To skirt anomalies, NFA to bid out rice imports

The National Food Authority (NFA) Council on Monday approved a measure to bid out rice import allocations, junking a first-come, first-served system that has supposedly bred connivances between private rice importers and NFA insiders. In an interview with GMA News, NFA administrator Angelito Banayo said the measure — which is now up for approval by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board — will replace the existing system in which importers pay a fixed price of P25 per bag of rice, pass some customary documents, and submit the requirements ahead of the rest for the NFA nod to import the commodity. Banayo said connivers within the NFA itself have given favored importers an edge in the first-come, first-served system. “Sa gobyerno, hindi puwedeng first-come, first-served (In the government, first-come, first-served does not hold water)," he said. Last month, the President cast suspicions on the NFA’s private-sector rice importation, saying only one group or person seemed to benefit from it. Banayo said the measure is not only a response to the President’s exposé, but also a show of “good governance." The measure, in which the highest bidders will win import allocations, will redound to additional income for the debt-ridden agency, he added. Banayo last week said the Aquino administration inherited P177 billion in NFA debts from the leadership of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Jacking up the price Lita Mariano, spokesperson of rice watchdog Bantay Bigas, told GMA News that importers will pass the additional burden on to consumers, jacking up the price of imported rice in the Philippines. “Pasanin na naman (Another burden)," she said. Her group frowns upon rice importation in general, Mariano explained, adding that the Philippines can source its rice from within the country if only government can improve its farm support systems, among other things. Banayo, on the other hand, said importation is a temporary measure in light of the Aquino administration’s goals to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2013. “It’s not as if we want to import. It’s simply because kulang tayo sa produksyon (we are short on production)," Banayo said. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala on Wednesday said the government plans to import less than a million metric tons of rice for 2011 — less than half the volume it imported in 2010 — due to projections of a good harvest. Responding to fears of a price hike for imported rice, the NFA administrator said, “Eh ‘di ‘yung mahihirap, huwag silang bumili ng bigas na imported (Well, then the poor, they shouldn’t buy imported rice)." "Bilhin nila yung amin. Mura ang sa amin (They should buy ours. Ours is cheaper)," Banayo said. — VS, GMA News