Press Release
September 24, 2018

PRIVILEGE SPEECH

RICE TARA-FFICATION

Mr. President, I rise on a point of personal and collective privilege.

I rise Mr. President, amidst disturbing news that Secretary Manny Pinol cancelled the leave of absence of NFA Administrator Jason Aquino. In short, si Jason Aquino na umani ng batikos dahil sa tuluyang pagsisrit ng presyo ng bigas, umani ng batikos dahil sa pakikipagsabwatan sa mga rice hoarder at smuggler, at umani ng batikos dahil sa sunod sunod na kapalpakan, ay nasa pamunuan na naman ng NFA.

Mr. President, araw araw po sumasambulat po sa atin ang balita tungkol sa kakulangan ng bigas at ang mataas na presyo nito sa ating mga merkado. Mas mataas na nga ang binabayaran ng mga Pilipino para sa bigas kumpara sa kanyang mga kapitbahay sa Southeast Asian region, patuloy pa din ang pagtaas ng presyo nito at ngayon ay doble na presyo ng bigas natin sa bigas sa mga bansang ASEAN. The wholesale price of regular-milled rice was P40.08 per kg, 13 percent higher than the previous year. Its average retail price also increased 11 percent to P42.26 per kg. Sino ang higit na tinatamaan ng mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng bigas? According to a study by PhilRice, Fillipinos' high rice consumption is fueled by the poor. Dahil nga naman ang mayayaman ay mas madaming mapagpipiliang putahe - karne, seafood, gulay at prutas - kanin ang inaasahan ng mga mahihirap pangtawid gutom at pampabigat ng tiyan. Ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Kung magmahal ang presyo ng bigas, hindi liliit ang consumption nito ng ating mga mas mahirap na kababayan. Bagkus, mababawasan ang kakayanang pondohan ang ibang pangangailangan, gaya ng masustansyang ulam, gamot kung maysakit, at tuition ng mga bata.

Mr. President, given that rice is staple food in the Philippines, a rice crisis is crisis enough. But a rice crisis that resulted from a conspiracy between unscrupulous private traders and insiders within the National Food Authority, a rice crisis fueled by pure unmitigated greed - there are no words. Sa simpleng salita, mahal ang bigas dahil may mandurugas.

And unless we expose the modus operandi in the NFA and lay it out in the sunshine for all the world to see, unless we name names and demand that those who have profited from the desperation and hunger of our countrymen be made accountable before the law, the cycle will continue. Even if Jason Aquino is eventually replaced, the new Administrator will just be heir to a legacy of corruption and economic sabotage of the highest order.

Mr. President, I would like to focus my presentation on rice importation. As we know, imported rice enters the country through two main pathways: (1) through the Minimum Access Volume Program, which is a program of the NFA aligned with our commitments to the WTO, and is the private sector's program for importing rice, and (2) through the G2G (Government to Government)/ G2P (Government to Private) program which is the government's program for its importation of rice for the NFA buffer stock. In both these pathways, corruption is endemic. Uulitin ko po, Ginoong Pangulo, sa bawat paraan ng pag-angkat ng bigas sa Pilipinas, nakabaon ang kuko ng mga pusakal at tirador.

Corruption sa MAV program

Simulan ko muna sa MAV, Ginoong Pangulo, o ang Minimum Access Volume. Ito ang paraan ng pag-angkat na napupunta sa private importers para sa private traders.

Konting baliktanaw, Mr. President. Noong 2013, nandito mismo sa Session Hall si David Bangayan at ang dating Mayor at ngayong Presidenteng si Rodrigo Duterte. Siniwalat ni Mayor Duterte ang modus operandi na paggamit sa cooperatives ni David Bangayan para makakuha ng import permit. Fast forward April 2017, noong away ni CabSec Jun Evasco at ng dating Administrator Jason Aquino, malinaw na sinabi ni Duterte, "I trust him". Sabi din niya, "You want reforms? O sige diyan ka," suggesting that the former mutineer Aquino would be able to rid the agency of corruption. Alam kaya ni Ginoong Duterte na ang eksaktong modus ni David Bangayan na ikinagalit niya noong 2013 ay replicated ng kanyang niluklok na administrator.

