Cotabato bishop warns rice hoarders won't be given communion

MANILA, Philippines - A South Cotabato bishop on Monday warned traders found to be hoarding rice in Mindanao will not be given communion, saying greed may be the reason behind the unusually high prices of rice in the region. In a radio interview, Marbel, South Cotabato Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said he has received reports that rice traders in the province are hoarding rice, while retailers have been repacking rice supplies and selling these at higher prices in the markets. “Something is wrong. The reason is greed of the businessmen. Some people are hoarding and the others are taking advantage of the crisis to get more money," Gutierrez said in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. Gutierrez, former chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) - National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) said intends to meet with rice traders and ask them to "return" what they have "stolen" from the public. “I will talk to them in private and ask bakit mo ginawa yan? I will ask him to defend and explain… then I will say, you have to return what you have stolen plus the damage. If he will say ‘opo’ (yes), then I will absolve him… I will give him communion. If he will say ‘no’, then I will say you will not receive communion because you’re the one excommunicating yourself. You don’t want to be united with Christ because you are exploiting the poor," Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said it was ironic that prices of commercial rice have reached P51 per kilo in Mindanao which is a vast source of food supply. In the interview, Gutierrez also called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to impose political will in resolving the rice price crisis not only in Mindanao but nationwide by making available rice supplies in the region. “She has all the power, so use the power to solve the rice crisis because there is supply but the price is critical. There is rice so it’s only a matter of will power of the president," Gutierrez. - GMANews.TV