The world becomes smaller

As I had said in an earlier column, it is time for us to refocus our sights from our parochial concerns and take in the view of the world. In short, we must be able to realize that the global community has become smaller. That what affects one part of the world may actually impact on us.

Yesterday, this became more apparent. At least for the sugar producers of Negros Occidental. Australia may be far away but the super tropical cyclone that hit Queensland devastated almost 50 percent of its sugarcane and banana crops. Queensland accounts for 25 percent of Australia's sugar production. And that means that the devastating loss of most of their crops there could further constrict the already dwindling supply of world sugar and could boost sugar prices up again.

Other than Brazil, Australia is the second exporting country of sugar. We still have to qualify actually how much was lost to the super typhoon that battered Queensland.

That may prove a boon to local sugar producers, but that does not mean we should rejoice over the plight of the Australia sugar producers. We should sympathize with them. Some farmers, quoted by the Associated Press, virtually acknowledge that they're in trouble for next 12 to 18 months. The reason - sugarcane crops need 18 months at most to ripen for milling.

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House Speaker Jose de Venecia swooped down yesterday on Negros Occidental and fired the opening salvo for Charter Change. He favored what the local government officials had reportedly batted for - people's initiative in amending the Constitution.

The opening shot will be fired on March 24 with Victorias City Mayor Severo Palanca spearheading the provincewide signature campaign for the people's initiative.

For Joe deV, constitutional change is the only alternative left for the Philippines to attain normalcy and political stability. In short, according to him, there will be no cessation of periodic coup attempts and the continuing political confrontations that only further impede our march to progress.

De Venecia, who had consistently batted for charter change since 15 years ago, said Latin American countries which adopted the American presidential system, had been plagued by a series of military takeovers. It is only now that there seems to have been a temporary cessation of such military adventurism.

But, contrary to the belief of some, he put his foot down on NO-EL. Actually, that was an idea hatched by the Constitutional Consultative Council, headed by Dr. Jose Abueva. But Joe deV optimistically predicted that sometime late this year, elections can be held for the Parliament members. The speaker also went out of his way to allay fears that the senators will use their positions. He said they and other members of the House will retain their seats in the unicameral Parliament that will take over from the present bicameral Congress the moment that the people's initiative is ratified by the plebiscite set for June 15.

And the President? She will be the chief executive officer of the new government. In short, she will retain her position as head of state and head of the government.

And, this time, he assured me that federalization will come next after the system shall have changed to Parliamentary. Well, that's something we should watch for or get involved with, one way or the other. But we cannot simply stand aside arms akimbo. The country's future is at stake.

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They were caught napping. Or, perhaps, still groggy from their assignment to a barangay affair. That's immediately apparent from the tale of how the members of the COMPAC base of the Police Mobile Patrol Group in Barangay Malasibog, Escalante City were divested of firearms by NPA fighters Sunday.

In short, while taking breakfast, PO3 Antonio Bravo, the COMPAC commander, should have assigned a lookout who could have alerted his colleagues about the approaching NPA group. But apparently that was something that had not occurred to Bravo.

Although it is true that a woman had entered their compound, purportedly to seek assistance, that should not have made them relax their guard, especially when the armed group, purportedly in military uniform, barged in and introduced themselves as military men.

That was a trick once pulled with recent special forces graduates of Pontevedra, who also lined up for inspection in the La Carlota uplands. All their firearms, which were stacked up, were taken from them by the NPA. That was a neat one. That happened during the Martial Law years. And that was a lesson that it should not have happened again.*

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