LETTERS
FROM THE AGNO
March
L. Fianza
BAGUIO CITY -- My
half Ilocano-half Ibaloy Uncle Alfonso Lorente Fianza celebrated life on August
06, passing on just eight days before his 87th birthday. His friends and
relatives remember the former mayor of Itogon (1986-1992) and Benguet
provincial board member (2007-2016) as a “happy go lucky guy”. But it is with
that personality that his acquaintances are countless, proof of which is that
he wins hands down, not needing to exert effort in political campaigns. Prior
to his political life, he worked with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
In all my
encounters with my politician uncle, he had that ever-present smile and always
had a story to tell. Indeed, he is a storyteller that he forgets to throw into
his mouth the pulutan he has held with two fingers all the time and fails to
swig that jigger of spirits he has gripped with the other hand for the longest
time. I imagine, his cigarettes burn up to his fingers everytime.
Friends
through this space extend their sincerest sympathies to the immediate family
and relatives. He is survived by aunt Dominga, children namely; Benguet SP member
Alexander and wife Patty, Napoleon and wife Filipina, Mila, Jennifer; and nine
grandchildren. He has a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace Uncle Ponso.
***
Since the
late 70s, raiding marijuana plantations all over the Cordillera has been an extra-special
activity by the police, army and anti-drug forces in coordination with
helicopter pilots of the Philippine Air Force in Isabela or La Union.
The
plantations were either wide or small, exposed or hidden, depending on whether
the plants were wild or propagated by man. Marijuana plants come in varieties.
Of course, the first hemp in the region was planted by man for its commercial
value. The other plants known as “Don Juan” grew wild, did not have medicinal
value and were not even good for “tea” preparations.
The word
“marihuana” in its etymology suggests that it may have possibly originated from
the Chinese word “ma ren hua” literally meaning “hemp seed flower”. Semitic
root is also found in the Spanish word mejorana and in English marjoram (oregano),
which could be related to the word marihuana. Combined, it was known in Mexico
as “Chinese oregano”.
When ships
were the means of transport thousands of years ago, 90% of their sails and rope
were made from hemp, thus, the word “canvas”, which is Dutch for cannabis. In
his diaries, Thomas Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to
America.
George
Washington, other founding fathers and Jefferson grew hemp, not for recreation
or smoking which was the case in China, Mexico and Europe but for paper and
textile production. It was then that taxes were collected and growing marijuana
was banned because propagating the hemp competed with other products.
Competing
industries noted the commercial value of marijuana as an industrial need, so
fast forward to the present, anti-marijuana enforcers today put an equivalent
price on the plants they eradicate whether these were propagated by man or they
grew naturally wild so that no suspects are caught.
Man-made
plantations are easy to detect as raiding teams find the plants neatly on a row
interspersed with corn, beans, sweet peas and other climbing plants, or planted
under a canopy of sayote.
In an
interview with a suspect-farmer during one eradication campaign led by
Cordillera police officials in the past, they were told pointblank that they
(farmers) cultivated marijuana by intermingling them side by side with other
plants because this was “cash crop” to them, nothing else.
That was why
in later interviews, when asked about the amount of the seized marijuana, the
police put more emphasis on the volume, believing that publishing the amount
would only encourage more farmers to engage in marijuana cultivation that would
stimulate marijuana trade. I think it is good to learn from the past.
***
Finally, the
plastic barrier between two family members who stay under one roof and riding
in tandem on a motorcycle was scrapped by the IATF. Either the latter woke up
from a bad dream, or swallowed their embarrassment, or realized a big mistake.
After spending hard-earned money on an uncomfortable plastic barrier that was
not studied carefully before it was enforced, husband and wife riders get a
relief.
At least,
lesser reports of motorcycle accidents is expected. Meanwhile, the barrier
could still be useful as a shield in case the husband and wife are engaged in a
shouting or throwing match. Hasty decisions do put health and life at risk.
***
According
to regional director Cameron Odsey, the different offices of the Department of
Agriculture in the Cordillera are free from COVID-19 infection. Benguet
Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC) head Violeta Salda also confirmed that no
positive cases of people in the facility were reported.
That means,
farmers who travel and transport food products from the farm to the trading
centers and markets in the lowlands, including Manila are safe. Movement is
what the coronavirus wants. Travel makes our vegetable farmers vulnerable to
the disease. But if they are healthy, then vegetable consumer-buyers need not
worry. They too are safe.
***
In a
conversation with teachers of Tabora Elementary School, we saw some
difficulties that they expect to encounter when it is time to distribute
modules for blended learning.
It was
announced that distribution of modules will be done with the help of barangay
officials. Parents representing their sons and daughters enrolled in different
levels will have to stay around the barangay premises and wait for the modules.
Since
barangay halls can only accommodate a few, the parents will have to wait in
line outside the barangay hall, under the hot sun or in the cold rain. With
that scenario, COVID-19 transmission is likely to happen, certainly due to
crowding and violations of health protocols.
The solution
that the teachers saw is that distribution of modules should still be done in
the school premises because the different grade levels have individual
classrooms to use and the spacious school grounds can accommodate the crowd of
waiting parents as compared to most barangay halls.
***
Payout for
the second tranche of the SAP is too slow because of unforeseeable reasons, as
compared to the disbursement for the first tranche that was done in the
barangay. I was told that the conduit-agent with whom DSWD had an agreement
with, can only assist a batch of around 30 beneficiaries a day, in addition to
their existing clients.
During the
distribution of SAP 1, barangay officials and the DSWD workers accommodated
around 100 beneficiaries because they were called to receive their financial
assistance in batches of five, thereby avoiding crowding.
As for SAP 2
senior citizen-beneficiaries who are not allowed to go outside their houses, a
representative will receive the financial aid. The problem here, according to
those who already received their assistance, is that the conduit-agent has been
asking beneficiaries to show two valid ID cards.
For a senior
citizen representative, he has to bring with him four ID cards – two IDs for
him and two more for the person he is representing. The process of verifying
IDs alone takes time. To add to the burden, the beneficiaries will be crowding
in front of the conduit-agent.
The reason to
take away the disbursement of SAP 2 from the barangay and ask a private partner
to do it is incomprehensible. Instead of making the distribution faster, it
became slower and too risky. Why is that?
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