My neighbors and I in Laguna have grown spices and vegetables for our tables in pots, tin cans, from the ground. Dozens of robust turkeys roam the shoreline under my house-all self-supporting, feeding off those miles of water-lily. Ducks and chickens feed off marine life and land critters. Were the Philippines to put a fence around itself, Filipinos would enjoy abundant food. The fence will keep all those unhealthy foreign foods from coming in. And the same fence would keep all luxury foods -lapu-lapu, giant prawns, lobsters - so the average Filipinos will finally be able to taste the good stuff. The fence will make the Filipino eat better, healthier, cheaper.

The industry, ingenuity, resourcefulness of the Filipino will soon be creating caviar from dalag eggs; Belgian-quality chocolate with Batangas kakaw; big pandesal from kalabasa and kamoteng kahoy flour. No more multinationals carting tens of billions of dollars in profit, repatriated to stockholders sitting in their yachts at the other side of the world. All these billions of dollars of profit will stay in theMONDAY |SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 | PHILIPPINES, to spend in the Philippines, to circulate in theMONDAY |SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 | PHILIPPINES, to improve the quality of life of Juan Pasan Cruz.

What will happen to all the Filipino executives now working for foreigners? All will be gainfully employed as executives of Filipino companies making, among others, local caviar, local Tobleron, and non-wheat pandesal. Until this happens, I'm on austerity diet with nothing imported in my list, not even soybean tofu.

Soybeans grew here in the past centuries, but the DA may have been convinced by agronomists that soybean won't come out of the Philippine soil anymore. I've got some planted in styrofoam cups and if they prosper, I'll invite Agriculture Secretary Yap and a few friends from Agronomy UPLB over for my delicious ginisang utaw (stewed soybeans). In my youth, soybean grew profusely in my Lola's backyard in Marilao, Bulacan, and my recipe for ginisang utaw is from her.

My market budget - P600/week for two women: P20 per for our favorites - sayote, patola, tomatoes, alamang for bagoong, eggplant, bouillon, cabbage, malunggay, peanuts (for kari-karing gulay, lumpiang hubad, snack). P10 per - mustasa leaves, kangkong, munggo, squash, sitaw. P90 for 4 kilos of yellow kamote-a lot more nutritious than white rice; P25 for six eggs: white dry beans P16; P45 for 1-1/2 kilo of brown rice, P100 for fish or chicken or pork; P40 fruit in season, P50 for needed staples-oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, sugar, cocoa, etc. We waste no food from carelessness, neglect. The freezer keeps everything fresh-frozen and edible. I don't buy white wheat flour anything.

My household eats for health, not for status. Our appetite is not dictated upon by colonially-trained, imported-oriented taste buds.

On supplies, my tissue products, detergents, and personal hygiene tonics are made by non-multinationals-local companies package cheaply, sell cheaper. A P10 tawas (alum), size of a tennis ball, keeps us in deodorant, skin disinfectant, astringent, antiseptic, insect repellent, insecticide. Put the tawas in a covered glass jar of water for two days. When the water is saturated with tawas element, pour the water in a spray bottle. (Refill the tawas jar with water for future use.) Post-shower, spray the tawas water all over your body, a few extra squirts under-arms and feet. Tawas is the deodorant ingredient in all expensive multinational anti-BO products. Spray in-between showers-refreshing. Teeth brushing potion is baking soda/salt wet with hint of mildest peroxide. A mouthful of healthy sparkling teeth at my age of 70!