This first collective statement from the CBCP to the new Aquino administration will set the tone for the future interactions between the Catholic Church and the government. If the Aquino government agrees to this drivel, then he is doing a very big disservice to the people he swore to serve.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100712-280703/Catholic-Church-asks-Aquino-to-drop-contraceptives-program.
In my opinion, the government should do what it deems to be necessary for the good of all the people residing in the country, not merely for the benefit of the certain sectors. The Catholic Church should keep her nose out of the people’s private lives, when she can’t even handle her own priests who sires children and those that commited child abuse.
With the advent of the new Aquino administration, will the Philippines finally be able to experience self-sufficiency in rice productions and other foodstuff? Or is it just another “ningas-cogon” for the first 100 days of the new administration?
Land reform is indeed a noble aspiration and a requisite step to transforming the Philippines into a tiger economy. Importing foodstuff makes us captives to the vagaries of world market prices. We need to make use of the expertise of IRRI to shore up our rice production. Look at Thailand and Vietnam, they are currently rice exporters due to the fact that they made good use of the technical expertise of IRRI.
Land reform is not merely distributing land to the farmers. There should be a complete safety net to help the small farmers make full use of the land provided to them.
Some suggestions:
1. Land distributed should be prohibited from being sold for a period of five years.
2. Land that is not being tilled or not productive should be transferred by the government to another person or entity capable of cultivating the land.
