Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares . INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Makabayan bloc has called for a probe on the Aquino administration’s “hocus-pocus” in the inexplicable rise in the price of rice despite substantial rice imports in recent months.
“Why is this happening now?” asked Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares after rice rose by P2 per kilo last week after surging by P3 per kilo three months ago despite the National Food Authority’s (NFA) importation of 800,000 to 1 million metric tons for the July-to-September buffer stock to prevent a spike in the price of rice.
Colmenares said that the rice situation was similar to the garlic and onion market where prices have likewise surged despite oversupply from importation.
“Is there some hocus-pocus going on here and consumers are on the losing end?” said Colmenares. “This is a challenge to Food Security czar Francisco ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan to immediately address the complaints of farmers and consumers.”
Last February, former Anakpawis partylist congressman and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairperson Rafael Mariano exposed that there might have been a more than P1-billion overprice in rice importation causing the P3-spike in rice prices last March.
Former Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano said that farmers were not benefiting from the high price of rice as the NFA was still buying at P19 to P20 per kilo from farmers while selling it at P25 per kilo. “The NFA is raking it in. There is a double overprice due to the importation over price and the added cost passed on to consumers. The question now is who benefited from these incidents of overpricing and why is Malacañang doing nothing about it?” said Mariano.
Anakpawis partylist Rep. Fernando Hicap said the rice situation was “tantamount to economic sabotage” as government preferred to subsidize rice farmers from abroad rather than the country’s own.