their work, as long as they get paid.

But what of the Pangasinenses who were dumbstuck by their political back-patting, you ask? Well, they can forget about an apology coming their way because the honorable board members will never admit they merely played around with the system to accommodate a political bigwig!

My advice to the rattled minds: Remember the nuclear plant when you vote on May 10!

* * * * *

PAYBACK TIME. Nobody can argue with Alaminos City Mayor Nani Braganza that the city is as peaceful as it can get. Not even his expected heated square-off with Cong. Arthur Celeste for the mayoralty will likely result in the lighting of a firecracker. The two are gentlemen-politicos, not the thug and bully types.

So what explains the insistence of PNP to keep Alaminos City in the hot spot watchlist?

Elementary.  It’s called payback time for Mr. Braganza!

For being the braggart, the killjoy and the party-pooper when he lent his voice to oppose the distribution of shotguns to barangay kapitans, and for holding back his own kapitans from receiving their allocated shotguns, Smiley PD Barba will make sure he makes the life of the mayor miserable until election day.

I’ll bet Alaminos will stay with the label as potential trouble spot even if Comelec rules against it because Mr. Barba will keep his men in the city to continue irritating and intimidating the mayor. Any takers?

But Mr. Barba should be reminded as well that he can expect his own payback for if Mr. Braganza wins, and the next president happens to be his friend and ally.

My friendly advice to Mr. Barba: Chill!

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