Heed CBCP: No to No-El

No, this time the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines did not put their finger into the political pie indiscriminately. They focused on a fundamental issue - no elections in 2007. And they agreed that they will oppose a suspension of the electoral exercise. But they also came out with a point statement that accented the need to undertake electoral reforms posthaste. In short, the Commission on Elections should be transformed into a competent and reliable body "beyond reproach."

That is something which Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos should pay heed to. He cannot forever keep insisting that the Comelec remains impervious to calls for their resignation despite the Supreme Court findings that they had violated the bidding rules in the procurement of the poll body's computerized equipment.

The only problem with that is that removal of the poll body's commissioners can be done only through their impeachment, which the Congress seems loath to undertake. But, perhaps, the solons, who seem hell-bent on ousting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the presidency, despite her having been duly-proclaimed by the Congress and cleared by the House last year, will finally see that the more important point is the purge of the Comelec.

That seems to be the bottomline to the CBCP call to go through with the 2007 polls clean-up of the Comelec, a dilemma for the President. It is very unlikely that Congress will push through with the impeachment of Abalos et al.

In which case, she will have to exert her persuasive powers to convince Abalos to voluntarily vacate his position, and so with the other commissioners, if they still have a sense of decency and patriotism in their hearts. I still believe that, despite their having stubbornly clung to their position, the poll body's top officials still nurse love of country and the Filipino people in their hearts.

And the CBCP is also correct. There is no need for extra-constitutional or violent means to resolve the current political crisis. It is counter-productive and could only lead to more chaos and violence.

And it is true. "Truth has become a victim of political partisanship as well as of transactional politics," the country's prelates pointed out.

In effect, the Church leaders are asking the political leaders to put a stop to their continued partisan bickerings and devote themselves more to the fundamental issues confronting the country and the people.

But that demands political will and a sincere desire to do what is needed even if that may sometimes not please people and could be misunderstood. It is time for us to listen to the voices of reason. Incidentally, it must be remembered that our prelates enjoy prophetic gifts. And they have spoken for all to heed.

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Apparently, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has not been disturbed by the spiraling millgate prices of raw sugar, knowing that this phenomenon is not confined domestically but reflects a worldwide market reaction to sugar shortage.

These are market forces at work. And the reaction is that most players, old and new, are scooping up whatever they can get hold of not only for purpose of supply but because of the discovery that sugarcane or sugar is now principally intended as an energy source. Sugar, which used to be the principal product of sugarcane, has been relegated to a byproduct.

That's why you'll notice her call for the industry to put profits to good use, also immediately including investments in ethanol production. In short, that the profits be used to invest in bioethanol production.

Incidentally, one of the worries of the Sugar Regulatory Administrator James Ledesma is the difficulty in filling up the "A" sugar shipment for the United States. That was what he called hedging or positioning. This is reflected to a certain extent in the lower "A" sugar prices as against the "B" or domestic sugar.

There were fears expressed by the agriculture department of the United States that some of the "quota countries" may not be able to deliver their share as expected by the US. That could be because some speculators believe that they can profit more later by converting their "A" sugar into domestic sugar.

This is a speculative move that could boomerang.

Right now, based on the latest reports from abroad, No. 14 sugar prices had exceeded the price band of between 18 to 23 cents per pound to 18.25 cents per pounds as of yesterday.*

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