Duterte backs rice importation through private firms —Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte agreed with the National Food Authority Council's plan to change the government's rice importation policy from just dealing with other governments to transacting with private firms, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco said Duterte was already appraised of the wisdom of switching to government-to-private (G2P) mode of rice importation from government-to-government (G2G).

“This is unanimous because the President during the last Cabinet meeting had been given the opportunity to listen to the position of the NFA Council where there is really a need for us to import," Evasco said.

"That’s why the President said since this time NFA will no longer have the monopoly of importing rice. So, we should open importation through private sector… As soon as possible. We cannot do anything without policy statement of the President,” he added.

Undersecretary Maia Chiara Halmen Reina Valdez of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary was dismissed in April after she issued G2P rice imports previously denied by NFA administrator Jason Aquino, who favored G2G transactions.

Duterte even argued against importing rice since it would compete with local production, especially since it was harvest season.

“To some extent, it admits that there is really a need for us to import,” Evasco said of the policy shift.

The Cabinet Secretary clarified that the Council was able to explain to Duterte the inevitability to import rice as the Philippines had yet to attain rice sufficiency.

“This is a policy shift… The President has got to listen to the members of the Council. After all, the members of the Council do not have interest attached to buying rice, either government or private,” Evasco said.

Meanwhile, Evasco said that Aquino attended the Council’s meeting on Monday and supported the G2P rice importation.

“[Department of Agriculture and NFA] are not supposed to contradict the position of the NFA Council. I’m happy to let you know the administrator of the NFA was present during NFA Council meeting yesterday. Hindi naman (nagreklamo). He was supportive,” he said.

What’s wrong with G2G?

Evasco warned that G2G transactions are prone to corruption. 

“There is no bidding, no auction. Negotiated contract ito eh. But dito ngayon sa government-to-private, iyong private traders from countries which produce so much rice, may bidding it... At the start, that follows the rules and guidelines of the Government Procurement Act,” he said.

However, Evasco said that the government should not abandon G2G transactions altogether. But the scheme should be improved.

“We just have to improve that because there might be situations in the future that might really need government-to-government. But in the meantime, we have to depart from that, rather go to MAV [minimum access volume] or government-to-private,” he said.

While it was raised that G2P transactions can also result in cartels, Evacso pointed out that it would be the task of the NFA in coordination with the Bureau of Customs to prevent these groups.

“I am calling on NFA management to really guard the emergence of cartel. After all, it is the NFA that issues the certificate of eligibility and the import permit. So, they would know if cartel ba iyan or hindi,” he said. —NB, GMA News