Pangilinan says importation of rice propoor move

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Presidential Assistant for Food Security Francis Pangilinan has said the planned importation by the National Food Authority (NFA) of 100,000 metric tons of rice from Vietnam will help lower prices in the domestic market.

“We have not reached 100-percent rice sufficiency and the shortfall in terms of production will need to be filled up by importation,” Pangilinan said in a text message on Monday.

“Otherwise, if supply is short, rice prices will go up and high prices of rice affect the poor the most,” he said.

“We cannot afford to have rice prices go up too high. Importation of the shortfall addresses this,” he said.

In a statement, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares questioned the importation, saying it will be done after Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala announces a 98-percent rice sufficiency target this year.

“If this is so, then why are we importing still?” Colmenares said, suggesting that the rice importation budget should instead be spent on helping Filipino farmers.

He said the government continued to import rice although an investigation by Congress unearthed overpricing and anomalies in importation.

Colmenares said President Aquino, in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) in 2014, announced the importation of 500,000 MT of rice. He said the announcement led to the increase in rice prices by P2 to P3 a kilogram last year.

“President Aquino should explain in his next Sona whatever happened to his promise of rice self-sufficiency during his term. Also with the importation anomalies revealed last year, I hope the new NFA administration has done its homework and addressed these problems.” Colmenares said.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay said that as of May 23, retail price of regular commercial rice (RMR) was monitored at an average of P37.28 a kg, well-milled variety (WMR) at P41.29 a kg, and NFA rice at P27 and P32 a kg for RMR and WMR, respectively. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon