Anti-graft body urged to probe gov’t rice imports

MANILA, Philippines - The Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council (IAAGCC) has been urged to investigate government’s rice importation transactions amid allegations of anomalies.

In a letter, a group led by lawyer Argee Guevarra asked the IAAGCC to look into the imports of the National Food Authority (NFA) from Vietnam earlier this year for alleged overpricing tantamount to “white collar economic sabotage and/or profiteering.”

They urged the agency led by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to conduct a probe “with the same zeal it has demonstrated in blowing the case wide open in the Napoles ‘pork’ scam.”

They asked the council to order the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for this purpose.

 â€œThe questionable importation by the NFA of 187,000 metric tons (plus an additional 18,700) of rice under a government-to-government agreement last April … is overpriced by as much as P450 million for a single transaction,” the group alleged.

Citing documents, Guevarra said the NFA purchased the 187,000 metric tons of rice at a cost of $459 of P19,762.95 per metric ton when the prevailing market price in Vietnam when the deal was made is only $360 or P15,480 per metric ton.

Guevarra said a check of the Oryza Global Rice price for the period showed how the NFA had overpriced its acquisition cost by at least $10,439,275 or P457 million for a single transaction.

He said he was able to speak with industry experts who revealed that the landed cost of Vietnamese rice – inclusive of handling and delivery should only be at $409 or P17,587 or an overprice of P2,100.

Guevarra’s claim was supported by the Ang Gawad Pinoy Consumers Cooperative (AGPCC), one of the country’s biggest consumer cooperatives.

The cooperative’s head, lawyer Tonike Padilla believes the government stands to lose P2 billion because of the alleged anomaly.

 â€œFor this April G2G (government-to-government) transaction alone, $10,439,275 or P457 million of public funds were lost to corruption. This is a killing! Even more than the annual PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) of six congressmen combined,” the AGPCC said in a statement.

Padilla revealed that if the NFA proceeds with the planned importation of another 700,000 metric tons in November to address the looming rice shortage – which ironically, the DA denies – the P457 million losses could easily balloon to P2 billion before yearend, falling into the pockets of corrupt Agriculture officials.

The lawyer stressed that this is the reason why the DA and the NFA has established a government monopoly in the importation of rice. The anomalies are being committed in the guise of the country’s quest for rice self-sufficiency.