Good governance requires outright frankness with one's constituency.

It starts with a National Government that opts for multi-billion, scandal-ridden and less populist-oriented projects like broadband deals, railway projects, highways in a reclamation area (Macapagal Boulevard, remember?) and policies geared towards export development and OFW benefits. (The over-valued currency of P 56:US1$ which hovered for a long time, is a case in point.)

But the 90 Million Filipinos care more for basic things: Food (especially rice) on the table, shelter and health protection (insurance and cheap medicine) Since these can be life-and-death issues: inadequacy of any one of them can lead to grave socio-political instability.

In a democracy, any instability anywhere threatens people everywhere. One grave toothache can debilitate an entire body. Ask the kins of the late boxing great Pancho Villa, who won brutal boxing bouts in the ring but died due to a mere infected tooth.

The current rice crisis is one such situation that should be treated with extreme seriousness by all.

According to the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics: in 2007 Bohol produced 165 thousand metric tons, Cebu 14.7 thousand MT, Negros Oriental thousand MT and Siquijor 2.2 thousand metric tons. That makes Bohol the so-called "rice granary" of the Central Visayas - but only because this region produces too little compared to the entire country. But the fact is Bohol is ranked only as the 28th biggest rice producing province in the nation.

There are now 1.3 million Boholanos with government estimates varying between 85 to 125 kilos as to the rice annual per capita consumption against an annual production of 165,ooo metric tons. Go and figure out the shortfall.

Though Bohol may have a respectable produce of 165,000 metric tons, it is shocking to note that in terms of yield, per statistics of the Government Bureau of Agriculture itself, Bohol is woefully at only rank 74 which means there is something wrong with the seeds used, irrigation facilities, cost and efficiency of fertilizer and post harvest facilities.

In terms of land area harvested with race, the government statistics show Bohol as even one of the top - in fact, No 20 in size of rice land harvested. And while it is true that vast tracts of land today remain untilled - poor farmers bereft of sound financing and efficient input access cannot just develop their lands in a vacuum.

Government also knows what is the optimum hectarage that a farmer can cultivate - beneath which it will not be economically worth his while. Where is the guidance - where is the financing other than the "5-6 % interest hound dogs" prowling their areas? Should financial credit not be given where credit is due?

It had to take a private entity like the Alturas Group to come up with the modern rice milling and warehousing facility to help improve the rice yield per cycle. Those in the know understand that small-time farmers cannot forever dry their palay on the ground and cemented pavements (subject to the vagaries of the weather) and cannot store them for long in makeshift containers. Faced with horrid predicaments, the poor farmer is forced to sell his palay at low prices to unscrupulous traders.

The rice problem is therefore systemic and widespread - and is not solved by band-aid solutions. Rice sufficiency then cannot take a back seat in favor of ANY issue because Juan de la Cruz needs to eat rice at least twice a day just to continue breathing.

That's how basic it can get.

Debating the statistics above will not put rice on the table of the 90 million Filipinos.

Although we will not remove our accusing fingers to those responsible for bringing the country to this chaotic rice situation, we agree as well that that we should move forward and find solutions for the common good.

The Executive Order of Governor Rico Aumentado to limit the number of bags that can "shipped out" of Bohol per trader is only good on paper if there is no coordination with the Coast Guard and private sector flotillas who will be on guard to ensure that no such rice is "smuggled out" off the very wide coastal area of the province. We all know "rice smuggling" is a national malady precisely because of this unique topography of over 7,000 Philippine islands. And supply flows to the highest bidder- as the law of supply and demand marches inexorably.

It is timely to remind our Boholano farmers that this is no time to succumb to greed and take advantage of the situation by selling especially to Cebu traders since Cebu is dependent on Bohol rice supply largely. We ask every Boholano to report to the authorities or to media any massive rice shipments out of the province. For this twin media enterprise, the hotline for reporting this offense is 0921-2413-643.

The move of the provincial lawmakers to allocate a P5-Million budget to purchase high yielding palay seeds is commendable. This should not partake the nature of a dole-out.

Under soft repayment terms from the farmers, the fund can generate a velocity that can give equal chance for a larger number of farmers to participate in the program.

Vice Governor Julius Herrera whose heart is closer to agriculture and Rep. Edgar Chatto have both been one in concluding that small rice impounding for irrigation rather than the multi-million, gigantic irrigation dams are more cost-efficient and user-friendly.

They have concluded the lesser the cost, the lesser the slippages that will go down the drain through corruption. It is new-found wisdom that should now be executed in real terms to improve farm productivity and help stymie the rice crisis.

We commend the NFA for increasing their buying price of palay from farmers by 42%.

Although it will mean increased retail rice prices, it is an assurance that supply can be generated by adequately compensated growers. That's how the capitalist system works like clockwork. The NFA has provided the stabilizing force in the community by selling quality rice at government controlled prices and monitoring their agents. It is alright to limit the purchase 5 kilos per day per family. Everyone must pay the price for greater stability for the greater number.

Lastly, we appeal to the Christian, patriotic conscience of traders and consumers alike. We know that in crisis, as the Chinese would say, is an opportunity. Please do not stretch the philosophy of the duality of things in a crisis as serious as the rice crisis.

Be a humane, be Christian, be Allah-like if you want.

In a crisis, the rich traders with deep pockets can corner the supply and hoard them at concealed warehouses. Wealthy consumer-households can do the same and buy more rice than they need for a year. As scarcity forces price to rise, the trader may resell, and thus free release some supply - but the rice hoard of households will never go back to the marketplace.

Both criminals will burden our poor countrymen. Let not the food riots akin to those in Africa (if they happen here, God forbid) prove us right that in exacerbating the rice crisis, we will all be losers eventually.

For Comments: email to bingo_dejaresco@boholchronicle.com Or editor@boholchronicle.com