By Madelaine Miraflor The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA) – two government agencies that are now in hot water for various issues hounding the rice sector – added a reward money on its crackdown on those hoarding the supply of the country's main staple. Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol
(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez / MANILA BULLETIN) Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said that starting this weekend, citizens who could provide information that would result in the arrest of rice hoarders will receive a reward of P250,000. This is part of the anti-hoarding campaign that the DA and the NFA launched on Friday with the support of the rice industry stakeholders. Hoarding, according to Piñol, effectively manipulates the price of commercial rice in the local market. "The reward money will be provided by the private millers and traders who said that the activities of the hoarders affect their business," Piñol said. On Friday, the joint DA-NFA anti-hoarding team inspected at least five warehouses in Marilao, Bulacan. Stacks of premium white and glutinous rice were discovered in the warehouses. "The NFA is expected to return to the area on Saturday to validate whether the owners of the rice stocks were holding on to their stocks, which would be hoarding. Penalties for rice hoarding include fines and imprisonment," Piñol further said. Right now, NFA and DA are being blamed for the rice shortage in Zamboanga, the infestation of 330,000 bags of imported rice with weevils, as well as the continuous increase in the price of rice across the country. On Wednesday, industry lobby group Samahang Industriya sa Agrikultura (SINAG) filed graft charges against NFA Administrator Jason Aquino and NFA's accounting manager Gerry Ambrosio for allegedly using P5.1 billion worth of subsidies to pay the agency's debt. Composed of the country's major agriculture stakeholders, SINAG was one of the "strong lobbying force" that made House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo backtrack on her zero import tariff proposal on meat and fish products a few weeks ago. Fresh charges Meanwhile, two importers who have pending smuggling charges were slapped anew with smuggling complaints Friday for the reported unlawful large-scale importation of rice and sugar. The Bureau of Customs filed criminal charges against the officers of Red Star Rising Corporation and Sta. Rosa Farm Products Corporation before the Department of Justice for smuggling millions worth of sugar and rice. Dante P. Lunar, Leonardo C. Mallari, Richel Paranete Llanes, August Presillas Templado, and Bernie Abrina Rubia of Red Star Rising Corporation were slapped with three criminal charges - unlawful importation of rice, economic sabotage and importing 16 containers of white sugar into the country with an aggregate value, including duties and taxes, amounting to P21,558561. The shipments were reportedly misdeclared as packaging materials, kitchen utensils, and kraft paper. The shipments arrived at the Port of Manila from Thailand on different dates in last July without an import permit from the Sugar Regulatory Administration. Sta. Rosa Farm Products, on the other hand, faces two more criminal charges for similar violations. The charges were filed against Sta. Rosa’s President Jomerito S. Soliman, Chief Financial Officer Dolores Opancia, Director Mary Grace D. Cayanan, Director Marileen S. Avañez, and its Licensed Customs Broker, Diosdado M. Santiago. Sta. Rosa Farm Products reportedly imported 50,000 sacks of rice worth P120,707,596 without the requisite National Food Authority (NFA) Import permit. Earlier, smuggling complaints were filed against Sta Rosa Farm Products for importing millions worth of Thai rice without import permits and smuggling 45 containers of sugar that were discovered at the Port of Manila in early August. Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña stressed that large-scale smuggling of agricultural products constitute economic sabotage. “The resultant adverse effects of these unlawful importations to the local farmers and the consuming public warrants its prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Because of this, the bureau will continue its current pursuit to eliminate the smuggling of these agricultural products and bring behind bars all those who would be found liable for these unlawful activities,” Lapena said. (With a report from Betheena Kae Unite)