MALACAÑANG has imposed a gag order on National Food Authority Administrator Jason Aquino for issuing statements on a rice shortage that have caused panic, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday, noting that the NFA Council has the sole authority to speak on the current rice supply.
Only recently, Senator Cynthia Villar reprimanded Aquino for sowing panic when the agency announced a shortage of affordable rice, which led to higher prices for the grain.
Roque said he believes that even Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who heads the NFA Council, should refrain from speaking on the topic.
“There was no specification of Cabinet Secretary Evasco. It is only the NFA Council henceforth that will speak on the current supply of rice in the country,” Roque told reporters during a press briefing in Malacañang.
He said that during the Cabinet meeting, the rice issue was discussed extensively, which prompted the President to instruct that all information on the country’s rice supply must emanate from the NFA Council and not any particular individual.
“There was an acknowledgement that statements made by the NFA administrator caused panic, which probably caused prices to rise. There was some disagreement on the figures presented yesterday by the NFA Council, but ultimately it was agreed that there is no rice shortage, because the figure of only 1.5 days worth of supply of rice was misleading,” he said.
Roque also admitted there has been an internal disagreement among the officials in the NFA over the rice situation, but assured the public that there is no shortage in the supply of rice.
Also on Tuesday, Senator JV Ejercito called on the government to implement anti-smuggling laws to ensure the livelihood of Filipino farmers.
“Agricultural smuggling is ‘killing’ our farmers. Every time smuggled rice, onions, garlic and other agricultural products enter the country, their prices in the market are low because no taxes or tariffs were paid,” Ejercito said.
“Our farmers can’t compete with the prices of smuggled goods because their capital is already high,” he added.
Ejercito is one of the authors of Republic Act 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, which defines large-scale agricultural smuggling as economic sabotage and prescribes harsh penalties for individuals found to be engaged in the illegal activity.
He expressed disappointment over the failure of the government to indict suspected agricultural smugglers, especially rice smugglers, despite the enactment of the law in 2016.
“Since its enactment, it’s disappointing to find out that the Bureau of Customs was only able to file three cases in the DoJ. Meaning, we are not utilizing the law,” he said.
He said the Bureau of Customs, law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Justice should work closely to put a stop to agricultural smuggling by “throwing the book on smugglers.”
“The overarching issue of the claimed NFA rice shortage is agricultural smuggling. As long as agricultural smugglers are in business, the source of livelihood of our farmers is in peril,” Ejercito said.
He added that the government should protect farmers, who should not be taken for granted.
