MANILA, Philippines- Ginisa ng House Quinta Committee o mas kilala sa Murang Pagkain Super Committee ng Kamara ang ilang importers na inaakusahan na sangkot sa price manipulation.
Sa pagpapatuloy ng imbestigasyon ng komite, sinabi ni House Quinta Committee Chairman at Albay Rep. Joey Salceda na mas tinutukan nila ang importers dahil dito nakita ang posibleng sabwatan kaya nagkaroon ng pagtaas ng retail prices.
“The committee focused on top importers because there were clear signs of speculation in the rice import market, such as swelling commercial inventories, delays in withdrawals by importers, and imports surpassing USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) projections,” paliwanag ni Salceda.
Ang quinta-panel ay binubuo ng Committees on Ways and Means, Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Food, Social Services at Special Committee on Food Security.
Kabilang sa top rice importers na ginisa ng Kamara ay ang Bly Agri Venture Trading, Atara Marketing Inc., Orison Free Enterprise Inc., Macman Rice and Corn Trading, King B Company, Sodatrade Corp., Lucky Buy and Sell, Vitram Marketing Inc., Nan Stu Agri Traders at RBS Universal Grains Traders Corp.
Ang imbestigasyon ng Kamara ay resulta ng hindi pa rin pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas sa merkado sa kabila ng pagbaba ng rice tariffs mula 35% patungo sa 15% sa ilalim ng Executive Order 62 na ipinalabas ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos noong June 2024.
“While the landed price of imported rice dropped by P11 per kilo year-on-year, domestic prices rose from P51 to P55.30, highlighting market inefficiencies. The gap between landed and domestic prices widened drastically, from P3 per kilo in 2023 to P20 in 2024, signaling potential manipulation or inefficiencies in the supply chain” paliwanag ni Salceda.
Tiniyak ni Salceda na kanilang lalaliman pa ang imbestigasyon.
Inatasan nito ang Bureau of Internal Revenue(BIR) na tignan ang tax payments ng mga rice importers.
“Congress cannot request tax filings. They are protected by Section 270 of the Tax Code. But the BIR can verify their own assessments and records. These top importers are importing in the billions. So, their tax payments should reflect that,” ani Salceda.
Nagbanta si Salceda na maaaring kasuhan ng tax evasion ang importers.
“This would then allow the Anti Money Laundering Council to look into top importers’ transactions as tax evasion is a predicate offense that would allow AMLC to look deeper,” dagdag pa nito.
Matapos ang mga importers sunod na ipatatawag ng komite ang mga malalaking retailers at malalaking wholesalers.
Nakatakda ding magsagawa ng executive session ang komite sa Department of Agriculture bukas para talakayin ang ginagawang hakbang ng ahensya laban sa price manipulation. Gail Mendoza
