Rice hoarders, profiteers should be imprisoned — lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — A congressman yesterday filed a bill which seeks to penalize the act of hoarding, profiteering, and engaging in cartel operations and price manipulation of rice.

Rep. Manuel Lopez, author of House Bill 7417, or the Rice Security and Stability Act of 2018, wants to put an end to the finger-pointing when there is a looming rice shortage. 

“The passage of this measure seeks to identify the responsibility and accountability of  individuals and businesses who are found guilty of committing any of the prohibited acts inimical to the interests of Filipinos, most specially the poor,” he said.

The bill qualifies hoarding as the undue accumulation by a person or combination of persons or corporate entities of rice beyond the normal inventory levels and profiteering refers to the sale or offering for sale of rice at a price grossly in excess of its market value.

The measure also defines cartel as “a combination of or agreement between two or more persons or corporate entities engaged in the production, manufacture, processing, storage and unreasonably increase or manipulate its price.” 

The bill defines price manipulation as any act committed by any person, persons, entity, or entities engaged in the production, manufacture, importation and other similar activities which seeks to control and influence the price of rice at any given time.

Under the bill, a fine of P50 million and imprisonment for a period of not less than six years, but not exceeding 12 years shall be imposed on any person who commits any of the prohibited acts.

Earlier, Lopez filed a resolution seeking to investigate the existence of  a rice shortage and cartel in Metro Manila.

Lopez claimed that the firms were hoarding rice purchased from the National Food Authority and mixed the same with other rice types so they could resell it as commercial rice for a much higher price. This practice leads to the disappearance of the highly affordable NFA rice from the market. Because the NFA has no affordable rice to sell to the people, the consumers are left with no choice but to buy the rice at highly bloated prices from these same traders.

At the House inquiry on the rice shortage issue, Lopez revealed the names of 13 companies allegedly controlling prices of rice in the capital region.