WE TAKE IT BACK: We didn’t expect that casual comment of ours about Mexican mangoes being sold in the US as “Manila” mangoes, and our own Guimaras mangoes finally finding their way to that restricted market, would stir quite a discussion among our readers.

A number of readers, including a Filipina long residing in Mexico, took exception to our remark that it was misrepresentation for Mexican mangoes being sold in the US to have been labeled as “Manila” mangoes.

Enlightened by our readers’ mail quoted below, and somewhat chastised, we take back our remarks about Mexican mangoes.

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JUST A VARIETY LABEL: “As a Filipina living in Mexico,” our unnamed correspondent said, “I wish to let you know that mangoes sold in Mexican supermarkets are usually labeled ‘mango manila,’ ‘mango paraiso,’ ‘mango ataulfo,’ et cetera. My Mexican friends tell me that the label indicates the variety and not the place where they are grown (just like the Indian mangoes grown and sold in the Philippines). I presume that the mangoes in the US that you referred to were Mexican-grown mangoes of the Manila variety.”

Reader Jose Colayco Jr. of Arcadia, California, also said the mangoes’ “Manila” tag was not misrepresentation. He recalled his conversations in 1991 with an executive of a major multinational firm who had grown up in Mexico:

“I thought I was impressing him with the unique quality of our mangoes. And he politely praised them, then informed me that growing up in Mexico, he regularly ate ‘mangos de Manila’ that grew and were extensively sold in their region. The discussion naturally shifted to the Galleon Trade and the possible source of the ‘mangos de Manila’ trees in Mexico. We can infer that like in the Philippines, there are several varieties in Mexico, and ‘Manila mangoes’ are among them.

“Some years later, I started to see and buy ‘Manila mangoes’ in Filipino and other Asian food markets in the Los Angeles area. I have yet to see a Guimaras mango, and I hope they produce enough to meet the undoubtedly huge demand. Even at over a dollar apiece retail, every single one of them will be sold very quickly.”

Boots Siojo using an aol (American OnLine) address said “You are a little bit misinformed. They call those Mexican Manila mangoes only for marketing reasons. They sell them at Filipino oriental stores. That’s all there is to it. They don’t claim that they are from Manila. It does create some confusion among some simple-minded kababayan. When they see ‘Manila,’ they think that they are from Manila. They are properly marked as Atulfo variety, a type of Mexican mango among maybe eight varieties grown and shipped from Mexico. Guimaras mangoes? Cannot find them here.”

But reader Teddy Paner said in his email from the West Coast: “I have seen those mangoes that you talked about (Postscript, 30Jun02). They’re sold as ‘Manila Mangoes’ or ‘Champagne Mangoes,’ and we know they are produced in Mexico. You can find them in any Asian market, and sometimes you find them in regular supermarkets as well. They are less expensive since they don’t have to come from across the Pacific.”

Rod Corda of Cerritos, California, reported: “Yesterday, I bought a 20-pc. case of Guimaras mangoes for $40 in the Filipino market in Los Angeles. Fruits, vegetables, meats are tax-free. Ibang-iba pa rin ang manggang Pilipino sa sarap. I ate seven pieces in one sitting.”

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R&D CAN HELP: What else can we add except another ego-boosting remark that we pity foreigners who never get to taste luscious golden Philippine mangoes. They should also savor our green, but almost ripe, mangoes dipped in bagoong!

Our mangoes have comparatively thinner skin. That, plus time and distance, may pose some problems as the precious fruits are transported all the way across the Pacific to the US. Here’s where R&D (research and development) should come in to improve our mangoes’ chance in the world market.

Our new mango exports may have scored with strict US quarantine authorities because they come from the island of Guimaras that is physically isolated and, hence, easier to protect from pests and such.

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WHERE’S THE CARGO?: There is a sidebar to the recent abduction in Sulu waters of about half a dozen crew of an Indonesian tugboat. They were on their way to deliver another shipment of coal, a costly and dirty fuel, to the country.

There was no account of what happened to the cargo. Was it delivered to the consignee here, shipped back, or held by the pirates/bandits till ransom was paid for it?

The kidnapping of the Indonesians created a diplomatic stir and yet another international embarrassment for the country -­ the perpetrators were believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf or some other Muslim terrorist gang operating in the South.

In any case, the incident confirmed that for all the big talk about the Clean Air Act, the Green Movement, and other environmental initiatives, we’re still importing dirty, toxic and overpriced fuel for our antiquated plants.

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KILLER BLACK SMOKE: The country has been importing anywhere from P8 billion to P10 billion worth of coal every year to run old generating plants, since the PNOC Coal Corp. was collapsed and downgraded from a producer to a mere trading firm.

If coal miners contract the Black Lung Disease while handling inert ore in deep caves and tunnels, can you imagine the health hazards to entire communities inhaling emissions from coal-fired power plants?

Consider the long-term deleterious effects of fumes from burning coal on the fragile ecology of the country. These dirty, inefficient plants have been known to cause asthma and other respiratory diseases and produce a form of black rain that harms vegetation and poisons the soil.

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TOWARD CLEANER FUELS: Investment and environmental experts agree on the urgent need to convert to cleaner-burning fuels to run industries and light up homes.

The Economist, a respected internationally circulated, London-based financial magazine said in its July 6 issue: “The needlessly dirty, unhealthy, and inefficient way in which we use energy is the biggest source of environmental fouling. That is why it makes sense to start a slow shift away from today’s filthy use of fossil fuels towards a cleaner, low-carbon future.”

The Economist article titled “Environment enemy No. 1” cites three reasons for such an energy revolution: Easier resolution of other energy concerns; Climate change; and Human health.

“In poor countries, where inefficient power stations, sooty coal boilers, and bad ventilation are the norm, air pollution is one of the leading preventable causes of death. It affects some of rich world, too. From Athens to Beijing, the impact of fine particles released by the combustion of fossil fuels, and especially coal, is among today’s biggest public-health concerns,” noted the article.

The Economist warned that the dream of cleaner energy would never be realized as long as the balance is tilted toward dirty technologies.

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WHO GETS COMMISSION?: “For a start, governments must scrap perverse subsidies that actually encourage the consumption of fossils fuels,” the Economist said, pointing out that many poor countries like the Philippines subsidize electricity heavily in the name of helping poor people, but rich farmers and urban elites then get to guzzle cheap (mostly coal-based) power.

“A final and most crucial step is proper pricing of energy.

“At the moment, the harm done to human health and the environment from burning fossil fuels is not reflected in the price of those fuels, especially coal, in most countries,” the magazine said. “There is no perfect way to do this, but one good idea is for governments to impose a tax based on carbon emissions. Such a tax could be introduced gradually, with revenues raised returned as reduction in, say, labor taxes.”

Since we have excess capacity, why don’t we phase out the sooty coal-fired plants and concentrate on the cleaner and more efficient ones?

The local industry talk, btw, is that the National Power Corp. holds an exclusive contract for coal-fired power plants to buy the fossil fuel imported for them by Napocor. It would be interesting to find out who gets the fat commission for the massive importation of dirty fuel.