Imee Marcos slams importation of rice

I LOILO CITY: The National Food Authority (NFA), whose function is to procure palay (unmilled rice) locally and maintain the optimal level of buffer stock, has become an importation entity, Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos said on Friday, March 8.

“The problem is the NFA has entered into importation, similar to the Department of Agriculture. I told them, ‘You’ve become a department of importation. You’re no longer helping the farmers, just importing whenever there’s a shortage,’” she said in Guimaras on Friday.

Marcos was in Guimaras to distribute financial assistance to 2,000 beneficiaries under the Assistance to Individuals in

Crisis Situation program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The senator noted that the NFA “seems to have lost its way” in fulfilling its mandate to maintain sufficient rice buffer stocks to be sourced from local farmers.

“They are not supposed to import. They are meant to support the locals,” she added.

Marcos also expressed concern about the NFA’s “highly suspicious” sale of 75,000 bags of rice stock worth P93.75 million to two traders.

“Now they’re saying it’s local, but it was sold for a huge amount to only two importers,” she said.

The senator filed a Senate resolution on March 4 to investigate NFA’s actions, which she described as having “no transparency” with regard to the purchasing rates for locally produced rice.

The buffer stock was allegedly sold to private traders at P25 a kilo, which is significantly lower than the market price of P70 per kilogram.

Marcos also disclosed that the Ombudsman issued a subpoena, demanding the NFA to provide documents regarding the alleged anomalous sale of rice to traders at lower prices.