Soldiers, policemen
assured of P18 rice
Local execs ‘hoarding’ stocks warned

BY VICTOR REYES

THE Armed Forces yesterday started selling government-subsidized rice in its 32 commissaries for soldiers and veterans and their dependents.

And instead of P18.25 a kilo, it sells the rice from the National Food Authority for P18.

"All our outlets in the AFP commissary and exchange service system will now be used as the distribution outlets which could serve veterans and soldiers," said AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.

He said the sale of the cheap rice in the commissaries was recommended by the AFP to the Cabinet.

Initially, he said, 200 sacks of rice will be made available at each commissary.

The Armed Forces has around 120,000 men.

The AFP commissary’s main outlet is in Camp Aguinaldo.

The PNP is working on a similar plan to make the NFA rice available to its 120,000 personnel through the "Mamang Pulis" service stores, according to PNP spokesman Lt. Col. Nick Bartolome.

Esperon said the commissaries would set a limit on purchases, but the ceiling has yet to be determined.

Navy Capt. Pricillano Ruiz, general manager of the AFP commissary and exchange service system (AFPCES), said they are selling the NFA rice for only P18 a kilo because items in the commissaries are tax-subsidized.

Esperon said: "The targets really are those who need it more…Civilians, they can avail if they have commissary cards and are related (to soldiers and retirees)."

President Arroyo visited the AFPCES to check on the supply of NFA rice and "tinapay ng bayan" which costs P36 per 550-gram loaf instead of P44-54. Pan de sal costs P11 a pack (10 pieces) instead of P12-20.

"We are enlisting the Armed Forces to be an outlet for distributing this cheaper rice to the ordinary soldiers and their families. After all, they are among the less privileged in our society," Arroyo said.

In a speech at the first assembly of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers Inc. in Camp Aguinaldo, she said government is tapping the Armed Forces and the police to take "swift, decisive actions" to make sure that the rice problem does not become a crisis.

She said government has worked to stabilize the supply of rice and given targeted subsidies to the poor.

RICE QUOTAS

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno warned provincial officials against imposing quotas on the rice and food they would send to other areas in the country, saying it would be detrimental especially to the National Capital Region.

Several provinces have declared they will ensure the needs of their population first before servicing other areas.

"There is a problem with that because you cannot have rice-producing provinces refusing to send rice to other provinces and then vegetable-producing provinces refusing to send vegetables to other provinces. I’ll give you an example. If Isabela and Cagayan set a quota on their rice, patay ang Metro Manila because we receive a large amount of our supply (from the provinces). Tatlong probinsya lang ang maglagay ng quota - Nueva Ecija, Isabela at Cagayan - saan tayo pupulutin?" he added.

Puno said he will check if any local government unit has issued ordinances imposing such a quota and will review if any laws are violated. He said imposing a quota in itself violates free trade laws.

"The problem is the price, not the rice...There is rice. If you go anywhere there is rice," he said.

SEEKING HELP

Puno also refuted the allegation of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay that Malacañang is washing its hands of the responsibility of distributing or ensuring the supply of cheap NFA rice by tapping churches, mosques and local government units for rice distribution.

"Hindi hugas ng kamay iyon. Hingi ng tulong iyun. Ngayon kung si Mayor Binay ayaw niyang (makipag-)tulungan, we will respect his decision. Tutal ang Makati naman is a very self-reliant city... Wala namang pinipilit na simbahan, walang pinipilit na local government unit... kung sa Makati ayaw nila, okay lang," he said.

Rep. Salvador Escudero (NPC, Sorsogon) said lack of reliable information on the real status of the rice supply is causing "unnecessary panic" among the people, particularly the poor.

‘UNNECESSARY PANIC’

The lack of authoritative sources, he said, drives the poor and the uneducated to resort to panic buying, neglecting their family’s other basic needs like medicine.

Escudero was agriculture secretary in the Ramos government, which in 1995 and 1996 saw 400 hectares of farmlands affected by the El Nino phenomenon.

Escudero said public discussions on rice shortage are inadvertently causing panic. "Because of this unnecessary panic, I maintain it is the poor first to suffer," he said.

He stressed the rice supply is "comfortable" because farmers are already starting to harvest this month until May.

RICE SUBSTITUTES

Escudero said that instead of dwelling on the shortage, government and the people must work toward exploiting other "opportunities" like considering substitutes to rice like sweet potato, cassava, and "saging na saba (plantain)."

Escudero dismissed talks that Palace political operators are using the rice shortage to divert public attention from the controversies surrounding the graft-ridden $329 million national broadband network deal with China and the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Exploration with China in the disputed Spratly islands.

"Hindi naman ganyang kagaling ang Malacañang at walang magbibiro ng ganyan (na may krisis sa bigas)," he said adding Malacañang does not need any diversionary tactic because the Supreme Court’s decision which prevented former socio-economic planning secretary Romulo Neri from testifying in the Senate shows who is in control of the Judiciary.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel expressed support to Malacañang’s move to tap LGUs for rice distribution, saying the LGU leaders know their constituents.

But he told LGU leaders not to mix the rice distribution with politics.

Pimentel said government should intensify its drive against hoarders and profiteers, especially those who have access to government offices that are engaged in rice trading.

Pimentel also said government should revisit its rice policy by re-starting rice production instead of relying on rice importation.

"That is the ultimate solution to the rice problem: self sufficiency, not importation," he said.

BAD POLICY

Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David said government should not be dependent on rice importation.

"I think it’s a very bad economic policy. Kahit naman saang bansa, kinikilala nila na ang self-sufficiency in food production is always a wise move of every nation," he said.

"Pero, sa tingin ko, parang walang ginagawa ang pamahalaan dito," he added.

David lamented the agriculture industry has been neglected over the years, as shown by the failure to implement the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.