By Hannah Torregoza and Vanne Elaine Terrazola
A price cap on the price of rice should be put in place to prevent importers and traders from taking advantage of the rice shortage in some parts of the country.
Senator Cynthia Villar
(Senate of the Philippines via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero issued the call Friday, urging the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to immediately impose a price ceiling on rice as some consumers are already reeling at its price that have shot to as much as P70 to P80 per kilo in some provinces in Mindanao. “It is overpriced by P4 to P13, and up to P28 to P38 in Zamboanga City, per kilo and importers/traders are making a killing at the expense of our people and economy,” Escudero said. Economic sabotage While Escudero calls for a price ceiling, Senator Cynthia Villarrejected the proposal of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to legalize legalize the operations of rice smugglers in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi (Zambasulta), saying it runs counter to the law against the illegal importation of the staple food. Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the planned legalization of rice smuggling in Mindanao could be considered “economic sabotage” under the Republic Act No. 10845. “We passed the Large-scale Agricultral Smuggling Law that will declare any smuggled rice more than P10 million as economic sabotage and non-bailable,”Villar said in an interview at the 14th Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum and Product Exhibition Thursday. “We cannot say we have to legalize rice smuggling, it's against the law,” stressed. Piñol has reportedly suggested making the supposed smugglers legitimate by imposing tariffs on their rice exports. For him, this will curb rice smuggling activities in the southern part of the country. But Villar, who earlier suggested giving away smuggled rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution during calamities, said the government should adhere to the RA 10845. “We should be strict to that, otherwise we will encourage smugglers to continue their work," she said. Probe smuggling Escudero has likewise asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look at the probable violations of some traders under Republic Act No. 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016. The law mandates the government to protect the agriculture sector, especially the farmers, from “traders and importers, who by their illegal importation of agriculture products, especially rice, significantly affect the production, availability of supply and stability of prices, and the food security of the State.” “I also urge the DOJ/NBI to look into possible violations of R.A. No. 10845, specifically Section 3 thereof on ‘economic sabotage’ committed by some unscrupulous importers/traders,” he said. “We cannot allow this situation to subsist and go unchecked,” the senator from Bicol reiterated. Like Villar, Escuderopointed out that the law defines the crime of large-scale agricultural smuggling “as economic sabotage, involving sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in its raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation or preservation for the market, with a minimum amount of one million pesos (P1,000,000.00), or rice, with a minimum amount of ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) as valued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).” According to the law, Escudero said this can be committed through importation without and/or using fictitious or fraudulent import permits, as well as transporting or storing the agricultural products subject to economic sabotage regardless of quantity, to name a few. Escudero also slammed the “undeniable undervaluation” in most import documents for rice, which clearly violates Section 3 of R.A. No. 10845. “And yet sell it to the market overpriced. This is not only illegal, it’s downright avaricious and immoral!”Escudero stressed. More importation With no end in sight for the rice crisis, Malacañang announced that the National Food Authority (NFA) Council has allowed local rice traders to import more rice to augment the country's stock and bring down prices. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the NFA council has authorized the private sector-led importation of rice "beyond the Minimum Access Volume" (MAV) regime. “Because this is minimum, we can raise our importation.And because of the recent events and in an effort to bring down rice prices, the NFA Council has allowed the private sector to import rice beyond the Minimum Access Volume for 2018,” he said during a Palace press briefing. “The MAV allocation for 2018 has been bidded out. But the point is we can raise the rice importation volume,” he said. Review NFA policy Meanwhile, Senator Nancy Binay urged Malacañang to review the NFA’s existing policy of buying rice from local farmers. Binay made the call as farm-gate prices of unmilled rice continue to rise. “It’s already September and its harvest time. By practice, NFA is supposed to buy palay from our local farmers and producers,” Binay pointed out. “But with farm gate prices at P23 per kilo average, NFA cannot move because they are only allowed to buy rice that costs between P17 and P20 per kilo,” the senator said. Last April, the NFA requested to the NFA Council that they be allowed to buy palay at P25/kilo but Malacanang gave them a ceiling of P20. “NFA is the ready-buyer of our local farmers but they cannot do anything because the NFA Council set a lower buying price for them,” she said. “Let’s not forget that we also need to help out farmers and our small rice producers,” added Binay. “Even if the rice importation has been liberalized, we should not allow the big traders to dictate the price of rice,” she reiterated. Binay said the Palace should now intervene and push the NFA Council to be sensitive enough in helping local farmers while striking a balance between importing rice and buying locally. Earlier, the Zamboanga City government was forced to declare the city under state of calamity due to rice shortage, pushing prices to go as high as P50 to P70 per kilo. (With a report from Genalyn Kabiling)
