MANILA, Philippines- Nagbabala si House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez sa rice traders na kayang kuhanin ng pamahalaan ang importation duties at magbenta ng bigas sa mas mababang presyo o subsidized rates kapag nagpatuloy ang smuggling at hoarding.
Sinabi rin ni Romualdez, sa pulong kasama ang mga kinatawan ng Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) at ng Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (GreCon) nitong Biyernes sa Makati, na kayang samsamin ng Bureau of Customs ang smuggled at hoarded rice at ibenta ito sa mas mababang halaga.
“Don’t try to scare the government na ‘hey, you know, we’ll all band together and just import.’ With all due respect, they can say that, but the government can take over and do the importing itself, or just break even or even subsidize, because, at the end of the day, the people, the 100 million Filipinos, will not be overcharged and go hungry,” babala niya.
“So if we find out that people are importing and hoarding and profiteering, we’re going to raid. And Customs can just seize it and just give it to the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), to Kadiwa, you know, for sale at a much, much lower price point, you know,” dagdag ng mambabatas.
Inihayag pa ni Romualdez na nag-stabilize na ang presyo ng basic commodities, partikular ng sibuyas at asukal, matapos tugisin ng pamahalaan ang mga taong nasa likod ngpagpuslit at hoarding ng mga ito.
“For onions, now it’s P70 (per kilo); how much was it last year? So we cracked down […] sugar has stabilized na rin […] You can make money, but (not too much) naman, kawawa eh,” sabi niya.
“Inflation rate goes high because of these high prices of commodities. When inflation goes up, it affects the whole economy just because some people are being greedy and are not doing the right thing,” dagdag ng opisyal.
Kasama ni Romualdez sina House Committee on Agriculture and food chairperson at Quezon 1st District Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga; vice chair at Quezon 2nd District Rep. David Suarez; Committee on Appropriations chair at Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co; Senior Deputy Majority Leader at Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos; at Deputy Majority Leader at ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo.
“We, in the House of Representatives, stand firmly behind President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s decisive action to ensure every Filipino’s access to affordable rice. The imposition of price ceilings on this staple food is a timely and necessary intervention to shield our fellow countrymen from the undue economic burden caused by unwarranted surges in rice prices,” anang House members.
“We deeply understand and empathize with the plight of our people, especially the underprivileged and marginalized who are most affected by the surge in rice prices. The joint efforts of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in implementing this measure while simultaneously addressing the challenges brought about by both external global events and internal market manipulations, are highly commendable,” patuloy nila. RNT/SA