Mr. President, ganito po kasi ang proseso sa pag-apply ng private importer applicant sa ilalim ng Minimum Access Volume program (show visual of MAV application process). Upon application, the applicant submits a letter of intent stating the origin, quantity and quality of the rice intended to be imported. Sinusuri at pinapatotoo ng Grains Marketing Operations Department ang mga dokumentong ito. Pagkatapos, may pangalawang review mula sa MAV prequalification team. Pagkatapos ng masusing review and evaluation process, nilalabas na ang Certificate of Eligibility.

However, this was not followed in the case of some coops. Noong 2016 pa lang, Mr. President, pagkatapos ng mainit na away ni former Administrator Aquino at ni Usec Halmen Valdez dahil ayaw ni Aquino na iextend ang import permits from February to March, na nagresulta sa pagkasisante ni Valdez, biglang inextend ni Aquino ang mga permit ng tatlong importer: Villa Shipping Lines, Inc.; JVV Ex/Import at Kakampi MPC. These permits cover a total of 5,380 MT. Ito ay laman mismo ng expose ni Mr. Dante Ang, Chair Emeritus ng Manila Times.

Talagang malakas itong si Aquino, kasi hindi lang sa 2016 MAV niya ginawa ang pagpapabor ng bogus na coop, kundi sa susunod na taon din. Sample po tayo ng isa: SRT Alcala Multi Purpose Cooperative of Pangasinan. This coop was originally awarded 1020 metric tons of Vietnam Rice. Malinaw ito sa import permit na binigay sa kanya (flash import permit). Ang nakakapagtaka, it was also awarded a total of 3,980 metric tons of Indian origin for the MAV 2017 program. Three other cooperatives were given the same favors.

Aquino made the unilateral decision of putting up the unfilled balance of India for subscription without informing the NFA Council and favored beneficiaries who never submitted Letters of Intent for Indian rice. Hindi po ba na ang handler ng SRT Alcala ay si Mr. Tony Santos, a close associate of Marigold de Castro, closely linked to Jason Aquino? Hindi rin po ba totoo na ang India COE ay naibenta kay Bong Limsui at ang ahente ni Bong Limsui na si Che Rapisora ang nagbayad ng advance duties sa Landbank? Sino po si Bong Limsui? Siya ang bagong David Bangayan. May nagsasabi na old news na ang issue ng mga coops na ginawang front ng mga importers kasi babalik na naman sa usapin ng 2014. But if we see patterns, Mr. President, if we see repetitions of past anomalies, we have a duty to call this out. It is part of the process of finding long-term solutions.

Corruption sa G2G/G2P program

Dumako naman po tayo sa Government to Government/ Government to Private Program na napupunta sa buffer stock ng NFA. Naireport na sa media kung paano binenta ng NFA administrator and "old" rice stocks na galing sa 2016 G2G importation, which should have been part of the buffer stock and which brought down our buffer stock to critical levels.

Ngunit mas malala pa ang mga sumunod. When the 2017 G2P imported rice began to arrive, the administrator prevented any NFA personnel from participating by removing them from all inspections, supervisions in the ports where foreign vessels are unloading. The NFA also cancelled the regular pre-operation meeting that was intended to map out and discuss the planned delivery and distribution. No discussion took place of the guidelines to be followed by both Buyer and Supplier. Tingnan natin ang mga dokumentong ito. May tila gag order pa si Jason Aquino sa mga empleyado ng NFA.

From September 2 to October 2, 2017, a total of 44,100 MT in 8 cargo vessels have arrived at the port of Manila. This 44,100 MT is part of the 50,000 MT awarded to the Tan Long Joint Stock Company. Even though there are only 8 vessels carrying the imported rice, a total of 16 bills of lading have been issued over the 44,100 MT cargo. Two vessels, MV Ocean 29 arriving September 7, 2017 holding 6,600 MT and MV Thai Binh Star 01 arriving September 8, 2017 holding 8,200 MT had multiple bills of lading (2 B/L for Ocean 29 and 3 B/L for Thai Binh Staar 01). Only one B/L for each vessel was given to the NFA (1 B/L for 3,300 MT for Ocean 29, and 1 B/L for 3,000 MT for Thai Binh Star 01). The NFA issued a memorandum of undertaking only for the B/Ls given to it. When an alert order was sounded off for the undocumented cargo on October 5, 2017, Aquino called the BOC to tell them that a Memorandum of Undertaking was already issued for all the B/Ls of both vessels, but that the NFA was only delayed in its transmittal. On October 6, the NFA finally gave the Memorandum of Undertaking for the remaining cargo. Why did it take the NFA a month to issue the Memorandum of Undertaking, and why was imported rice allowed to sit at the anchorage area for a month? Let me make sure this sinks in, Mr. President. Isang buwan nakatengga sa ating port ang napakaraming toneladang bigas. Hindi kaya na sinadyang ipitin ang pagrelease ng buffer stock para makauna ang bigas galing sa private importers at makapwesto na ang private importers sa merkado? Hindi kaya may cargo sa vessel na hindi napunta sa NFA warehouse, bagkus nadivert at napunta labas sa gobyerno?