Senator Cynthia Villar(Senate of the Philippines via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero issued the call Friday, urging the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to immediately impose a price ceiling on rice as some consumers are already reeling at its price that have shot to as much as P70 to P80 per kilo in some provinces in Mindanao. “It is overpriced by P4 to P13, and up to P28 to P38 in Zamboanga City, per kilo and importers/traders are making a killing at the expense of our people and economy,” Escudero said. Economic sabotage While Escudero calls for a price ceiling, Senator Cynthia Villarrejected the proposal of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to legalize legalize the operations of rice smugglers in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi (Zambasulta), saying it runs counter to the law against the illegal importation of the staple food. Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the planned legalization of rice smuggling in Mindanao could be considered “economic sabotage” under the Republic Act No. 10845. “We passed the Large-scale Agricultral Smuggling Law that will declare any smuggled rice more than P10 million as economic sabotage and non-bailable,”Villar said in an interview at the 14th Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum and Product Exhibition Thursday. “We cannot say we have to legalize rice smuggling, it's against the law,” stressed. Piñol has reportedly suggested making the supposed smugglers legitimate by imposing tariffs on their rice exports. For him, this will curb rice smuggling activities in the southern part of the country. But Villar, who earlier suggested giving away smuggled rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution during calamities, said the government should adhere to the RA 10845. “We should be strict to that, otherwise we will encourage smugglers to continue their work," she said. Probe smuggling Escudero has likewise asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look at the probable violations of some traders under Republic Act No. 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016. The law mandates the government to protect the agriculture sector, especially the farmers, from “traders and importers, who by their illegal importation of agriculture products, especially rice, significantly affect the production, availability of supply and stability of prices, and the food security of the State.” “I also urge the DOJ/NBI to look into possible violations of R.A. No. 10845, specifically Section 3 thereof on ‘economic sabotage’ committed by some unscrupulous importers/traders,” he said. “We cannot allow this situation to subsist and go unchecked,” the senator from Bicol reiterated. Like Villar, Escuderopointed out that the law defines the crime of large-scale agricultural smuggling “as economic sabotage, involving sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in its raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation or preservation for the market, with a minimum amount of one million pesos (P1,000,000.00), or rice, with a minimum amount of ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) as valued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).” According to the law, Escudero said this can be committed through importation without and/or using fictitious or fraudulent import permits, as well as transporting or storing the agricultural products subject to economic sabotage regardless of quantity, to name a few. Escudero also slammed the “undeniable undervaluation” in most import documents for rice, which clearly violates Section 3 of R.A. No. 10845. “And yet sell it to the market overpriced. This is not only illegal, it’s downright avaricious and immoral!”Escudero stressed. More importation With no end in sight for the rice crisis, Malacañang announced that the National Food Authority (NFA) Council has allowed local rice traders to import more rice to augment the country's stock and bring down prices. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the NFA council has authorized the private sector-led importation of rice "beyond the Minimum Access Volume" (MAV) regime. “Because this is minimum, we can raise our importation.And because of the recent events and in an effort to bring down rice prices, the NFA Council has allowed the private sector to import rice beyond the Minimum Access Volume for 2018,” he said during a Palace press briefing. “The MAV allocation for 2018 has been bidded out. But the point is we can raise the rice importation volume,” he said. Review NFA policy Meanwhile, Senator Nancy Binay urged Malacañang to review the NFA’s existing policy of buying rice from local farmers. Binay made the call as farm-gate prices of unmilled rice continue to rise. “It’s already September and its harvest time. By practice, NFA is supposed to buy palay from our local farmers and producers,” Binay pointed out. “But with farm gate prices at P23 per kilo average, NFA cannot move because they are only allowed to buy rice that costs between P17 and P20 per kilo,” the senator said. Last April, the NFA requested to the NFA Council that they be allowed to buy palay at P25/kilo but Malacanang gave them a ceiling of P20. “NFA is the ready-buyer of our local farmers but they cannot do anything because the NFA Council set a lower buying price for them,” she said. “Let’s not forget that we also need to help out farmers and our small rice producers,” added Binay. “Even if the rice importation has been liberalized, we should not allow the big traders to dictate the price of rice,” she reiterated. Binay said the Palace should now intervene and push the NFA Council to be sensitive enough in helping local farmers while striking a balance between importing rice and buying locally. Earlier, the Zamboanga City government was forced to declare the city under state of calamity due to rice shortage, pushing prices to go as high as P50 to P70 per kilo. (With a report from Genalyn Kabiling)