Customs agents and lawmakers led by Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday raided four warehouses in Bulacan province that yielded P519 million worth of rice grains and “palay.”
The raid, the second in one week, was part of government efforts to crack down on smuggling and hoarding of the staple grain.
Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the inspection resulted in the discovery of 154,000 sacks of imported rice grains and 60,000 sacks of “palay” or unhusked rice in warehouses in Wakas, Bocaue, and San Juan, Balagtas.
Romualdez said unscrupulous traders deserve to be jailed for inflicting what he described as a “heinous crime” against the poor by keeping this Filipino food staple out of reach through price manipulation.
“Rice hoarding is a heinous crime because it victimizes poor families who barely have enough money to put food on the table and pay for everything else that will uplift their quality of life. Hoarders profit from the misery of others, and for that they deserve to be in jail,” the Speaker said.
Romualdez warned rice traders and importers to immediately release their supply to the market at fair prices or face possible confiscation of their rice stocks as well as prosecution in accordance with the law.
“Rice found to be smuggled or hoarded should be forfeited in favor of the government, in favor of the people’s interest, for distribution or sale at a very low price,” he said.
As in an earlier inspection, Romualdez was joined by Reps. Erwin Tulfo, Wifrido Mark Enverga and Ambrosio Cruz Jr. to observe upon Rubio’s invitation.
At the same time, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) proposed three-year food logistics action agenda aimed at ensuring food availability, accessibility and affordability.
A Palace spokesperson said the agenda includes six key strategies: revolutionizing the food distribution system; reducing transport and logistic costs; increasing investments in logistics infrastructure on transportation and storage; addressing other supply chain gaps; heightening measures against hoarding and smuggling; and monitoring warehouses or cold storage facilities.
The 154,000 sacks of imported rice grains came from Vietnam and Pakistan and have an estimated value of P431 million, while the 60,000 sacks of palay are valued at P88 million.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), we had a sectoral meeting with the President, who gave a clear directive about how we can help stop the rising cost of rice in the market. So, this is our answer to that order,” Rubio said.
“We have just discovered four warehouses storing rice grains and palay, and if the owners of these warehouses fail to show proper documents that they rightfully paid the taxes and duties they owe to the government, then we will take immediate legal action and confiscate the items here,” he added.
When the team arrived, they found the representatives of the warehouses and presented them the letters of authority (LOAs) before they conducted the inspection.
On Aug. 25, the BOC also padlocked three warehouses in Balagtas, Bulacan which yielded stored rice worth P505 millio .
Customs Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy said they received a tip about the warehouses and swiftly acted on its verification.
“The key here is acting with immediacy because we understand that we are fighting against big-time organizations that can potentially cripple our agricultural sector. This is important not only to our agricultural workers, our farmers but more so for the everyday Juan who toils to put food on the table,” he said.
President Marcos on Tuesday ordered government agencies to exhaust alllegal tools to control the rising prices of rice, and ordered the BOC to inspect more rice warehouses.
“Hoarders need to understand that the government led by PresidentMarcos is serious in flushing out the people behind the price manipulation of rice. If they can’t be convinced to stop hoarding,maybe some jail time will make them learn,” Romualdez said in a mix of English and Filipino.
The surprise inspection was conducted on Gold Rush Rice Mill 3, Dinorado Rice Mill, and JSS Rice Mill, all in Bulacan.
The BOC team also conducted a separate inspection of another rice warehouse with no sign, also within the Intercity Industrial Complex.
Romualdez said the inspection showed an adequate supply of rice so the continuing increase in rice prices indicates efforts to withhold stocks to reap a windfall profit. He noted that some of the rice stocks in the inspected warehouses were over three months old.
The initial BOC raid on three warehouses in Bulacan yielded about P500 million worth of imported rice. BOC agents raided the Great Harvest Rice Mill Warehouse, the San Pedro Warehouse, and the FS Rice Mill Warehouse, which were found to be storing 25,000, 167,000 and 10,000 sacks of imported rice, respectively.
Their respective owners have already been instructed to submit proof of tax and duty payments.
At the Palace, Communication Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the food logistics action agenda was approved during a meeting attended by Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pacual and other government officials.
“It is committed to a whole-of-government approach where key agencies involved shall be required to prioritize, focus and allocate funding on specific initiatives,” she said.
She added that the food logistics action agenda intends to use information and communications technology to improve logistics performance.
“The DTI has outlined efforts to integrate food terminals into the logistics framework through upgrading of existing food terminals andbuilding additional food hubs in Metro Manila and other areas in the country,” Garafil said.
“By integrating food terminals, the supply chain from producers to consumers could be shortened, with standardized logistical processes and transportation systems directed towards specific destinations.”
She said the food hubs would operate as central command centers to balance demand and supply with the resulting synergy within the food terminals.
Citing Pascual’s report, Garafil said the DTI has a pilot project with the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal (NVAT) and the United States Agency for International Development to help small and medium enterprises transition to mature e-commerce businesses.
The project aims to help pivot NVAT from offline to online transactions to maximize the potential of e-commerce and increase market access for farmers’ produce.
“The Trade department is also endorsing logistics-related measures forinclusion in the priority legislative agenda, such as the International Maritime Competitiveness Act, which aims to empower the Maritime Industry Authority to regulate shipping lines and guard against excessive shipping charges,” Garafil said.
The creation of the three-year food logistics agenda was one of Marcos’ directives during the 8th Cabinet meeting in September 2022 torealize his vision to make the Philippines a logistics hub in Asia.
The food logistics action agenda was developed by the DTI, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and other development partners.
The sectoral meeting held Tuesday was also attended by Secretaries Benjamin Abalos Jr. (DILG) and Ivan John Uy (DICT); Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go; DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban; Undersecretaries Zeno Ronald Abenoja (Department of Finance), Elmer Sarmiento (DOTr) and Rosemarie Edillon (National Economic and Development Authority); and Anti-Red Tape Authority Director General Ernesto Perez.
