Marcos wants to cut rice importers’ 15-day grace period

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

GENERAL TRIAS CITY—President Marcos on Friday said he wanted to shorten to seven days the grace period given to importers to prove the legality of their shipments, particularly rice.

Under Section 114 (Right of Appeal, Forms and Ground) of Republic Act No. 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, “any party adversely affected by a decision or omission of the Bureau [of Customs, or BOC] pertaining to an importation, exportation, or any other legal claim shall have the right to appeal within 15 days from receipt of the questioned decision or order.”

Marcos broached a possible amendment to the law during a program here where 1,200 sacks of smuggled rice were distributed among beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer scheme, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Zamboanga raid

The grains handed out were part of the 42,180 sacks of rice worth P42 million that were confiscated by the BOC after a warehouse raid at Barangay San Jose Gusu, Zamboanga City, on Sept. 15.

“We are trying to lessen the 15 days into seven days. Because if you are a legal importer, you have all the documents. If authorities ask for it, you can provide it immediately. So why 15 days?” the President said.

According to Marcos, the 15-day grace period granted to importers may be too long and might allow them to smuggle rice again.

“Let’s do everything so the government would get them, the Bureau of Customs would get them,” he said, referring to smuggled rice.

In a statement on Friday, Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said the administration “is exhausting legal remedies for the possibility of shortening the number of days given to importers to prove the legitimacy of their importation.”

‘Really alarmed’

The President also explained why he had to order a price cap on rice that took effect Sept. 5.

“We were forced to put a price cap because I am really alarmed. If I had my way, I don’t want to interfere with the market but the market is not running right because it is being manipulated by hoarders and by smugglers,” he said.

The President, who is also the concurrent agriculture secretary, imposed the cap nationwide following steep increases in the retail prices of the staple.

Under Executive Order No. 39 signed on Aug. 31, the price ceiling for regular milled rice is pegged at P41 per kilo while that for the well-milled variety is P45 per kilo.

In his speech on Friday, the President did not mention how long the price cap would last. INQ

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