The past days have seen private warehouses being raided by police and agriculture authorities. The raids have yielded mountains of rice obtained from the National Food Authority. Some of the grains are being repacked to be passed off as premium commercial rice or else used to adulterate more expensive varieties. Other sacks of rice look like they are simply being hoarded to push prices up.
Filipinos complaining about the continuing increase in rice prices suspect that certain groups are creating an artificial shortage. With the recent raids, the possibility has been raised that certain NFA personnel might have colluded in hoarding the staple to manipulate prices. A raid in Marilao, Bulacan last week yielded 1,200 sacks of NFA rice.
It’s not the first time that anomalies are suspected in the NFA. The suspicions deserve to be pursued, and probers must make sure no one implicated in questionable acts will be spared. Everyone regardless of income suffers from unfair practices in rice trading.
While law enforcers continue to go after hoarders and profiteers, the government must intensify efforts to improve rice production. Last year President Aquino crowed that the country was expected to become a rice exporter by 2014. This didn’t materialize, and the President must look beyond the typhoon-devastated areas for the reasons. He must determine if there is some truth to speculation that efforts to attain rice self-sufficiency are being sabotaged by certain quarters that benefit from keeping the nation dependent on imported rice.
The continuing increase in rice prices should spur the administration to exert additional effort in making rice production more efficient. President Aquino now has two officials in charge of agricultural matters. The nation is waiting to see if two heads will prove better than one when it comes to food security.