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SUSPEND EO 62 NOW: DEFEND OUR RICE FARMERS, DEFEND OUR FUTURE As we are now in the rice harvest season from September to October, our farmers are not looking for celebration—but bracing for catastrophe. Instead of anticipating the fruits of their labor, they are facing a price crash that threatens to wipe out their livelihood. At the center of this unfolding crisis is Executive Order No. 62 , a policy that slashed tariffs on imported rice from 35% to just 15%. This move, combined with last year’s record-high rice importation of 4.68 million metric tons and a global drop in rice prices, has pulled down the farmgate price of palay (un-milled rice) to a devastating ₱11 per kilo—or even lower in some areas. This is no ordinary dip in prices. This is a man-made disaster, timed tragically with the harvest season of our own local farmers. If EO 62 is not suspended immediately, cheap imported rice will continue to flood our markets. Worse, this will happen just before the tariff is sched...

URBAN FARMING VERSUS ORDINARY GARDENING Not all planting in the city is created equal. When we talk about growing food or plants in urban areas, we often mix up two distinct concepts: urban farming and ordinary gardening . While they may look the same at first glance—both involve soil, seeds, and sunlight—their purposes and outcomes are worlds apart. Let’s make this clear: urban farming is a business , while ordinary gardening is a hobby . That simple distinction changes everything—from planning and investment to expectations and returns. Ordinary gardening is typically recreational. You plant flowers, herbs, or even some vegetables in your backyard or balcony just for the joy of it. No business plan, no targets, no deadlines. You may not even harvest anything of significant value. It could be purely decorative or a source of relaxation. You don’t expect to earn anything from it—and that’s perfectly fine. Urban farming, on the other hand, is serious business. It needs a real,...

LET’S BUILD OFFLINE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS FOR FARMERS As a son of a farmer and as an advocate for rural innovation, I’ve long seen the invisible barriers that separate us from one another—not fences, but silence. In many parts of our farmlands, there’s little to no mobile signal. Internet is unreliable at best, nonexistent at worst. And while we've learned to adapt, this communication gap has real consequences. It slows down disaster response, blocks the flow of helpful agricultural information, and prevents us from working together when it matters most. That’s why I’m proposing a simple, low-cost solution: an Offline Interconnectivity Network and Communication System (OINCS) for farmers. Powered by solar energy and built around LoRa (Long Range) radio devices , mesh-based messaging apps, and a locally hosted content servers, this system will allow farmers to message one another, share critical updates, and access farming resources—even in areas where there's absolutel...

CREATING A NEW FILIPINO BATIK INDUSTRY Batik may be more closely associated with Indonesia, Malaysia, or West Africa, but I believe it’s time we create our own place in that tradition—one that is proudly and uniquely Filipino. As I look around the Philippines, I see not just fabric and fiber, but a rich heritage of indigenous designs and agricultural abundance that can give rise to a new local batik industry. We have what it takes. We grow cotton in Ilocos, mulberry trees for silk in the Cordilleras, abaca in Bicol and the Visayas, and pineapples in the Tagalog and Visayan regions for piña fiber. Meanwhile, weavers and printmakers from Luzon to Mindanao are keeping alive age-old practices of textile creation. What we need is to bring all these pieces together—to use local fibers, apply traditional and ethnic designs, and produce batik fabrics that reflect who we are as Filipinos. My vision is to support local farmers first and foremost. By creating the demand for locally grown co...

THE DIASPORA OF ARTISANAL FISHERFOLKS They have lived by the sea for generations, casting nets and lines in the same waters their fathers and grandfathers fished in. But now, these small-scale, artisanal fisherfolks—once guardians of our coastal heritage—are being driven out of their traditional fishing grounds by the very laws that claim to protect the sea. It’s a cruel paradox. On one hand, we hail the establishment of marine sanctuaries as a landmark achievement in environmental conservation. Rightly so. The Philippines, with its rich biodiversity and fragile marine ecosystems, must protect what remains of its coral reefs, seagrass beds, and spawning grounds. From Apo Reef to Tubbataha, our sanctuaries are global treasures. But on the other hand, what becomes of the humble fisherfolk who now find themselves forbidden to fish where they once freely did? Are we witnessing a case of one government foot not knowing what the other is doing? The Department of Environment and Natural...

A DIGITAL LIFELINE FOR OUR OFWs: TIME TO TRY "OFW TULONG" Congratulations are well deserved for Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac on his appointment to head the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). The challenges ahead are immense, but so are the opportunities to innovate for the benefit of our modern-day heroes—the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). One such innovation is something I am proud to be part of: a web application called “OFW TULONG” —co-developed with my partner and good friend, Mr. Ferdenand Ibraheem Sabado of Yaramay IT. It is our humble offering to the DMW, a system designed with one simple goal: to make it easier for any OFW, anywhere in the world, to ask for help when they need it most. Let me be clear from the start—this isn’t about replacing existing platforms like Musaned or the OFW Welfare Monitoring System (OWMS). Those systems have their uses, but let’s face it—most of them depend heavily on agency reports. And we know how that goes. Self-reporting isn...