The replacement of import quotas with tariffs will not dismantle the rice cartels in the country, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos said Wednesday.
“The government rosters of rice importers and traders must be purged of smugglers, economic saboteurs, hoarders and tax evaders,” Marcos said.
She made her statement even as the National Food Authority said it marked its intensified market monitoring during the third quarter of 2018 by apprehending 3,828 people for violating various NFA rules on grains trading.
OIC-Administrator Tomas Escarez said the NFA stepped up its efforts by giving more assistance to its enforcement officers nationwide.
He said their efforts led to the inspection of 95,000 business establishments from July to September, which also resulted in the increased number of apprehended rice traders and the collection of P1.6 million in fines.
Marcos said it would “still be business as usual” for the rice cartel because they controlled the underlying system and internal architecture of rice importation and distribution.
“Their control of that system is not addressed by any of the bills on rice tariffication,” she said.
“Revoking their licenses and permits to import rice will deal a serious blow to the rice cartels.”
Marcos said the rice cartel members were able to operate with impunity because their identities were hidden from public view, being locked in the drawers, file cabinets, computers and brains of several government officials and employees.
She said the lists or registries of licensed or accredited rice importers and traders were not front-page material on the websites of the NFA, the Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Customs, the Trade Department and the BIR”•the five agencies that were supposed to have those lists and supporting documents.
“We are already in the 21st Century. It is time to bring those names out of the shadows through transparent and verifiable full disclosures on the website of the Department of Agriculture,” Marcos said.
She called for a rigorous vetting process, with the crucial involvement of civil society watchdog organizations that would purge the list of rice importers and traders.”‹
