黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Department of Agriculture (DA) is considering declaring a 鈥渇ood security emergency鈥� early next year as it scrambles to rein in the prices of rice, a key staple and a major driver of inflation.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told the Inquirer in a text message on Friday that he was scheduled to meet on Jan. 3 with key agencies under the DA, including the Bureau of Plant Industry and the National Food Authority (NFA), to assess the national rice situation.

鈥淎fter that, there will be an announcement,鈥� said Tiu Laurel, who broached the idea of declaring a food security emergency to drastically bring down rice prices.

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The DA is empowered under the amended rice tariffication law to make such a declaration to allow the release of buffer stocks from the NFA to stabilize the prices of rice, one of the biggest components of a Filipino household鈥檚 food basket.

Price manipulation, smuggling

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda expressed support for Tiu Laurel鈥檚 move, saying that the combination of measures, including cracking down on hoarders, could immediately bring down rice prices by as much as P6 a kilo.

He added that declaring a food security emergency was 鈥渨hat the Murang Pagkain Supercommittee has been asking the DA to do,鈥� referring to the House quinta committee formed to investigate alleged rice price manipulation and smuggling.

鈥淚 urge him to follow through as soon as possible. We should see a price reduction of at least P6 per kilo as a result of stricter enforcement against hoarding,鈥� said Salceda, who chairs both the House committee on ways and means and the quinta committee.

Brand labels removed

Meanwhile, the DA has also ordered removing imported rice brand labels as well as eliminating 鈥減remium鈥� and 鈥渟pecial鈥� labels on imported rice, believing that some industry players are using them 鈥渢o justify inflated prices.鈥�

Tiu Laurel threatened to withdraw import permits if traders would be found 鈥渦nwilling to follow our regulations,鈥� such as by removing these labels on imported rice.

鈥淚mporting rice is not a right but a privilege,鈥� he stressed.

The DA pointed out that prices of certain rice brands have remained high even though tariffs on imported rice had already been slashed to 15 percent until 2028 from 35 percent.

The DA has been able to sell well-milled rice under its Rice-for-All program at P40 a kilo.

But at the market, the DA鈥檚 monitoring showed that local well-milled rice retailed between P40 and P52 per kilo, albeit already lower from P40 to P56 per kilo last year.

Local regular milled rice, on the other hand, ranged from a low of P39 to a high of P48 per kilo as of Dec. 23, compared with P43 to P52 per kilo on Dec. 22 last year.

Imported regular milled rice was sold from P44 to P45 per kilo. This variety was not available around the same day a year ago.

Other DA steps

Imported well-milled rice was priced from P40 to P56 per kilo, from P58 per kilo last year.

According to Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, domestic retail prices 鈥渟hould have stabilized鈥� around P35 a kilo considering that the landed price of imported rice has already gone down by P11 a kilo year-on-year.

Instead, domestic retail prices have remained high, a clear sign of 鈥渁buse,鈥� said Quimbo, an economist and senior vice chair of the House committee on appropriations.

For the DA, rice prices can even be lowered; thus it is also considering allowing other government corporations, such as Food Terminal Inc., to import significant quantities of rice to directly compete with private importers.

The DA鈥檚 legal division will also determine whether provisions of the Consumer Price Act could be activated to deal with possible profiteering at the expense of ordinary Filipinos struggling to buy rice.

Tax audit of traders

Tiu Laurel likewise hinted at enlisting concerned government agencies, particularly the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), to audit the financial records of rice traders to ensure compliance with fair pricing practices.

The Department of Trade and Industry may also assist in monitoring rice prices in markets and groceries, Tiu Laurel added.

Salceda also reminded Tiu Laurel that he has asked the DA to look into warehouses and work with the Bureau of Customs to do post-clearance inspections of imported stocks.

鈥淲e need action from the DA sooner rather than later, so I hope the study process doesn鈥檛 last beyond a few days,鈥� he said.

In previous quinta committee hearings before Congress adjourned on Dec. 18, the panel members castigated rice importers and traders for allegedly colluding to manipulate rice prices despite tariff reductions, forcing consumers to shoulder the artificially inflated costs.

鈥楶ossible collusion鈥�

Agap Rep. Nicanor Briones noted that two major importers鈥擱BS Universal Grains Traders Corp. and Sodatrade Corp.鈥攖hat collectively imported 273,000 metric tons of rice had shared ownership, 鈥渋ndicating that there is possible collusion here.鈥�

According to the general information sheets of both companies, both have interlocking directorships: Corazon Barnuevo, Rosalie Barnuevo, Rosalyn Shimokawa and Bernard Barnuevo. RBS was incorporated in 2014, while Sodatrade was incorporated in 2015.

Salceda called on the BIR to look into the country鈥檚 top rice importers, which comprise 36 percent of the country鈥檚 total imports.

The Marcos administration is under intense pressure to address rice prices as inflation remains a top concern among Filipinos, and the perceived failure in controlling inflation has dragged down President Marcos鈥� approval ratings.