‘Gloria’ goods being diverted to black market?

MALOLOS, Bulacan — Instead of servicing the poorest of the poor in this province, some rolling stores of the National Food Authority (NFA), also known as Tindahan ni Gloria Labandera, are allegedly diverting their goods to the black market.

Sources told The STAR that some rolling stores are being seen diverting their merchandise to the black market and several rice mills in this province, instead of bringing them to far-flung barangays and depressed areas.

One of the sources said personnel of some rolling stores have been sighted unloading sacks of rice in the towns of Sta Maria and Bocaue, where some 100 rice mills are found.

The source said the NFA rice is "re-sacked" and sold to consumers at a higher price, usually at P18 to P20 per kilo, when it is only sold at P14 per kilo, regardless of variety, at the rolling stores.

Private partners

Mario Gonzales, NFA provincial manager based in this capital town, said the reports "might be true" since most of the partners of the rolling stores are private traders.

"Some traders, usually from Metro Manila, resort to diverting their goods to the black market because their sales are slackening," he said.

"We only allow each rolling store 70 sacks of rice per order, but the reason they don’t sell is that the people in the places they go to are earning their wages on a daily basis. If a rolling store visits a place in the morning and the consumers earn their pay in the afternoon, (the stores) would not really be able to sell their stocks," Gonzales said.

"If you are a rolling store operator, will you let your investment sleep for a few days before you sell your stocks?" he asked.

He said the NFA sells rice to rolling store partners at P13 per kilo. In the black market, it is being sold at P16 per kilo and sold at P18 to P20 per kilo.

Gonzales added that they find it hard to monitor the activities of the rolling stores since they are mobile, moving from one place to another.

The NFA provincial office has 31 accredited rolling stores owned by private partners, and two NFA-owned ones.

Gonzales said he has issued a memorandum to all rolling store partners to strictly comply with the provisions of their memoranda of agreement with the NFA.

He said violations such as diversion of allocated rice and other commodities, unreasonable depletion of stocks, overpricing and non-selling of commodities to designated areas will be meted stiff penalties or sanctions.