Amid the swirling rice cartel issue, the Bureau of Customs has found huge bulk of suspected smuggled imported rice from various warehouses in Bulacan on Thursday.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture briefed the House agriculture panel about the need to import rice to augment existing stocks in preparation for El Niño—a policy that drew criticisms from some lawmakers who asked why the Philippines would not focus instead on improving domestic production of the staple.
Earlier, DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian said during the House hearing that “I don’t believe [that] there is a rice cartel [in the country].” For his part, Intelligence Group Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy underscored the role of the BOC to get into the bottom of hoarding issues that drive up the cost of rice in the market.