Criminal liabilities on sitting container vans with rice being determined —DA

Authorities are still determining if there are criminal liabilities as regards the container vans, filled with imported rice, which have been sitting in Manila ports for months. 

The Philippine Ports Authority earlier said there were more than 888 shipping vans that contain approximately 20 million kilograms of rice in the container yards of Manila ports. Over the weekend, around 300 container vans have already been pulled out.

At a Palace press briefing on Monday, Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa was asked if a crime was committed amid this circumstance. He said that on the part of the DA, it has not been determined. 

''Part iyan ng pagsusuri natin, sa ngayon hindi pa natin nakita. But, kami ngayon ang concern namin iyong food safety, may nabanggit si GM kanina na isa lang naman na kargamento na 275 days, so nine months na iyan na nakatengga, plus kailangan ding makita kung kailan iyan naharvest, kasi kapag tumagal ng isang taon, medyo matagal na iyong bigas,'' De Mesa said.

(As part of our investigation, we are checking that but as of now, we have not seen any (crime). Our concern is food safety, GM earlier mentioned that one container had been there for 275 days, so that's nine months plus we also have to check the harvest period.) 

''We just would like to ensure food safety noong bigas na iyon,'' he added. 

De Mesa further said they would let the proper authorities handle whether there had been profiteering and hoarding in this incident. 

Last week, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago led the inspection of the container vans. He told reporters that consignees could be deliberately delaying the withdrawal of imported rice in anticipation of higher market prices.

For his part, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel thanked the PPA for acting promptly on the matter.

“We respectfully urge the PPA to prioritize the movement of these rice stocks to help increase supply for this essential food staple and potentially lower retail prices,'' Laurel said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News