Pangasinan rice traders hit NBI raids, harassment

By Jennelyn Mondejar

ROSALES, Pangasinan –About 600 rice mill owners of this province protested the alleged harassment of millers following the raid by National Bureau of Investigation agents on several local rice warehouses in crackdown against hoarders.

The rice millers complained their buyers in Metro Manila stopped buying from them due to the raids.

Rosendo So, president of the Eastern Pangasinan Filipino- Chinese Chamber of Commerce and spokesman of the Rice Millers Association of Pangasinan, said they sought the intervention of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, the senators, six Pangasinan congressmen and the governor to stop the harassment of rice millers.

So said the traders were harassed by the raids being conducted by agents of the NBI and the National Food Authority which inspects their warehouses.

The NBI-Dagupan team raided three rice warehouses in Tayug town the other day.
Lawyer Dave Alunan, executive officer of NBI-Dagupan clarified said the operation was not a raid but they only accompanied NFA inspectors.

“That is the good result of what we are doing,” Alunan said, noting rice millers were now cooperating with the NFA for the good of the public and are willing to sell their grains to the government.

So said their buyers from Metro Manila stopped buying from them for fear of harassment from government agents.

He said five days ago, the palay price per kilogram bought by millers was P19 but it suddenly dropped to P16.20 a kilo.

“If these raids continue, it will continuously drop to P12 per kilogram,” he said.
The poor farmers will suffer because rice millers will not buy their produce anymore, So said. “This will paralyze the farmers.”

He said if this continues, the government should instead buy the farmers’ produce and stop importing in order to save money.

So said imported rice expected to arrive in the country by May is 339,000 metric tons and each bag was bought at P2,450.

Rice millers offer their produce to NFA at P1,600 per bag, or a savings of P800 per bag.

He said 50 percent of local rice production is consumed here while the remainder is traded in Metro Manila and other provinces.

“There should be a definition of hoarding. If they don’t sell and merely stock, that’s hoarding,” he said.

So said that there is no rice shortage but a surplus in the provinces and the government should buy locally-produced rice instead of importing grains.

He said there should be a dialogue between the government and the rice millers to address the problem.