A LEGISLATOR on Tuesday submitted to the House of Representatives’ committee on agriculture and food a list of alleged rice cartels operating in the city of Manila.
The committee was conducting an inquiry into the rice inventory of the National Food Authority (NFA) amid the depletion of the agency’s buffer stock.
Manila Rep. Manuel Luis T. Lopez said that the 13 rice traders are based along a stretch of Dagupan Street in Tondo district.
Mr. Lopez, who gave the names of the traders, alleged that these companies control the price of rice in Metro Manila and challenged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the NFA to conduct an inspection.
“Visit the warehouses, open them. We are not authorized, we don’t have police authority, but you (NFA administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino), being under the secretary, have police powers. So I challenge you to do that,” Mr. Lopez said.
However, Agriculture secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said it is not the mandate of the DA to identify rice cartels.
The committee, chaired by ANAC-IP party-list Rep. Jose T. Panganiban, Jr., unanimously approved the motion to invite the companies named by Mr. Lopez in its next hearing. — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz
