𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐘𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Perhaps it was the way we were taught, and learned history, as a school subject.

In elementary and high school, we hated History Class because of the demands to take note of, and memorize dates, persons, and places like entries in an accounting ledger. More often than not, the emphasis on the chronology of happenings and the characters of central figures diminished the significance of the events and their roles in the circumstances of historical development.

In high school we had this history teacher whom we fondly called “Gata.“ I simply cannot forget his graphic tale, on one class session, of a gregarious meeting between Ferdinand Magellan and Rajah Humabon so detailed as to enumerate the dishes served in a sumptuous lunch, not to mention, a game of “dama“ thereafter, like he was personally there to record the event. While this method had the effect of breaking a student’s boredom and catching his attention, it had the unintended result of one getting to view historical events like vaguely-related episodes in a potboiler teleserye.

I guess things haven’t changed much. Many still look at history as a bunch of dates, persons, and places like items in a restaurant menu, each piece subject to the individual tastes and preferences, including dressings and side dishes, of the eatery’s owners, as well as its patrons.

On the other hand, it is said that history is written by the victors, and it would not come as a surprise if occurrences are presented from their perspectives, and any departure therefrom is branded as “revisionism.” Taking the account ledger metaphor, certainly one cannot have a fair assessment of material standing when entries are omitted or undervalued in the records. It follows then that an alternative, if not a more objective view of history can be gleaned from digging up the unwritten, the obscure, and the deliberately concealed. No wonder, teleseryes are replete with “flashbacks” to explain circumstances, even personality quirks and flaws of characters.

For instance, last November there was some amount of celebratory commemoration of the victory of the Negros revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial government. While much was said about the clever way the Spaniards were deceived into surrendering to the rebels on November 5, 1898 through the ruse of displaying rolled bamboo mats disguised as cannons, there has been little mention, if any at all, about the short-lived existence of the so-called Republic of Negros after the surrender of the cantonal government to American forces on March 4, 1899.

That submission certainly cut a lot of ground from the independence ambitions of the Malolos Republic. It is thus, not difficult to surmise that the tipping point to American colonization of the Philippine Islands was not the capture of Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901, but the capitulation early on of the 𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘰-led revolution, leading to the establishment of Negros Island as a protectorate of the United States on April 30, 1899.

There is little doubt that the surrender of the Negros cantonal government was motivated by economic interests. In fact, the favored access to the American market that followed made the Philippine sugar industry the major beneficiary of colonization. Consequently, many, if not most, of the features of the colonial relations between the Philippines and the USA were defined by the interests of the sugar-landed class. In fact, an examination of American legislations on the colonial status of the Philippines would reveal provisions on trade, especially in relation to sugar, were a major consideration in the drafting of such enactments.

It is no source of wonder, therefore, that the so-called sugar bloc would become a strong, if not the most powerful, political clique in post-Spanish Philippine society, even decades after independence in 1946. In fact, I would dare say that much of contemporary Philippine political history post World War II has been defined by the fortunes—and later, ills—of the sugar industry, and its deference to American foreign policy.

(𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙)

The Public Market: An Institution in Decline

By EDGAR G. BILLONES
October 13, 2017

No community is ever complete without a marketplace; in fact the public market has existed since mankind learned to engage in trade. It is where people regularly gather to buy and sell goods, particularly food products. Many places have actually been named after the scheduled day of market—Martesan, Huwebesan, or even Kaduhaan (for having 2 market days).

A place where sellers and buyers interact, the public market acts as the venue where the forces of supply and demand work, thus giving both the selling and buying public, and thus the community, the best deals.

Eventually, the public market became a permanent feature of developing communities. Because of its indispensable role in economic life, the market came to be regulated by a central authority to ensure adequate, safe and affordable food supply for the population.

The modern public market is not much different. It is essentially an institution housed in a public structure governed by public regulations. More often than not, its operation is subsidized by the government unit it is located in. This subsidy is designed to ensure that the law of supply and demand works in favour of the population in terms of lower prices, as against other commercial establishments outside the market facility.

Other than material subsidy, the local government unit guarantees the safety and welfare of the buying public by ensuring that measuring equipment like weighing scales are calibrated, the facility is provided with clean facilities, and food products are properly inspected and issued sanitation certificates.

Some months back, in one meeting with the meat section of the Silay City Public Market, one vendor complained about the continuing drop in their sales and proposed that they increased the price of their products. We explained that no one could stop them from raising their prices, but commented that in all probability it would not solve their problem. We would surmise that the decline in sales was apparently due to the unsanitary conditions at the market, sometimes aggravated by the absence of meat inspection certificates, bad experiences by customers on the accuracy of weighing scales, and the proliferation of rotten meat products.

