Kiko, Bam: Heads must roll at NFA over Zamboanga rice problem

Two senators called for the removal of the National Food Authority's top officials over the rice crisis in Zamboanga City.

“First things first: Fire the top management of NFA,” Senator Francis Pangilinan, former Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, said in a press statement.

The senator’s pronouncement came in light of Zamboanga City’s plan to declare a state of calamity due to rice shortage. Prices of rice in the city now reportedly range from P55 to P68 per kilo, higher than the average retail price of P42.26 per kilo for regular milled rice and P45.71 per kilo for well-milled rice.

Pangilinan accused top local officials of both corruption and incompetence, saying they are in cahoots with wealthy private players in the rice industry to profit handsomely from the rising prices.

“Powerful and influential forces both in and out of government are making a killing in manipulating both the availability of NFA rice stocks in particular, and the rice importation and procurement processes in general,” he said.

Pangilinan said that the rice crisis in Zamboanga City is proof that the reforms put in place from 2014 to 2016 have been overturned by greed, incompetence, and corruption.

“When I stepped in as NFA chair in 2014, rice inflation was at 15 percent due to a mismanaged rice supply situation. One year later, it was down to 0.8 percent (less than 1 percent),” he said.

The senator said to ensure that people would enjoy enough cheap, quality rice, the next NFA administration must make sure that the NFA rice are available in the market and not diverted and re-bagged.

He said the NFA bureaucracy as well as unscrupulous traders should he held accountable for their acts.

“We filed cases against both NFA managers in Bicol, Pampanga, Iloilo, and Surigao and private rice traders there to stop the diversion. We also increased supply of NFA rice by 78 percent in NCR within a two-week period to dissuade private traders from keeping prices up,” he said.

Pangilinan also said there should be an NFA Council-led open, transparent, and discretion-free government-to-government rice importation process.

He also advised the NFA to buy low and plan well, as average annual imports to meet local production shortfall is between 1.2 to 1.7 million metric tons.

“Buying low signals the rest of the market to buy low as well, thereby preventing higher retail prices. Be 10 steps ahead. Buying ahead of time, we were able to avoid being dictated upon by market forces. Procurement was done three to six months before the intended delivery date when rice prices in the international market were lower,” he said.

Bam also calls for NFA axings

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV renewed his call for the resignation of some NFA officials, led by its administrator Jason Aquino, for their failure to address the lack of supply of affordable rice in the market.

“Mahiya naman sila sa taumbayan at mag-resign na. Dahil sa kanilang kapalpakan, nalulunod ang mga pamilyang Pilipino sa taas ng presyo ng bigas,” he said in a press statement.

Earlier, the senator urged the NFA administrator to quit his post due to the agency’s failure to fulfil the 15-day buffer stock policy for almost one year, beginning March 2017.

To address the NFA rice shortage, the government approved the importation of 500,000 metric tons of rice.

“Saan napunta ang ipinagmamalaking inangkat ng NFA para mapababa ang presyo ng bigas sa mga palengke?” he asked.

Aquino expressed fear that the imported NFA rice could land in the hands of traders who will sell it for a higher price, putting more burden on the shoulders of poor Filipinos. — BM, GMA News