Photo Release

Dummy arrangement in rice importation: Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, presides over the virtual hearing on proposed Senate Resolution 536 looking into the need to improve the rice importation procedure amid allegations that certain big traders, importers, and unscrupulous industry players are using the licenses of farmer cooperatives and irrigators associations to import rice. Villar, author of the resolution, said this dummy arrangement takes advantage of the cooperatives’ tax exemption privileges to defraud the government in its tariff collection and rice farmers who are beneficiaries of Republic Act 11203 which created the P10 billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. “Now, more than ever, we need to be vigilant against unscrupulous traders who cause negative impact on our rice industry. The government has to scrutinize the rice importation players, including rice farmers’ cooperatives, to fully realize the benefit of the rice tariffication law,” Villar said Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. (Screen grab/ Senate PRIB)