Petropolitik, Sapian and China 9

Petropolitik, Sapian and China - Ninth in a Continuing Series

Since it might prove hopeless for us to compete against China for limited petroleum supply, we should rather focus our energy to develop our agriculture. It was believed that we could not industrialize without modernizing our agriculture; now that we might never industrialize, it is the more reason to modernize our agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Projects in Negros and Bulacan deserve notice because they transcended limitations of land sizes. Size of lands has always been a perennial obstacle in economies-of-scale rice farming, especially since parcel sizes continue to be reduced as properties are passed down from generation to generation. In two barrios of Silay, Negros Occidental, farmers surveyed their properties, measured each parcel and valued them into commensurate share of ownership in a cooperative. Then, using their combined lands as collateral, they applied for multi-million Land Bank loan, bought tractors, seeders, and built post-harvest facilities. Then, they destroyed the pilapils, flattened their farmlands, installed irrigation system, and hired an agriculturist. They themselves have rotated turns in Board of Directors, as company officials, and as drivers and manual laborers. A similar project in Santa Maria, Bulacan, involves hundreds of farmers who established a self-sufficient, chicken production plant. They planted corn, manufactured feeds, raised chicken, produced eggs, processed meat, and hired sales and delivery staff to market their products. Their conveyor-based processing plant, which looks more like a Magnolia plant, was worth nearly P25 million. In Leyte, instead of selling copra, a cooperative built a coconut oil mill worth about P1.25 million. Because of profitability, they expanded to two more plants. Later, Japanese businessmen imported their coconut oil to be processed into special lubricant for high precision instruments. Now, they are reaping the benefits of their entrepreneurship.

FVR’s trip to Samar-Leyte was memorable. I was the point-person on the visit’s leg to Calbayog, Western Samar. So, I contacted the province, made all the arrangements and prepared the itinerary. On the morning of our ocular inspection, my alarm did not go off and woke up at 7:00 a.m., which was our take off time. I jumped up and sped to Villamor Air Base’s 205 Presidential Airlift Wing. When I arrived 45 minutes later, everyone, including Colonel Hermogenes Ebdane, then Deputy Commander of the Presidential Security Group (now DPWH Secretary), was already aboard the plane. People did not talk much to me until we arrived at Romualdez International Airport in Tacloban. Our aircraft stopped at the regional composite force helipads and we quickly boarded two waiting Hueys. After a brief warm up, we took off and I was relieved that my tardiness no longer matters. After about 15 minutes airborne through the coastline, the Huey in front turned back, then we followed. Soon we were back in Tacloban airport. The pilot of our Huey said that since we left too late that morning, return flight from Calbayog could be impossible because of thickened cloud cover that day. Now I had cold-chills again. Stranded after 10:00 a.m., everyone’s blaming me now. Colonel Ebdane was cool. That cool brought him to top. With no prior arrangement made on land transport, we boarded and transferred into a succession of government vehicles, practically from town to town.

We arrived in Calbayog by almost 3:00 p.m. The late Governor Jose Rono (former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government under Marcos) patiently waited for us. Governor Rono was cool too. We ate (and cherished) a lunch that was ready since that morning and ready to spoil at that time. After an abbreviated meeting and a quick look into FVR’s venues we quickly headed back to Tacloban, non-stop this time. We arrived in Tacloban airport at around 8:30 p.m. and luckily, it is one of few domestic airports with fully operational night navigation system to support our type of aircraft. An Air Force officer joked that airport’s night instrumentation has been installed because Imelda usually flew home anytime she and Marcos had fights.   

That next day, our ocular trip was the worst in the history, I was ready to volunteer to swap with a co-worker for another visit. However, in an afternoon that next day, PSG operations staff called me that we were probably been saved by my tardiness. One of the two Huey choppers we briefly flew in exploded at sea. Everyone died, including General Orina, father of ABS-CBN anchorwoman Ces Orina-Drilon. If I remind Secretary Ebdane now, I may get a free meal in DPWH cafeteria.