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CITY OF
SAN FERNANDO—The combined monitoring team of the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National
Food Authority (NFA) has been conducting surprise
inspections of rice warehouses since the start of the
week to deter traders from hoarding the precious grain.
Divided
into three groups, the composite team went around the
province, hopping from one warehouse to another in
response to Malacañang’s directive to stop rice
hoarding. The team has also verified the rice-stock
situation in the province.
Lawyer
Rustico Vigilia, NBI Central Luzon director,
said, though, that so far, the inspection team found no
rice hoarder in the province. The team’s first stop were
the warehouses of accredited retailer Reginaldo David in
barangays del Rosario and
San Isidro
in this city.
Two
thousand bags of rice and palay were found inside
David’s warehouses, which were found to hold more than
their declared capacity.
David
explained the increase in his inventory was due to the
fact that farmers from Nueva Ecija, who had a good yield
last season, offered him palay at a lower price. He
denied hoarding.
The
palay, David said, will be sent to Bulacan, for milling
and then brought to markets in Pampanga as commercial
rice.
David
claimed he bought the palay, hoping he can sell it fast
since rice has been selling like hotcakes over the last
few weeks.
Vigilia
said David would not be charged for hoarding but will be
penalized by the NFA for failing to declare the excess
stock in his warehouse.
David
said he would submit to the penalty as he lauded the NBI
and NFA program to run after hoarders.
NFA
Central Luzon director Nicolas Crisostomo said the
surprise inspections are not meant to harass legitimate
rice traders but rather to deter illegitimate
businessmen.
“This is
one way of protecting our businessmen who are
religiously following the law in the practice of their
trade. We are running after illegal businessmen who are
waging unfair competition to the legitimate traders,”
Crisostomo said.
At the
same time, Crisostomo assured the stability of the
region’s rice inventory with the entry of more imported
and locally produced rice.
The
composite monitoring team also went to the NFA-leased
warehouse in barangay Sapang Maisac, Mexico, which was
mistaken for a private rice warehouse owing to the
absence of proper signage.
NFA
assistant regional director Ruben Reside and NFA
Pampanga provincial manager Elvira Obaña also joined the
monitoring team during the inspection. |
