At the moment, we have a raging controversy over our rice supply. Different, occasionally enlightening views are aired. As a result we get to know more about the intricate business of our rice and food supply.

This, I think, is good for all of us. It's part of our continuing education about our social and political life. Discussions like this facilitate our sense of solidarity as a people. Let's try to keep it that way.

My prayer is that the discussion be kept at the high level of dialogue, especially in terms of range, content and quality. As much as possible, we should avoid partisan politicking, which usually distorts the issue, dragging it to the gutter.

The media should be particularly sensitive to this need. People are already developing a keen sense of discerning what truly has a bearing on the matter and what is extraneous to it, what is spin and what is reality.

They now can easily distinguish between chaff and grain. They can smell a rat from a distance, seeing through the hidden agendas and ulterior motives. More importantly, they know who they are.

Those who have something to say about the issue should purify their intention, and organize and express their position well. They should intervene for the sole purpose of helping solve the problem, and not just to score "pogi" points.

Thus, they should study their opinions thoroughly, verifying their data, checking their theories and hypotheses, and being open to other views. They should always be courteous and cordial in the discussion.

In short, please, let's do away with reckless commentaries and shooting from the hip. Let's tone down our emotions and inflammatory language. Let's hear all sides calmly.

Politicians and media people should submit themselves to a high standard of discretion and sobriety when expressing their views. They should avoid sowing intrigues and witch-hunting.

There obviously can be persons, offices, social practices, etc. that can be blamed for something. Let's go easy on this, refusing to get stuck there. We should always be constructive in our approach, convinced that solving problems is more important and urgent than blaming some people.

That's why it saddened me to note that in all this exciting discussion about the rice issue, a nasty topic was made to cash in on it. I'm referring to the attempt to link our rice problem with our supposed overpopulation.

It's true that everyone is free to bring out anything for all of us to consider and discuss. It's just that with all our exchanges through the years, we should already know what are the real issues and what are mere myths.

Blaming our population level for our rice shortage is painfully an uncalled for, anachronistic tearing of one's hair. Like, hello, this kind of thinking has been debunked ages ago.

This is the classic Malthusian fear whose proper place is the museum or the history books of fascinating but failed theories and fallacies. Are we to be told again that we should have a so-called optimum family size, say, of two or four children only?

And that to achieve this population level, we can use any means, mouthing again the mantra of freedom of choice that justifies the use of clearly immoral means of family planning and population control?

This is what the persistent advocates of population-control-at-all-costs are still doing.

In our Congress today, there are pending bills meant to legalize immoral means of family planning, sugar-coating them as part of reproductive health.

The sponsors of these bills, who have no qualms both in presenting themselves as devout Catholics and in violating Church teachings, even have the gall to pontificate on what is now the moral way to tackle our supposed population problem.

Everyone knows that there are problems everywhere-food, water, air, our politics, etc. With respect to our food problem, only ideological crackpots believe it's a problem without solution, or that the world is running out of resources to feed us.

We will always find solutions, and solutions are fit for us, who are not just economic entities, or purely material or social beings. That There are solutions that are fit for us who are persons and children of God.

(E-mail: juan_mercado@boholchronicle.com)