Mr. President, to summarize, ganito po ang strategy. Sa MAV o sa private importers, ang stratehiya ay ang paggamit ng cooperatives para macorner ang market at maconsolidate ang import quotas. Tapos dahil nakuha na ang market at naging makapangyarihan na ng husto, kaya na niyang impluwensyahan ang NFA na manipulahin ang buffer stock para makausad ang private imports.

At labas pa ito sa corruption sa mga shippers, storage at logistics handler na bahagi ng proseso ng pagdadala ng bigas mula sa pinanggalingang bansa papunta sa mga warehouse ng NFA. Nais kong tanungin si Mr. Aquino, sino si Rudy Feraren na President ng Golden Orient Ship Management and Agencies, Inc.? Hindi ba siya ang logistics handler simula pa ng panahon ni David Bangayan, at nagpasok at nagpakilala kay Bong Limsui?

Mr. President, paano kumikita ang administrator dito? Simple. Ang kalakarang tara per bag ay between 100-150 pesos. 100 kung kaibigan ka. 150 kung di kayo masyadong close. Gawin na nating 100 pesos. Each ton contains 20 bags of rice. We import around 1,000,000 tons of rice per year. This is the difference between the national consumption of rice and the domestic production. This means we import 20,000,000 bags of rice. Let us multiply 20,000,000 bags by 100 pesos. Twenty million bags multiplied by 100 pesos is a windfall of 2 billion pesos. Ito pa lang ang "entrance fee" ng mga importer para mabigyan ng certificate of eligibility at import permit. Hindi pa kasama ang iba ibang bayad pa para sa iba ibang modus operandi. Hindi pa kasama ang service fee na bigla-bigla nalang pinataw sa administrasyon ni Jason Aquino. In short, we are looking at a multi-billion peso enterprise. A multi-billion enterprise that has lined the pockets of a privileged few, and caused hunger to untold numbers of Filipinos. Who are these privileged few? This chart might provide some answers. Binigay sa amin ito ng ilang insiders sa NFA at binangga po namin ang mga pangalan dito sa mga pangalan na nabanggit ni Senator Grace Poe noong hearing ng February 27 ng Committee on Agriculture: Marlon Barillo, Marigold De Castro, Richie Carpio, Mercedes Yacapin, Rocky Valdez, Judy Carol Dansal.

Ang susunod na tanong - paano ito naging sanhi ng pagsirit ng presyo ng bigas? There are at least two ways. First, by gaming the price of rice through the manipulation of the buffer stock. Pinasadsad ang laman ng buffer stock para sumirit pataas ang presyo ng bigas galing sa private traders sa merkado. Pinatengga ang pasok ng G2G na bigas sa mga piyer para maka-position muna ang mga private traders at makabenta ng mahal. Secondly, but connected to the first, by consolidating the hold of rice cartels over stocks of imported rice through the use of front cooperatives and farmers association, among other strategies. How much was paid to Jason Aquino by private importers for allowing this modus operandi? We can only surmise. What criminal offense can be charged against him? Here, there is no surmising. Economic sabotage under Republic Act No. 10845.

Mr. President, si Jason Aquino ay kailangang ihabla at panagutin sa ilalim ng batas. At kailangang mahabla ang mga kasangkot niya na nasa loob ng NFA, at ang mga pribadong traders at importers na nasa labas ng NFA. Hindi dapat ibalik sa NFA si Jason Aquino kung saan magkakaroon na naman siya ng pagkakataon at kapangyarihan na impluwensiyahan at makinabang sa pag-angkat ng bigas. We can talk about rice tarrification and other important policy measures. But without addressing rice tara-ffication, our policies remain inutile.

At sino ang magbabayad dito sa rice tara-ffication? Walang iba kundi ang sambayanang Pilipino.

Salamat po.

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