(MANILA BULLETIN)

The Department of Agriculture's (DA) foremost rice industry expert doesn't think there's a rice "cartel" in the Philippines. 

Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. asked DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian point blank duing the agency’s budget hearing Tuesday, Aug. 22, on whether or not there's a rice cartel in the country. 

"Do you believe there's a cartel?" Abante said. 

"Mr. Chair, the rice industry is very big in the country, it's a big industry," Sebastian said, as he tried to beat around the bush.

"Don't answer me that," the veteran solon said as he cut off the DA official. "I'm asking if you believe there's a rice cartel." 

"I don't believe Mr. Chair, [that] there's a rice cartel," answered Sebastian. 

Abante, who is a pastor, couldn't believe his ears when he heard this. 

"The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) believes there's a rice cartel. In the city of Manila, we believe there's a rice cartel. This is my first time--it's my first time that you answered there is no rice cartel," he said. 

To this, Sebastian gave a response so rambling that the former House Minority Leader just decided to move on to another point. 

"We are working on clustering our rice farmers Mr. Chair, and we are also looking at the value chain," Sebastian said. 

"So for example Mr. Chair, the way we are distributing our seeds and our fertilizers, we are converging, working with NIA (National Irrigation Administration)...so that we converge our interventions on those irrigators associations, clusters or farmers cooperatives or associations so that the farmers can also have a choice of what they want, what fertilizers they want to procure, what seeds they want to plant, what inputs they want to use," he said. 

A cartel is a group whose members act in collusion to control the price of a certain commodity. 

Earlier in the budget hearing, Abante reminded the DA officials that their head honcho was no less than President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. As such, they should also be careful of their actions. 

"Let me remind our DA family that the secretary of the DA is the President himself. And any mistake that you do will affect the President. It will go to the President. 

"Therefore, in all the agencies in government, the DA is the most important agency in government today because we are concerned about food security," Abante said.

The DA budget hearing took place amid steadily rising prices of rice, the country’s staple grain.