MANILA, Philippines — Progressive groups want President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held accountable for the 888 shipping vans, containing about 20 million kilograms of rice, that have been left unclaimed at the Manila port.
Bantay Bigas and Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women said reliance on importation and loosening of government control further contributed to the problem of hoarding and smuggling in the country.
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“Kung hindi nabunyag ang issue ng hoarding o pagkatengga ng bigas sa Manila port, posibleng maibibenta pa itong lumang bigas o aging rice sa mamamayang Pilipino,” Cathy Estavillo, Amihan Secretary-General, said in a statement on Monday, September 23.
(If the issue on hoarding or the stalled rice at the Manila port was not exposed, it is possible that the aging rice will still be sold to Filipinos)
On Thursday, September 19, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel urged the Philippine Ports Authority to “prioritize the movement of these rice stocks to help increase supply” on the unclaimed shipping vans.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa on Friday said said traders of the unclaimed containers may face charges as they want to wait for the retail price of rice to increase, hence boosting revenue further, “that’s not right, that can constitute hoarding.”
According to the Bureau of Customs, most shipments have been cleared for release and the remaining were in the process of being cleared. If left unclaimed for 30 days, the shipments will be declared abandoned.
“Dapat bantayan at magkaisa ang mamamayan para labanan ito dahil posibleng hindi na ito fit for human consumption. Sa lahat ng ito, walang ibang dapat managot kundi si Marcos dahil sa promotor siya ng Rice Liberalization Law, Executive Order No. 62 at iba pa,” Estavillo added.
(The Filipinos should unit and watch this to prevent the sale of aging rice as it could not be fit for human consumption. In all of these, no other individual should be held accountable but Marcos because he promoted the Rice Liberalization Law, Executive Order No. 62, among others)
EO 62 reduced tariffs on imported rice and other agricultural products from 35% to 15%. The order aims to reduce the market prices of rice.
“Dapat isulong ang lokal na produksyon dahil kailanma'y hindi ito sagot sa pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas,” she continued.
(We should push for the local production because rice importation is not the answer to the lower price of rice)
In 2023, the country was the world’s top rice importer with an estimated 3.8 million metric tons of imports supporting the 13.43 million metric tons of local production. —intern Marco Luis Beech