‘NFA abetting smuggling of rice’

MANILA, Philippines - The National Food Authority (NFA) appears to be abetting rice smuggling owing to its suspicious actions in facilitating the importation of rice from Vietnam last year, according to Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

He cited reports of the P825.4 million worth of rice imported from Vietnam that was allegedly overpriced.

Romualdez said some 205,700 metric tons of Vietnamese rice imported in April last year were allegedly overpriced by $34 per MT. The cost of another 500,000 MT imported in November was supposedly jacked up by $23.69 per MT.

He said multiplying $34 by 205,700 MT is equal to $6,993,800, or P304,230,300 at the exchange rate of P43.50 to $1 at the time. For the November importation, $23.69 multiplied by 500,000 metric tons is equal to $11,845,000 or P521,169,700.

“Making the transactions more suspicious is, according to the Bureau of Customs director for collection services, the importations arrived more than 30 days before the importation documents were submitted by the NFA to the Bureau of Customs,” Romualdez said.

He said the NFA also issued import permits to private individuals and entities.

“Who are they? How much duties and fees did they pay? How much were their allocations for the years 2012 and 2013?” the lawmaker said.

He said the House would summon Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala to explain why the NFA has failed to control the smuggling of rice.

Former Customs commissioner Rufino Biazon yesterday lamented that the problem of rice smuggling has been going on even before he joined the bureau and the irregularity would continue if reforms were not initiated.

Biazon, who headed the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from Sept. 14, 2011 until Dec. 9 last year, reacted to news reports that the agency’s new deputy commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG) Agaton Teodoro Uvero said that based on anecdotal evidence 50,000 tons of rice were smuggled every week last year.

Biazon said that during his stint at the BOC they apprehended thousands of shipping containers loaded with smuggled rice.

He was also not remiss in his reminders to BOC port collectors to prioritize operations against smuggled rice.

“There is no denying, however, that it is a continuing war that Customs is fighting. It’s been going on even before my time and may continue to go on even after this administration if there are no reforms and changes in the system,” said Biazon.

He recalled that during his two years and three months with the bureau, he pushed for the implementation of the Containerized Cargo Clearance (CCC), which is similar to the pre-shipment inspection. With Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez