Pre-SoNA, I was listening to an interview on DZRH of some sociology-political pundits. A former political professor from the University of the Philippines, Prof. Ela Atienza, was asked by the smart lady interviewer her assessment of the first three years of the six-year term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The professor who also used to head the Political Science Department of UP gave out a crisp laugh and answered without hesitation, “Four.” The interviewer, apparently shocked by what she heard, repeated, “four?”

Professor Ela said yes, but it is conditional. He still has another three years left of his administration. That same day, Marcos delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address.

I would give two handclaps for Marcos’ promise to run after the DPWH personnel who engineered the invisible and intangible flood control projects, which, in his previous SoNA, totaled 5,500 but only one was accounted for because it collapsed after it was hit by a fisherman’s boat.

Looks like the other 5,499 projects could not be accounted for, and this time he promised that no stone will be left unturned to catch the thief or thieves of the multi-billion-peso flood control projects he proudly announced last year.

Moreover, President Marcos was also applauded by the legislators when he announced that the farmers will be included in his P20 per kilo rice program, which his subaltern in the Department of Agriculture confirmed, proudly announcing that farmers will also be able to buy rice at P20 per kilo. Marcos and Aggie Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel are obviously totally oblivious to the plight of the farmers. They just added salt to their injury.

Marcos must have thought he pleased the farmers that he added one more scheme — that is to run after the rice traders, whom he suspects are manipulating the price of palay and rice. Marcos is correct as far as the manipulation of prices is concerned. What he and Laurel are not aware of is that the traders and National Food Authority personnel are in cahoots and are shortchanging the farmers.

Here’s the catch. The NFA announced the price of freshly harvested palay at P23 per kilo. Come harvest time, the NFA suspends its purchase of palay, claiming its bodegas are full. The poor farmers have no other option but to sell to the traders even at P8 to P12 per kilo lest their freshly harvested palay will grow mold and be discolored in just a few days because of the high moisture content. The value of the palay then decreases.

Traders dry the palay as they have the facilities and then sell this to the NFA at a premium price. There is no way the farmers can get a fair price in the face of the dubious cartel of the traders and the NFA. Corruption is not the sole enterprise of the DPWH; it has become endemic in the DA and the agencies under it.

If there is a glimmer of hope in the last three years of Marcos, it is in the choice of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta as chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee. If Marcos meant his words to run after the cheats and the thieves in his administration, he should trust Marcoleta to make his job easier. Then maybe by the end of his term Marcos could improve on his conditional grade.