By Mary Grace Padin
THE National Food Authority (NFA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Tuesday seized 1,561 kilograms of rice, suspected to be smuggled from China, being sold in three business establishments in Manila.
NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay said he and BOC Deputy Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno found three grocery stores selling rice smuggled from China after conducting a “surprise” inspection of Manila stores.
Two supermarkets selling mostly imported goods, Hua Chong Mart and Mandarin Supermarket in Ongpin, Binondo, and Forwarders Food Mart and Grocery in Arranque Market in Santa Cruz, Manila, were found to be selling smuggled rice from China. The NFA has not issued any permits for the importation of rice from China in the last two minimum access volume (MAV) importation in 2014.
The inspection teams confiscated a total of nine 25-kilo bags, 105 10-kilo bags, 50 5-kilo bags and 18 2-kilo packs from the three establishments.
Aside from selling smuggled rice, the two supermarkets lacked a necessary permit from the NFA, while the store in Arranque Market was found to be operating with an expired license.
The NFA summoned the owners of the three stores for violations under Presidential Decree 4 and NFA Revised Rules on Grains Business, and have until July 10 to report to the NFA to give their statements.
The BOC seized the smuggled rice from these establishments and will conduct separate proceedings under the anti-smuggling law. The confiscated rice will be temporarily stored in the NFA’s Visayas Warehouse in Quezon City.
Dalisay said the NFA will help in determining if the seized rice may be part of the 8,000-bag batch auctioned in October 2014 by the BOC. The NFA has the capability to check the age of the rice through chemical analysis.
The NFA started its daily inspection of public markets nationwide on Monday following reports that fake rice is being sold in Davao City.
Meanwhile, Rep. Winston Castelo, of the Second District of Quezon City, urged the NFA and the BOC to ensure that rice imported from Vietnam and Thailand is free from contaminants, such as industrial plastics.
Castelo also asked the Department of Health to launch an information campaign to enable people to identify rice laced with contaminants.
“The Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation should look into the modus operandi of fake rice importers and identify their cohorts in the BOC and private sector,” Castelo said in a statement.
He said unscrupulous traders who brought in rice containing dibutyl phthalate, a chemical compound commonly used as a binder, must face criminal charges as their act constitutes economic sabotage.
“Moreover, it is endangering public health since fake rice has been described as dangerous to the digestive tract of every person,” Castelo said.
The lawmaker also asked the BOC and the NFA to investigate and identify the cohorts of fake-rice syndicates within the agencies and file criminal charges against them.
“These are criminals masquerading as public servants. They should not stay a minute longer in the government,” he said.
Earlier the NFA launched an investigation into the presence of fake rice in Davao City after a consumer complained to local media that a canteen served cooked rice that had the texture of Styrofoam. The food agency tested samples of the fake rice provided by concerned Davao City residents.
Previous media reports published in other Asian countries had earlier quoted experts as saying that fake rice is difficult to detect when it is mixed with normal rice.
The Philippines usually imports rice from Vietnam and Thailand to beef up the buffer stock of the NFA and plug the shortfall in production. This year Manila had already contracted to buy a total of 750,000 metric tons (MT) of rice from Vietnam and Thailand under a government-to-government deal.
The government also allows the private sector to bring in rice from various countries, including China, under the so-called MAV scheme of the World Trade Organization. Last year China has been given a country-specific quota of 25,000 MT; India 25,000 MT; and Australia 15,000 MT.
(With a report from Reicelene Ignacio)