While having a late breakfast this morning, I caught the TV program Mornings @ ANC . Coincidentally, Marieton Pacheco was reporting about the present rice ‘crisis’ while the yayas were feeding the girls. After the report, one of the yayas related her younger siblings in the province have been getting 1 kilo of rice rations and grocery packs with Pacquiao’s name on it, EVERYDAY since January this year. She added that even the children of the agency owner who lives in Quezon City have also been receiving rice rations. She also told me that her siblings’ Principal at school have been hoarding sacks of rice and boxes of noodles intended for these students. That part doesn’t surprise me at all, I bet the principal idolizes Gloria as far as corruption is concerned.

DepEd in its website states there are more or less 12 million elementary students enrolled in public school for SY 2006-2007. Given these, let’s do some mathematical operations, shall we?

12,000,000 elementary students

x 5 kilos of rice a week

x 12 weeks (Jan-March period)

————————–

720,000,000 Kilos of Rice distributed since January 2008

Before you pro-Gloria start wagging your tongues, let me just say that I am not hitting the program itself. I think it’s a big help to the majority of filipinos who receive these rations. Who knows how many millions of Filipinos are subsidized by these and politics aside, they must be grateful. I’m just wondering why this was implemented when there is a pending crisis. I’m sure Gloria’s advisers knew and were adequately warned ahead. It’s odd to know that they pushed through with the program at this time when they know they won’t be able to import more to replace what was distributed.

My question remain: was this a self-inflicted crisis? A desperate act to wag the dog?