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THE
government has lifted the rice- and corn-importation
quota of the private sector to address supply concerns
in the country, Presidential Management Staff head Cerge
Remonde said Monday.
Remonde
said President Arroyo and her Cabinet will tackle
Tuesday ongoing and forthcoming government measures to
address concerns over rice supply in the country,
including a proposed revenue-neutral scheme that may
boost rice imports by the private sector without
lowering current tariff levels.
Asked
about continuing concerns over rice stocks amid high
prices, Remonde said, “I think the President has also
already announced that we are lifting all import quotas
on rice and corn, meaning businessmen can now freely
import rice and corn for as long as they pay the right
amount of duties and taxes.”
Remonde
said the Cabinet meeting will include representatives
from the grains-distribution industry who are expected
to respond to the report to be presented by Agriculture
Secretary Arthur Yap on rice supply and distribution in
the country, and to give their own inputs on the
discussions.
Deputy
Presidential Spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said the
President has asked concerned government agencies to
“study and recommend solutions and programs that will
help alleviate, if not stem, the rising price of rice,
and to address the concern on rice production.”
“These
issues are the primary agenda for discussion in the
Cabinet tomorrow. Any and all policies shall be
announced as they are perfected. We assure the people
that their government, particularly the President, is on
top of the situation,” Fajardo said.
Asked
about calls to restructure the National Food Authority (NFA),
Remonde said the government welcomes “constructive”
suggestions from all sectors on the improvement of rice
supply in the country.
Remonde
countered allegations that the Arroyo administration had
mismanaged the agricultural sector and cited as proof
higher agricultural yields compared with previous
administrations.
“I think
the record of the accomplishment of the Department of
Agriculture under this administration can stand head and
shoulders compared with other administrations,” he said.
Remonde
also suggested a possible Palace-organized meeting among
rice dealers and all concerned agencies on the former’s
apprehensions about the operations of the Antihoarding
Task Force of the Department of Justice, which they
feared may wrongly arrest them on suspicion of hoarding.
He said
the President has instructed authorities to be careful
in running after suspected hoarders so that legitimate
rice retailers are spared from harassment.
“Maybe
in response to these concerns of rice retailers, we are
willing to also dialogue with them. We are willing to
bring them together with all the government agencies
that are dealing with them,” Remonde said.
The NFA,
meanwhile, is allocating between 50,000 and 60,000 sacks
of rice a week to Roman Catholic parishes in Metro
Manila, as the agriculture department tapped the help of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
to make sure the staple food reaches every poor family’s
dining table.
In a
closed-door meeting at the Manila Hotel on Monday, the
CBCP, represented by Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick
Pabillo, head of the CBCP social action arm, met with
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and NFA representatives
to work out a plan on how the Church can assist in
distributing rice to the poor.
“It will
be pilot-tested in the six dioceses in Metro Manila,
then eventually we will go national. We just want to
check first how the system will work here,” Fr. Mar
Castillo of Caritas Manila told Church-run Radio Veritas.
“As far
as I know, it was Secretary Yap [who requested the
meeting] because he was afraid that retailers will call
a rice holiday,” Castillo said in the interview.
The NFA
has outlets in 30 to 40 parishes within Metro Manila,
but these will be increased as a result of the
agreement, added Castillo. There are 84 parishes in the
metropolis.
“He
[Yap] assured us that there will be enough supply for
the parishes because our problem is that there are not
enough rice stocks to sell,” Castillo said.
A Church
insider said Yap and the CBCP will meet anew on Tuesday
to sign the agreement that will eventually involve other
faith-based groups.
Castillo
said Yap was confident that religious organizations such
as the CBCP can ensure that NFA rice would reach
consumers, as the government expresses concern about
reports of hoarding and diversion by retailers. (With
Cher Jimenez) |
