http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/national/3791-rice-import-policy-breeds-corruption--villar.html
NACIONALISTA Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar, Jr. yesterday urged the government to scrap a policy requiring rice importers to obtain priority numbers that would determine when they can import rice.
Villar said the policy implemented by the National Food Authority “opens the system to additional layers of corruption.”
“Who prioritizes the priority numbers?” he asked.
The NFA earlier awarded allocations for importations on a first-come, first-served basis. It reportedly revised the importation guidelines only last Friday.
Upon learning the new rules, importers from the Visayas flocked to the NFA provincial offices to get their priority numbers. NFA’s offices were unusually open last weekend.
“The NFA is taking advantage of the impending shortage of rice supply as a result of El Niño. Some people are out to make a killing at the expense of the people’s misery. This is immoral and inhuman,” he said.
Importers who obtained priority numbers reportedly offered other importers and brokers use of their permits for a fee. Sources said the fee is P250 per bag of rice.
“What is the logic of this new rule for importing rice? Rather than simplifying the rule, the NFA has made it more complicated,” Villar said
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