Romualdez wants BOC to conduct more warehouse inspections vs rice hoarders

Bureau of Customs officials led by Commissioner Bien Rubio inspects a warehouse in Balagtas, Bulacan, which are storing sacks of rice imported from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. BOC was joined by House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other lawmakers in ensuring that the country has an adequate supply of rice, amid rising prices and fears of a shortage. (Photo from the Bureau of Customs)

MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Sunday that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) needs to do more warehouse inspections to battle rice hoarders in the country.

“We need to carry out more of these inspections and I trust the [BOC] commissioner [Bienvenido Rubio] to do so in order to keep rice traders obedient to the law,”  Romualdez said in a statement.

On August 24, the BOC, in a joint operation with the Coast Guard, closed three Bulacan warehouses filled with 202,000 sacks of reportedly imported rice valuing at P505 million.

Romualdez, along with ACT-CIS partylist representative Erwin Tulfo, Quezon first district representative Mark Enverga, and Bulacan fifth district representative Ambrosio Cruz Jr. joined the closing.

In a statement, Rubio ordered the owners of the Great Harvest Rice Mill Warehouse, the San Pedro Warehouse, and the FS Rice Mill to submit documents concerning the import origins and information.

“Shame on us, the officials in government, if we let that happen again, especially to our staple food. Thanks to the hearings in aid of legislation led by Cong. Enverga, we already know exactly how a cartel works. Pipigilan natin sila, hindi natin sila hahayaang makapuntos muli,” Romualdez said.

(We will stop them, we will not let them gain an advantage.)

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JPV