Erap’s wish: end to rice crisis, Cory recovery

May 3, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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erap-birth.jpgMANILA - The three birthday wishes of former President Joseph Estrada are for an early end to the rice crisis, a reversal of a Supreme Court ruling on executive privilege, and the quick recovery of former President Corazon Aquino.

These were the top birthday wishes of Estrada as he marked his 71st birthday on April 19, the first time he celebrated the event outside of detention.

“‘Yong birthday wish ko unang una matatapos itong crisis sa bigas dahil nakakaawa ang ating kababayan (Of course my first birthday wish is for the rice crisis to end soonest, for the sake of our people),” Estrada said in an interview on dzRH radio.
President Arroyo later greeted Erap on his birthday.

Earlier, he vehemently denied that he was aiming to run for president in the 2010 election despite attempts by supporters to continue with a signature writing campaign to convince him to run. President Arroyo warned that he should desist from doing so because this would violate the terms of his pardon.
The former president who was convicted of plunder, and was later granted
pardon, spent his birthday with families at a resettlement site in Tanay, Rizal. It would be the first time since his six years in detention that he would spend his birthday with them again. Estrada founded the resettlement site when he was San Juan mayor.
But he said he felt bad to see people, even the elderly, lining up under
the hot summer sun just to buy cheaper rice, sold at P18.25 per kilogram
by the National Food Authority (NFA).
The government is planning to remove NFA’s cheap rice from markets, and
distribute it directly through local government outlets so it can reach
the poor.
Estrada scored the Arroyo administration for neglecting the
agriculture sector and favoring importation so it could earn quick buck.
“/Di inasikaso ang ating/ food security, /pagtatanim ng palay. Di
inasikaso ang sariling atin. Ang ating bansa kilala/ agricultural
country. /Noong panahon ni/ Marcos /ang Masagana/ 99 /nag-e/-export
/tayo. Sayang naputol ang ating panunungkulan … Ngayon nagpipilahan
ang tao sa init/ (This government did not take care of food security. It
did not even take care of our own farmers. During Ferdinand Marcos’
time, we exported rice under the Masagana 99 program. Now people have to
line up just to buy rice),” he said.
Estrada believes many are profiting from rice importation, because of
alleged kickbacks involved. When asked if the importation policy was deliberately adopted to benefit a few rich people, he said, “Palagay ko (I think so).”
Estrada’s second wish is to have the Supreme Court reverse its decision
upholding executive privilege for Romulo Neri, former socioeconomic
planning secretary.
Neri cited executive privilege in snubbing Senate investigations into
the government’s $329.48-million National Broadband Network deal with
China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Corp.
The high court, in its summer session in Baguio, gave Neri and the
solicitor general 10 days to comment on the Senate’s motion for
reconsideration. It also gave the Senate another 10 days to comment on
Neri and the solicitor-general’s comments.
Estrada’s third birthday wish is for Mrs. Aquino to quickly recover. She
is now undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

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