News in brief: Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. instructed government agencies to ensure affordable rice availability through legal means, due to concerns over rising prices.
Philippines president Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued a directive to relevant government agencies to ensure the availability and affordability of rice to citizens.
He gave the directive recently in the countryâs capital of Manila during a meeting with stakeholders. The meeting had been setup to discuss updates on government initiatives in ensuring rice supply and price regulation.
President Marcos mandated relevant agencies to take advantage of available legal tools in controlling the price of rice. He said this was essential as the rising price of the product was a cause for concern.
His instruction came after the countryâs Department of Agriculture assured the public of sufficient supply of rice. In recent weeks, the price of rice in the Philippines have surged caused by hoarding and tropical cyclone.
The president also requested that the Bureau of Customs to coordinate with the Agriculture Department to study the possibilities of donating seized rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. He said it was important to ensure the affordability of rice to especially poor households and necessary to put other support mechanisms in place for both farmers and traders.
Furthermore, the Bureau of Customs have been authorised to continue raiding warehouses suspected to be harboring illegal rice imports.
The agencyâs head, Bienvenido Rubio, disclosed the organisationâs ongoing efforts in tracking illegal rice hoarders and importers. He said that they had already inspected some warehouses in that regard and found over 200,000 sacks of rice (valued at about $9 million USD or 505 million Philippine Pesos) illegally imported from Vietnan. The illegal rice were subsequently sealed pending the completion of the inventory by the assigned examiners.
