The ‘good news’ president

Now we know why a slacker in the mold of Procy Alcala can perfectly survive in the Aquino administration. The secret of his staying power ? He delivers good news to the President on a sustained basis, even the ones that are patently untrue. Such as telling Mr. Aquino that we are a country on the road to self- sufficiency in the basic staple.

The reality? We can’t do that in a thousand years unless we defy monetary orthodoxy and return to the supervised food production programs. The iconic image of farming in the years of yore, the man with his hoe, is still current and the truth is only the agribusiness part of agriculture has modernized. But a statement from the secretary of agriculture that we are, indeed, on that road to rice self-sufficiency is a breathtaking one. And Mr. Aquino likes good news and loathes the other kind.