National Food Authority (NFA) Bulacan procurement team members check the moisture content of freshly harvested palay of farmers in Malolos City during a mobile procurement. (File photo courtesy of NFA Bulacan office)
MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez is asking rice traders and suppliers hoarding their grains inside warehouses to “moderate their greed.”
His statement comes as he visited some of these storage facilities in Bocaue and Balagtas, Bulacan.
He urged businessmen involved in rice production and distribution to release the grains stored inside depots for a long time.
Romualdez said some stocks are being kept inside warehouses for three months.
He believes the scheme constitutes hoarding.
“Tawag dito, greed. Moderate your greed lang, ‘di ba?” the Speaker asked.
(This is called greed. Just moderate your greed, right?)
“Lahat, pwede naman tayo kumita. Wala naman problema tayo d’yan. Eh ‘yong mga kita niyo, i-moderate niyo na lang,” he made the appeal.
(All of us can earn money. I have no problem with that. But you should moderate the flow of your income.)
He also expressed aloud what possible conversation rice traders may have among themselves.
“Nakikita nila kasi, ‘Uy, Tumataas ‘yong presyo ng Vietnam rice, or Thailand rice. Sundan na lang natin. Ipitin muna natin ‘yong supply para abangan natin ‘yung pag-akyat,’” he said.
(It is because they saw, ‘Oh. The price of Vietnam rice is going up, or Thailand rice. Let us just follow. Let us first hoard the supply so that we can monitor the increase.’)
The Speaker said local rice distributors might release their produce once prices in the market have gone up.
“‘Wag naman, ‘di ba? May sapat na supply. I-unload. Ibaba na,” he again asked traders.
(Let’s not do that, right? There is enough supply. Unload it. Release them.)
“Gamitin yong Kadiwa at the very least,” he added.
(Use the Kadiwa, at the very least.)
Last July 25, following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address, Romualdez had said he would use the House of Representatives oversight function to check the alleged hoarding of agricultural products.
The House leader also said he was able to secure Vietnam’s promise to supply affordable rice to the Philippines.
Some lawmakers, however, are concerned the country is too reliant on rice imports instead of pushing for self-sufficiency.
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