DILG, PNP ready to raid warehouses of rice hoarders

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine National Police (PNP) are prepared to raid the warehouses of rice hoarders amid skyrocketing prices of the staple.

But DILG spokesman Jonathan Malaya yesterday clarified that President Duterte has yet to issue a directive on the conduct of the actual raids.

“The President has not yet ordered the DILG and PNP to make raids. He simply said he would not hesitate to exercise his powers as chief executive should an artificial rice shortage prevail,” Malaya told The STAR. 

“Do not force me to resort to emergency measures,” Duterte said, adding that he will not allow Filipinos to go hungry.

As this developed, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Food Authority (NFA) conducted surprise rice inventories Monday on at least 16 private rice mills at Golden City Industrial Estate in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Senior Supt. Chito Bersaluna, acting Bulacan police director, has confirmed the inspections conducted by NBI and NFA personnel.

Ed Camua, assistant provincial NFA manager, told The STAR that the stocks in the following rice mills were inventoried: Mutya; Romared 1; DA Masangkay; Great Harvest; Angelou; GoldRush 2; ARRC; CEM; RMT; FLB; Multirich Grain; MarkGel; STARR V; Arvy; Maunlad and TTL 3.

Camua noted that all the facilities have the necessary documents to operate and transact business. But the stocks of rice and palay were below normal, Camua said.

He added that the NFA will continue to conduct inventories on all rice mills and warehouses in the Bocaue-Balagtas industrial estates, considered as among the major rice trading centers of the country.

Support for NFA

Meanwhile, the Grains Retailers Association of Bulacan, headed by Emmanuel Jacinto, and Bulacan Provincial Farmers Action Council, headed by Anselmo Sanchez, manifested Monday their support for embattled NFA administrator Jason Aquino.

Jacinto and Sanchez pointed out that the issues hounding the NFA were beyond Aquino’s control.

They claimed that these problems, which have caused spiraling prices of rice, included the disapproval of the NFA Council to raise the government’s support to farmers from P17 to P22 a kilo for the staple.

Jacinto and Sanchez added that the council’s objection to import rice in October last year also contributed to the increase.

Jacinto explained to The STAR that farmers have opted to sell their produce to commercial palay traders rather than the NFA because the agency paid less.

Paolo Cruz, an employee and representative of NFA-Bulacan in inter-agency meetings, said abolishing the government agency is not the solution to the spiraling prices of commercial rice.

Cruz claimed that abolishing the NFA would make rice a commodity that the government has no control over.  – With Ramon Efren Lazaro