Escudero: File charges vs rice smugglers, hoarders

MANILA, Philippines — Two weeks after the confiscation of suspected smuggled imported rice worth P505 million in Bulacan, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) failed to file charges against those involved, Sen. Francis Escudero said.

Escudero challenged the BOC to immediately file charges against traders suspected of smuggling and hoarding rice, which led to the artificial shortage of the food staple and price spikes in recent months.

“The number of raids that have been done in recent weeks, why until now, no charges have been filed against the people involved?” he said.

Escudero also criticized the BOC leadership for their failure to disclose to the public the names of traders and operators whose warehouses were raided by government authorities for tons of suspected smuggled rice.

He stressed the need to file cases and bring these economic saboteurs to court to serve as a warning that the government is indeed serious in its campaign against smugglers and hoarders.

“We should not end with raids alone. The people are waiting and watching for the next initiative of the government. Charges will be filed immediately against those who should be charged. We should bring them to the court of justice to prove that this administration is resolute in its campaign against the rice cartel,” Escudero said.

He noted that Republic Act 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 considers large-scale smuggling of agricultural products as economic sabotage, and involves “at least P1 million worth of sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in their raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation and preservation for the market, or a minimum of P10 million worth of rice, as valued by BOC.”

“How come up to now there have been no cases filed? Why haven’t I heard anyone sued for economic sabotage or something? Who owns these warehouses? Who are the people involved?” the senator asked.

On Aug. 24, the customs bureau inspected three warehouses in Bulacan and found these stocked with suspected smuggled imported rice worth P505 million. The warehouses, located inside the Intercity Industrial Complex in Balagtas, Bulacan, were sealed and guarded.

On Sept. 15, the BOC-Port of Zamboanga seized some 42,180 sacks of rice worth P42 million in Barangay San Jose Gusu, after authorities discovered that the goods were not covered by the requisite sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry.

Aside from calling on the immediate filing of cases against the hoarders, Escudero said the government should also update the public on the development of these cases in the spirit of transparency.

“These are the questions they should be able to answer now: Who oversees the disposition and how will it be disposed? What will they do with the confiscated rice?” he said.

Congress intervention sought

Farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet yesterday called on Congress to intervene in the impending tariff cut on rice imports, saying while the Tariff Commission conducted a consultation with stakeholders, the reduction to 10 percent from the current 35 percent is already a “done deal.”

In an interview with The STAR, Cainglet added that various groups will hold a caravan on Monday to continue to demand the removal of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan from their respective posts, who are the main proponents of the reduction of tariffs on imported rice.

“Just like confidential funds, the Tariff Commission never released its findings (on tariff cut petition). It was zero-eight in the last five years,” Cainglet said, referring to the favorable decision of the Tariff Commission on the tariff cuts on imported products.

On Friday, the Tariff Commission held a hearing on the petition to temporarily cut rice import tariffs, as various peasant groups expressed their unilateral position on the move.

“We are not expecting much,” Cainglet added.

He noted that during the hearing, the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), the proponent of tariff cut, failed to justify the petition.

“The FEF did not present data to justify their petition. Their data was only until 2022. There are no actual figures on imports, production and projected harvest. They cannot even answer (if) the rice being imported are mainly high-grade rice. They cannot rebut that there is no rice shortage. They only replied, ‘what will happen if there is a typhoon,’” Cainglet said.

Diokno has backed the need to temporarily cut rice import tariffs as early as October in a bid to arrest the continued surge in prices of the commodity.

“I asked them if the Executive Order number 30 is wrong, as its basis is hoarding and price manipulation while the basis of their petition is the global market,” Cainglet noted.

Cainglet said that the Senate and the House of Representatives should stop the approval of the tariff cut.

“It is the work of Congress. We are also asking Congress to intervene as the tariff modification is the function of the legislature,” he added.

According to Cainglet, Diokno and Balisacan should be stopped from favoring the importers over the farmers.

“It is an insult that every year, an executive order is issued while Congress is in recess,” he noted.

At the same time, Cainglet expressed hope that President Marcos will listen to the calls of various farmers after they urged the Chief Executive to replace Diokno and Balisacan.

“We hope the President will listen to us,” he said.

A joint statement signed by members of SINAG, Federation of Free Farmers, Philippine Confederation of Grains Associations, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Pambansang Mannalon, Mag-uuma, Magbabaul, Magsasaka ng Pilipinas and National Movement for Food Sovereignty backed the removal of both Diokno and Balisacan.

Cainglet said that a protest caravan will be held to express the united opposition against the proposed tariff cut on imported rice and to call for the removal of Diokno and Balisacan.

Various groups will conduct protest actions in front of the FEF at the Philippine Social Science Center in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City before they proceed to the Office of the Philippine Tariff Commission in  West Insula Condominium, 135 West Avenue, near EDSA intersection; Office of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers Of Commerce and Industry at Federation Center, Muelle de Binondo, Manila; and Office of the Department of Finance at the BSP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. — Bella Cariaso