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Robredo doubts warehouse raids will solve hoarding by rice traders

Robredo doubts warehouse raids will solve hoarding by rice traders

By AJ Siytangco

By Raymund Antonio Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo doubts whether or not the military and police raids on warehouses would work as part of the emergency measures to address the rice shortage in the country.

Vice President Leni Robredo (Kevin Tristan Espiritu / MANILA BULLETIN)

Vice President Leni Robredo
(Kevin Tristan Espiritu / MANILA BULLETIN) “Unang una, iyong pag-raid, siguro dapat hindi na ina-announce, ‘di ba? (First of all, the raid should not be announced, right?)” Robredo said in jest. Robredo said Duterte should have acted firmly on rice traders engaged in illegal practices to prove the existence of an artificial shortage on Filipinos’ staple food. “Sunod, dapat ginawa ito yesterday. Kung naaalala natin, even during the (President’s) SONA (State of the Nation Address), mayroon ng ganitong warning (Then it was supposedly done yesterday. If we remember during the SONA, there was the same warning),” she said. “Parang madali lang kasing mag-speculate, pero malalaman natin kung totoong nangyayari ito kapag may nasampahan — kapag may nahuli at nasampahan na ng reklamo (It seems easy to speculate, but we would know if this is indeed true if someone gets arrested and charged),” said Robredo. The Vice President is not convinced the deployment of military and police to raid warehouses that store hoarded rice would be an effective measure in solving the rice crisis.

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