Mini Zamora-Arceo
Column Title: Let’s Talk About It
Article Title: Palengkenomics
Date Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008
As soon as the giant malls start padding their charges on rentals and other services due to the increasing price of oil and energy generation, consumers will eventually feel the effect in every small product they buy. And for those who temporarily disregarded the wet markets in exchange of the fully air-conditioned super- or hyper-marts, they will soon return to the old public markets to look for cheaper meat, fruits, vegetables, rice and other food commodities.
With the rate of increase on oil prices nowadays, economists are projecting that all commodities will shoot up to 50 or even 100 percent. Recent reports said oil price in international market will soon reach $200 per barrel. When the price of oil was only $100 per barrel, the price of rice was only P32 per kilo while the price of pork was only P120 per kilo. At present, the price of rice has temporarily stabilized at P38 to P45 per kilo while the price of pork is already pegged at P170 to P180 per kilo. And I am talking of the wet market prices. At the giant malls, you might be paying a few more pesos for each commodity. Imagine what will happen if oil price escalates to $200 per barrel? Would you care to buy a kilo of pork worth P250?
This is alarming, yes. And even more inevitable. This is why several private sector groups are now encouraging the local governments to refocus on strengthening the public markets to help the public cope with the unabated increase on prices of all commodities.
One of the board of trustees of the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL), Philip Camara of Iba, Zambales, came up with a brilliant idea to campaign for the Palengkenomics program. Camara is also the president of the Zambales Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a private sector representative for tourism at the Regional Development Council (RDC).
The Palengkenomics program aims to strengthen the public markets and develop them as centers of economic activities that would eventually dissolve cartels and empower the local traders by increasing their productivity and profitability.
According to Camara, the poor and neglected condition of our public markets creates disorganized commodity markets that enable cartels to gain control of the local economy, to the detriment of both the producers and the consumers. This, he said, can be reversed by “conditionally” privatizing public markets in favor of Vendors Associations.
The idea of going back to the basics is not bad at all. If there is one place in a local community that is actually moving the cash flow is the public market. It employs hundreds of people and feeding thousands from the slaughterhouses to vendors and helpers.
By encouraging LGUs to grant management rights to vendors association, there will be a common interest among all the stakeholders – that is to improve the markets and provide better services for the public. And as soon as the vendors are given additional income while they are being groomed to embrace the Bayanihan spirit anew, they will have a better chance to fight food cartels, thus, prompting the price of food commodities to become more affordable.
Camara further explained that public markets, being the economic nuclei of municipal economies, “are a key institution to put in order and generate motion towards far-reaching economic stimuli for local economic and even social development.”
He said that many public markets are in a state of disrepair and bad governance wherein vendor's associations are hardly empowered. True. Market people are even being used by some politicians for their electoral campaigns but without any concrete program for their security and welfare.
Camara further explained that production is not enough but market access is of absolute importance if we are to assure the profitability of the productive poor.
Our local government officials should think hard about this. It is true that production of food alone in our neighborhood will not guarantee that the end products will reach our tables without much inflation. The government should ensure that every product produced by the farmers or the fisherfolk will be available to all at an affordable price. It is not the wages or the salaries that matter. No matter how many times we ask for a wage hike, as long as the prices of commodities continue to increase, we will still end up lacking the quality life we want.
What is more important is for the government to bring down the prices of basic commodities, make everything affordable to the public including electricity and other utilities so the people could live comfortably. And one of the solutions is to ensure that the food we produce reach our tables fresh, safe and affordable by improving the public markets and empowering the vendors and small entrepreneurs.
With the rate of increase on oil prices nowadays, economists are projecting that all commodities will shoot up to 50 or even 100 percent. Recent reports said oil price in international market will soon reach $200 per barrel. When the price of oil was only $100 per barrel, the price of rice was only P32 per kilo while the price of pork was only P120 per kilo. At present, the price of rice has temporarily stabilized at P38 to P45 per kilo while the price of pork is already pegged at P170 to P180 per kilo. And I am talking of the wet market prices. At the giant malls, you might be paying a few more pesos for each commodity. Imagine what will happen if oil price escalates to $200 per barrel? Would you care to buy a kilo of pork worth P250?
This is alarming, yes. And even more inevitable. This is why several private sector groups are now encouraging the local governments to refocus on strengthening the public markets to help the public cope with the unabated increase on prices of all commodities.
One of the board of trustees of the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL), Philip Camara of Iba, Zambales, came up with a brilliant idea to campaign for the Palengkenomics program. Camara is also the president of the Zambales Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a private sector representative for tourism at the Regional Development Council (RDC).
The Palengkenomics program aims to strengthen the public markets and develop them as centers of economic activities that would eventually dissolve cartels and empower the local traders by increasing their productivity and profitability.
According to Camara, the poor and neglected condition of our public markets creates disorganized commodity markets that enable cartels to gain control of the local economy, to the detriment of both the producers and the consumers. This, he said, can be reversed by “conditionally” privatizing public markets in favor of Vendors Associations.
The idea of going back to the basics is not bad at all. If there is one place in a local community that is actually moving the cash flow is the public market. It employs hundreds of people and feeding thousands from the slaughterhouses to vendors and helpers.
By encouraging LGUs to grant management rights to vendors association, there will be a common interest among all the stakeholders – that is to improve the markets and provide better services for the public. And as soon as the vendors are given additional income while they are being groomed to embrace the Bayanihan spirit anew, they will have a better chance to fight food cartels, thus, prompting the price of food commodities to become more affordable.
Camara further explained that public markets, being the economic nuclei of municipal economies, “are a key institution to put in order and generate motion towards far-reaching economic stimuli for local economic and even social development.”
He said that many public markets are in a state of disrepair and bad governance wherein vendor's associations are hardly empowered. True. Market people are even being used by some politicians for their electoral campaigns but without any concrete program for their security and welfare.
Camara further explained that production is not enough but market access is of absolute importance if we are to assure the profitability of the productive poor.
Our local government officials should think hard about this. It is true that production of food alone in our neighborhood will not guarantee that the end products will reach our tables without much inflation. The government should ensure that every product produced by the farmers or the fisherfolk will be available to all at an affordable price. It is not the wages or the salaries that matter. No matter how many times we ask for a wage hike, as long as the prices of commodities continue to increase, we will still end up lacking the quality life we want.
What is more important is for the government to bring down the prices of basic commodities, make everything affordable to the public including electricity and other utilities so the people could live comfortably. And one of the solutions is to ensure that the food we produce reach our tables fresh, safe and affordable by improving the public markets and empowering the vendors and small entrepreneurs.
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