Now, Art Yap must prove himself

In a display of bipartisan support, the Commission on Appointments has confirmed Arthur Yap, as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, in its last session day prior to the five-month legislative adjournment for the May 14 elections. This makes Yap the very first agriculture secretary under the Arroyo presidency to be confirmed by this powerful bicameral body.

I have always thought that Art was the kind of person we need to be on top of our agriculture sector. He has an entrepreneurial streak on top of his technocrat credentials plus what I think, is a sincere desire to make a difference. And his work ethic is extraordinary. I have seen it first hand. His common sense approach to the perennial problems of his office is a breath of fresh air. I was, for example, talking to some vegetable growers and they were so glad Art was able to work out an arrangement with MMDA so that their delivery trucks can use a designated "food lane" to metro markets even during the truck ban period. The system reduced spoilage and that also enabled the traders to cut prices to consumers. It is such a simple solution to a long festering problem and it is a mystery why his predecessors didn’t think of it.

I also like the importance Art is giving the matter of getting the supply chain for agricultural products up to the task of improving the earnings of farmers and reducing costs to consumers. The trick is really in avoiding spoilage along the way. This is why he wants a network of cold storage facilities, mobile ice plants as well as other post harvest systems to cut on crop losses. He plans to encourage the private sector to invest in trucks specially designed to deliver such perishable products to the market.

I totally agree with the observation of CA agri chairman Rep. Danton Bueser. The congressman said: "The department of agriculture will have to go beyond just raising yields and into making sure the hoped-for production surpluses will spell higher incomes for farmers through new markets here and abroad for their produce. At the same time, the department will have to explore new agribusiness fronts that would create millions of rural jobs and bring cost of foodstuff to more affordable levels for ordinary consumers."

That’s precisely what Art Yap is doing now.

I guess, with his unanimous confirmation by the CA, something that has eluded most members of the Arroyo Cabinet, they also thought that Art Yap deserved the trust and confidence of our people. The CA confirmation came in less than 10 minutes after the committee unanimously voted to recommend it to the whole body.

The 24-member body gave its nod to Yap’s appointment on the strength of the recommendation made by Liberal Party Rep. Danton Bueser, who chairs the agriculture panel of the CA, whose other members are Senators Alfredo Lim, Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and Richard Gordon, and Representatives Aurelio Umali, Prospero Pichay, Ed Veloso and Manuel Ortega.

Sen. Gordon, recalling the time that Yap had decided, without any delay, to step down from his post as DA chief to clear his name of charges that later turned out to be unsubstantiated, praised the young Cabinet secretary for this class act. "He is a young and hardworking man of vision and integrity," said Gordon during the plenary session of the CA.

The challenge for Art Yap will intensify as we approach the election season. In the wake of the JocJoc Bolante fertilizer scandal, all eyes will be focused on how Art would handle the funds entrusted to his department. Even now, a party list group from Mindanao warned about a repeat of the fertilizer scam after Art said his department was asking for P3 billion to P4 billion in additional funds to be spent for the upgrading of the country’s irrigation facilities and to boost production in the country’s corn areas. Art warned that failure to upgrade irrigation facilities could drastically reduce rice harvest in the next two years.

But, understandably, people are skeptical because of the record of this administration. "This department has a dark history of massive graft and corruption and that experience was enough reason for all of us to be suspicious about the real motive behind the request for more funds," a spokesman of the party list group said.

That’s my concern about Art too. I know he is intensely loyal to Ate Glue and while that is commendable to a point, I have no idea if his loyalty to Ate Glue will end once there is need for his loyalty to his country to prevail. So, that’s the key question about Art Yap and only time will tell us what kind of a public servant he really is.

Art showed us once he had delicadeza to quit his public post while a case against his family was being resolved. That’s a good clue to his character. But can he say no to Ate Glue if he is asked to do a JocJoc?

I honestly don’t know the answer. And my guess is, neither does Art.

Boracay

Got this email from a British visitor.

On a visit to the Philippines earlier this year I had the pleasure of going to Boracay. I had visited the island before and had a nice time. So I told some friends about the place and they decided to join me and my nephew from LA. We made the trip down just after Christmas and I intended to stay for about four months. Remembering my stay in Diniwid, I decided to find a cottage there. After finding a cottage and agreeing on the rent, etc., I had a couple of beers before going home. This was about 7.30 p.m. I texted my wife and told her I was on my way home.

It was dark by then, but as I had lived in Diniwid before, I decided to walk back to my hotel at station 3, maybe have a drink at the Terraces Hotel, but I didn’t make it that far. I collapsed halfway. The reason I collapsed was obvious… I had been druged. Someone had put a drug into my beer with the intent on mugging me.

I hit the ground with a thud but didn’t feel a thing. The only thing I remember after that was walking out of the water at the Terraces blooded and bruised, unable to remember where my wife was. I finally got back to station 3, my wife got me to hospital. The police also asked me some questions. The hospital kept me in overnight and told me to go to another island the next day to have an X-ray. I was shocked…the money that goes into that island and the hospital doesn’t even have an X-ray machine. It doesn’t do much for the tourist industry.

I enjoy your column and read it as often as I can. Thanks for the jokes and the hard hitting articles.

Tragedy

Got this by e-mail but I suspect this has already been adapted from the original Western personalities to our local conditions.

Ate Glue was visiting a primary school and she visited one of the classes. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.   The teacher asked her if she would like to lead the discussion on the word "tragedy". So our illustrious leader asked the class for an example of a "tragedy."

One little boy stood up and offered: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills him, that would be a ‘tragedy’".

" No," said Ate Glue, "that would be an accident."

A little girl raised her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."

"I’m afraid not," explained Ate Glue "that’s what we would call great loss."

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Ate Glue searched the room. "Isn’t there someone here who can give me an example of tragedy?"

Finally, at the back of the room, a small boy raised his hand... In a quiet voice he said: "If the airplane carrying you and the First Gentleman was struck by a ‘friendly fire’ missile while flying in Mindanao and blown to smithereens… that would be a tragedy."

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Ate Glue. "That’s right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?"

"Well," says the boy "it has to be a tragedy, because it certainly wouldn’t be a great loss and it probably wouldn’t be an accident."

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]