TO STABILIZE the supply and price of rice in the market, the Department of Agriculture engaged in the importation of the Filipino staple.
To stabilize the supply and price of “galunggong” (round scad) in the market, the same Department of Agriculture is planning to import the fish variety, notably from China. (Yeah, galunggong harvested by China from our own West Philippine Sea and sold to us!)
May as well call the agency headed by Emmanuel Pinol as the Department of Agricultural Importation. Yeah, as in Diyos ko, DAI.
So, the National Food Authority has imported rice to shore up its stocks. At least two shiploads of it are infested with weevils, commonly known here as “bukbok.”
Then, no less than Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has warned the public against the consumption of imported galunggong from China that are allegedly tainted with formalin.
Duque said formalin is used for preservation of cadavers, among others, and should not be used to keep food products “supposedly fresh.”
According to Duque, consuming food laced with formalin could lead to various ailments, including cancer. As little as 30 milliliters of formalin can produce adverse effects.
In July 2016, Pinol (in)famously bragged of the coming “Golden Age of Agriculture” and aquamarine resources development with the presidency of Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Irony of ironies! Two years hence, this agricultural and archipelagic country is importing both grain and fish. Barely fit for human consumption at that!
Shameless.