In real practice, management and regulation of the market is far from ideal. Being a public entity, the institution is susceptible to the vagaries of politics. More often than not, restrictions or favours are dispensed according to the whims and caprices of the authority in power. Consequently, the quality of service declines: sanitation is haphazard, if not completely ignored; cheating in measures of quality and quantity abound, and utilities, like water and electrical connections are tapped illegally. A culture of impunity reigns and in the end, the buying public is appallingly short-changed.

It is not surprising, therefore, that with the appearance of convenience stores, supermarkets, and butcher shops, patronage for the public market significantly declines. In rapidly urbanizing cities, the role of the public market as a service institution is eclipsed by the rise of shopping malls that offer goods and services in far better environments.  While prices in malls might be significantly higher than in traditional markets, these are offset by the relative comfort, facility, safety, orderliness, and honest service.

The impending decline of the public market as a key institution seems lost among many of our bureaucrats, and more so among the vendors themselves. As it is, there appears to be a mind-set or sense of entitlement that prevent planners and stakeholders alike to look beyond the indicators of a waning establishment.

There is actually an existing concept about transforming potential LGU revenue-generating facilities, e.g., the public market, the slaughterhouse, the public cemetery, and the like, into so-called Economic Enterprises. The idea is to manage and reconfigure these facilities into self-sustaining, if not profitable projects, so as to relieve the local government unit of the burden of subsidizing their operation and maintenance.

The daunting challenge, however, is making a shift from a paradigm of populism and political accommodation to one of corporate efficiency and productivity. This shift should not be too difficult with smaller units such as slaughterhouses, training centers, or transport terminals, but the traditional public market faces far bigger challenges, not the least of which is the proliferation of talipapas in barangays, and the rise of convenience stores and malls with supermarkets.

In most Asian countries, especially among ASEAN nations, the public markets in major cities have given way to malls and reconfigured themselves into specialized institutions showcasing ethnic and indigenous materials and facilities notably, culinary and gastronomic services. It is not exactly remote that our local public market will go the same way. What is sufficiently clear is that the traditionally vital role of the public market in the city’s economic life is fast diminishing in importance. Therefore, our planners should start reviewing the role of the public market in the light of the rapidly changing socio-economic profile of Silay City in the wake of the decline of the sugar industry. On the other hand, other public market stakeholders, especially the vendors and stallholders should re-examine where they stand in the medium and long term, if they have to weather and survive the vagaries of development.

__________

Grow food now!

 

Five years ago, when I was asked to draft an economic program for Silay City I had no hesitations about making achieving food sufficiency its centerpiece and the topmost item in the development agenda. The shift of emphasis from sugarcane cultivation to basic food crops like rice, corn, vegetables, and the like, not only would provide food security for the city, but also conserve fiscal resources that are otherwise drained out of local circulation due to procurement of food supply from outside sources.

Sadly, my view that there is no “forever” in the sugar industry did not run well with traditional political thought that still views Silay as an “hacienda” economy where the population could just be herded come elections to sell their votes in exchange for a few hundred bucks.

There was no way then I could have imagined that five years later a worldwide pandemic would underscore the supreme importance of the food sufficiency agenda in the very survival of the city. Today, hunger hangs like the sword of Damocles over the heads of many, if not most, Silaynons. There is no telling how long the crisis would last, and there is a clear and present danger that Silay would not be able to sustain its food supply in the long term, simply because there is very little local production. We simply cannot rely on outside sources.

It’s not too late; we can start now. Silay has some of the most arable land for a variety of food crops.  Areas can be identified for short- and medium-term crops, and I am sure if we start soonest, we will not run short of planting materials. Corn, both for human consumption and animal feeds can be harvested between 60 to 100 days, rice from 120 to 160 days, depending on the varieties. While not extensive, there are irrigated areas in some localities where rice can be cultivated whole year round. (Pity, the NIA had to delay its irrigation projects in many areas simply because many landowners won’t let the canals pass through their properties). Vegetables can be grown almost anywhere, even in pots and plastic containers in urban gardens, and seeds are readily available in most hardware stores.

I hope we see the urgency of the need to produce food. Let us empower farmers and rural communities to assert their roles in feeding society. It’s about time.

The Journey Begins

 

I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now. — Bob Dylan