MANILA, Philippines — One of the most memorable political statements of the 1986 Snap Election campaign was populist opposition candidate Cory Aquino’s lament that: “Ang galunggong po ay dose pesos na ang isang kilo. Sobra na, tama na, palitan na.”

She was, of course, referring to the varieties of fish (mackerel and scad) collectively called galunggong and very popular with the poor. The grey, almost ugly fish, was at the time lovingly nicknamed Gigi by the masses, with no inference to the Leslie Caron movie character immortalized in song by legendary actor Maurice Chevalier.

In 1986, Gigi’s price of P12/kilo was equivalent to 80 US cents at the prevailing bank rate (P14=$1), a far cry from today’s market price of P120-P140 per kilo, or $3.25 (computed at P43=$1). Galunggong’s price was made a major political issue because then, as now, galunggong and rice are two of the major economic indicators that affect the Philippines’ political and social scenarios.

In 1986, the country was producing enough rice to officially announce that it had become a net rice exporter. A bountiful rice harvest had even allowed a government-subsidized retail price of P2 per kilo at Kadiwa and NGA outlets.

The Philippines, now rated as the world’s biggest rice importer, is reportedly expecting to import 1.5 million metric tons of rice this year.

FROM GIGI TO JAPAYUKI — Fast forward to 2012. Filipino indigents are eating imported galunggong, now nicknamed Japayuki after the foreign language characters on their frozen paper cartons.

Legislators, government officials and analysts are surprised to learn that galunggong and other fish imported from neighboring North Asian countries are flooding Philippine wet markets. They seem unaware that imported fish varieties (including bangus from Taiwan) have been beating local harvests at palengkes and supermarkets for at least 15 years.

Filipino consumers patronize these imports; they do not care where the fish are coming from or how they got here, as long as they’re cheaper and readily available. Officials should put themselves in the shoes of housewives and mothers, understand the situation fully and come up with realistic solutions that will benefit the most number of people.

In the meantime, fishing bans (for tuna and tamban) instigated by conservation rules contribute to the reduction of fish supplies for both the wet markets and the canning industry, increasing the price of canned sardines and fish, fresh or frozen.

LESS RICE — The biggest sacrifice for most Pinoys is to give up rice for even one of the day’s three meals. This explains the failure of all government attempts to convince the population to reduce rice consumption either by mixing ground corn with steamed rice or eliminating rice completely in at least one meal daily.

A recent check with several poverty-stricken communities reveals economic difficulties are forcing many Pinoy families to voluntarily  skip eating rice at least once a day. They find that breakfast is the meal that is easiest to adapt to a rice-less menu. Instead of kanin-at-ulam (rice with a viand), breakfasts now offer pancakes, banana fritters (maruya) and camote fritters.

Pancakes are easy to make and cost much less than rice with viand. A couple of cups of flour and an egg are the basic ingredients. Baking powder, milk and sugar can come either from the pantry or bought retail.

Many, originally daunted by the very thought of making fritters, have discovered that it is actually much easier to cook fritters than fried fish or chicken. All it takes is adding sliced or chopped bananas (or camote) to a flour-based batter, and dropping the mixture by the spoonful to hot oil. A sprinkling of regular or powdered sugar completes the presentation upon serving.

For inexpensive, nutritious and fiber-rich breakfasts and snacks, other choices are:  boiled half-ripe saba bananas, camote and gabi; they can also be fried as a morning or afternoon snack.

In many parts of Mindanao, rice is actually not a part of breakfast; grated cassava is the morning staple, served In many forms and guises. My favorite is Pyuto, which I first encountered on Siasi Island, the birthplace of my late friend Nelly Sindayen of Time Magazine.  Peeled grated cassava (kamoteng kahoy in Tagalog) is squeezed dry and cooked briefly in a specially designed metal steamer, then served with sugar and/or freshly grated mature coconut. Just like rice, Pyuto leftovers are set aside to be served stir-fried the next day, when they are called Shanglag. Unlike Sinangag (fried leftover rice), Shanglag is cooked without any oil or seasonings. Flavorings are added at the table by the diners themselves.

MAKING DO WITH LESS LPG — According to my receipts, I paid P700 (including delivery) for an 11-kilotank of LPG a year ago. Last month, the price had gone up to P740, a price expected to increase by P66-P77 on my next order.  I will have to make slight budget adjustments, but many housewives may have to go several days without LPG gas stoves for several days until they get together enough cash for a tank of cooking gas.

An easy alternative would be inexpensive clay or concrete stoves fueled by wood or charcoal, which can be used as a primary alternate stove or to supplement the gas stove, particularly when stewing or boiling tough meat cuts. A favorite fuel is coconut shells from vendors who grate mature coconut (niyog); these are sold much cheaper than charcoal. They burn hot and fast, smelling of sweet coconut meat clinging to the shells. However, they should only be used when cooking outdoors.

Using thick metal pots also reduces the amount of fuel needed when cooking stews, as a very low flame is enough to maintain a desirable simmer.