Support PBBM in alleviating plight of Pinoy families

AMID allegations that hoarders are driving up the cost of rice in the market, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday led a team from the House of Representatives on a fact-finding mission and inspected large rice warehouses in Bulacan where they concluded that rice hoarding has been happening.

Upon invitation from Bureau of Customs Commissioner Bienvenido “Bien” Y. Rubio and as part of the exercise of the oversight powers of Congress, Speaker Romualdez joined in inspecting FS Rice Mill, San Pedro Warehouse, and Great Harvest Rice Meal Warehouse located in the boundaries of Bocaue and Balagtas towns in Bulacan.

“‘Yung karamihan ng [rice] suplay dito aabot na ng three months eh, technically that’s hoarding,” Speaker Romualdez, leader of the 311-member House of Representatives, told reporters in an ambush interview.

“Kasi pag ini-embudo mo, ‘pag hino-hoard mo tumataas. Greed ‘yan eh ‘di ba, gusto mo kumita,” he said. “Kaya nga nagpapasalamat tayo kay Commissioner Bien [Bienvenido Rubio] at saka ‘yung team niya galing sa Customs. Nandito naman tayo kung baga nag-pa-fact finding tayo at ocular inspections just to make sure that lahat ng napapasok na imported tama ang binayaran nilang buwis.”

“‘Yung assessment talaga natin, sapat na suplay lalo na ‘yung galing sa ibayong-dagat pero mataas na rin ‘yung presyo. Pero nakita din natin sapat na suplay pero medyo matagal na naho-hold. Dapat kung ano ‘yung pinasok, ilabas kagad, ibaba kaagad at reasonable price dahil masyadong mataas ngayon ang presyo,” he said, lamenting that some rice traders have been exploiting the international price adjustments to jack up rice prices in the local market.

“Maski ‘yung mga locally produced, hinohold back, mina-match nila ‘yung pricing sa international pricing [adjustments],” he said. “Kaya ‘yung gusto natin, ‘yung naging payo natin ilabas na nila, ibaba na kasi nakaka-awa na ‘yung taumbayan,” Speaker Romualdez said.

“At sa halip na itong magkaroon ng wet harvest, ilabas na at meron naman tayong mga outlet gaya ng kadiwa kung saan p’wede nating ibaba,” Speaker Romualdez said as he urged more traders to support the Kadiwa stores of the Marcos administration by selling their rice there to help the ordinary people.

“We call on our rice czar, si Usec. [Leocadio] Sebastian ng DA (Department of Agriculture). ‘Yun po ang hangarin po ng ating mahal na presidente, President Ferdinand R. Marcos na ibaba natin ‘yung presyo. Let us follow his policy so we are calling on Usec. Sebastian, siya ang in-charge sa rice. Iyung ginagawa natin, sana tutukan talaga ‘yung sapat na suplay at ibaba kaagad ang presyo,” he said.

Accompanying the Speaker was Reps. Erwin Tulfo, Edvic Yap and Wilfrido Mark Enverga, the chair of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food. Also, they were joined by officials and employees of the BoC. Later, the BoC armed with letters of authority barred the owners of the Great Harvest Rice Mill Warehouse, the San Pedro Warehouse, and the FS Rice Mill from retrieving the goods pending submission of the required documents on their rice importation. “Rice hoarding is economic sabotage in its highest degree. It not only destabilizes prices in the market through arbitrary manipulation, but it also adversely affects the ability of Filipino families to cope with day-to-day living. And for that, hoarders should be applied the full force of the law,” Enverga said.

“And this is in support of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Romualdez Marcos Jr.’s efforts in alleviating the plight of Filipino families now reeling from the high cost of rice. We want our citizens to know that their government is doing something to bring down the price of rice,” Tulfo for his part said. For the past few weeks, the price of rice has been steadily rising with retailers selling at P50 to P62 per kilogram in Metro Manila. If left unaddressed, it is projected to reach P60 to P65 in the coming days.

“We need to know if there is truly some basis to accusations that hoarders are responsible for the spike of rice prices in the market. Inspections such as these send a powerful signal to all the hoarders and manipulators out there to stop burdening the Filipino people for profit,” Speaker Romualdez, the highest-ranking House leader from First District of Leyte, said.

“Aside from our oversight functions under the law, we are also doing this in aid of legislation, as we have pending measures in the House of Representatives that seek to penalize the act of hoarding rice and other basic agricultural necessities,” Speaker Romualdez said. Reps. LRay Villafuerte, Brian Yamsuan and Wilbert Lee all filed bills seeking to strengthen anti-agricultural smuggling laws and stiffer penalties for hoarders, price manipulators and even government officials involved in the crime.

The Speaker is set to inspect more rice warehouses. Romualdez explained that the country is entering the so-called “lean months” in terms of rice harvests, and this is the time when hoarders and price manipulators take advantage and withhold the rice supply in their possession from the market to increase the costs.

“Ang masama pa rito, ang mahihirap na taong-bayan ang pinaparusahan nyo. These are the people who make ends meet for their families. This is why rice hoarding is unforgivable,” he expressed.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco