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President Gloria Arroyo on Tuesday assured an edgy public that rice
supply was adequate.
“We can report that our supply [of the staple]
is secure for the foreseeable future,” President Arroyo said in a
statement before meeting with economic officials.
“It would be unfortunate if panic took over
logic,” the President added, as she urged strengthened cooperation
between government, the public and the private sector.
On Monday, she lifted the quota on rice and corn
importation to encourage the private sector to help beef up the
country’s grain supply. Currently, price of rice in the world
market is $700 per metric ton.
The national government collects 50-percent
tariff for every metric ton of imported rice. Lifting of the quota
could help boost the government’s revenue-generating effort,
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said.
The head of the GMA (Ginintuang Masaganang Ani)
rice program of the Department of Agriculture also appealed for
calm.
“There’s no need for the public to overreact
or to panic,” said Dr. Frisco Malabanan, the National Program
Coordinator for the rice program. He added that local media were
“overplaying” the situation and impressing that there is a rice
shortage.
Malabanan explained that initial harvests of
rice from Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon are “encouraging,”
with the production targets likely to be met in major rice areas. He
could not give initial estimates, though.
At present, he said, the country is 90-percent
self-sufficient in rice, and the country has to import “only 10
percent” of its requirements, which can be easily met with
imports. The country is targeting 95-percent rice self-sufficiency
in 2009 or 2010, and possibly 100 percent in 2011.
The President’s assurance of adequate rice
supply came with a warning against rice hoarders: “Anyone caught
stealing rice from the people, we will seek to throw in jail.”
Earlier, the government also warned that hoarders will be charged
with economic sabotage or plunder, both offenses punishable with
life imprisonment.
It also carried with it a three-pronged
government action plan that she laid out during a joint meeting of
the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the National Economic and
Development Authority-Cabinet Group in Malacañang.
Mrs. Arroyo said her administration will secure
rice supply, ensure proper distribution of the staple, and guarantee
enforcement of laws to protect the people against graft and
price-gouging.
“I am leading the charge to crack down on any
form of corruption by public or private officials who would divert
supplies or pervert the price of this essential commodity in any
way,” she stressed.
In assuring security of rice supply, the
President cited government programs on fertilizers, irrigation and
infrastructure, equipment, education and expansion, loans, dryers
and post-harvest facilities, and seeds that have allowed increase in
rice production by more than the annual population growth rate of
2.04 percent.
During the meeting, Mrs. Arroyo announced that
500,000 metric tons of rice have arrived from Thailand and Vietnam
as part of the government’s procurement program to fill the gap
between production and consumption.
She said 70 percent of the shipment came from
Vietnam and 30 percent from Thailand. A total of 700,000 metric
tons, the President added, are arriving this month and in May and
June.
The National Food Authority, Mrs. Arroyo said,
has set a public bidding for the importation of another 500,000 tons
of rice that are scheduled to arrive also in May and June and in
July.
The Philippines, a farming nation of 86 million,
is among the world’s largest importers of rice, a staple food.
Its management of rice production could get a
boost from the World Bank, the Department of Finance said also on
Tuesday.
Finance Undersecretary Roberto Tan said the
bank is willing to give the country advice on how to manage rice
production as well as grant loans to the agricultural sector.
Tan added that the government is on track in its
borrowing program and there is no reason yet to increase this
year’s financing plan amounting to P346.18 billion from both local
and foreign markets.
To ensure the proper distribution of rice, the
President said, the Cabinet will adopt measures to avoid hitches in
the smooth and prompt delivery of the commodity from the provinces
to the cities and other areas of the country at the least possible
costs.
She called on the faith-based community to help
the government deliver rice to those most in need.
To further protect the consumers, Mrs. Arroyo
said, she will submit to Congress a Consumers’ Bill of Rights
calling for tougher laws and stiffer penalties against rice hoarders
and other unscrupulous rice traders.
Earlier, the President ordered the food
authority to distribute the staple directly to Metro Manila’s 400
markets, and the cancellation of all licenses of accredited
retailers in the markets. Within two weeks, the government will
cancel the licenses of the rest of the 15,000 accredited rice
retailers across the country.
-- Angelo S. Samonte, Ira Karen Apanay, Anthony Vargas, Chino S.
Leyco and AFP
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