Extract rot’s cause

Extract rot’s cause | Daily Tribune

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. may just as well hold on to the National Food Authority’s top post for a while and turn the agency inside out to flush out the internal syndicates maintained by influential rice traders.

The fire sale of NFA rice to traders when the price of the grain was ridiculously high despite the bumper harvest and the liberalization of importation pointed to manipulation that could be traced to the cartel.

Sabotaging the NFA’s operations is an attack against the Rice Tariffication Law, a reform that has delivered a painful blow to the giant traders who have monopolized the sector for so long.

The zarzuela in Congress of probing the NFA is part of the script since the supposed result of the probe would be used as an excuse to either amend or abolish the RTL.

Thus, the best recourse is for the Department of Agriculture or DA chief to handle the investigation.

Laurel, who had the reputation of a hard-nosed executive in the private sector, would know how to deal with the NFA imbroglio.

The cartel’s ultimate goal is to restore the NFA’s monopoly on importation, which would benefit the syndicate by centralizing the agency’s corrupt practices.

The value of the rice trade in the world’s biggest grain importer is about $37 billion, or P2.035 trillion, each year, making it easy to imagine how much the cartel is hurting over its reduced influence in the market.

The 139 NFA officials and employees that the Ombudsman suspended, including its top executives, should be a starting point for Laurel’s overhaul of the agency.

Removing the far-reaching tentacles of the cartel in the NFA must be the priority.

The NFA is crucial to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s success since his signature pledge of bringing down the cost of rice to P20 a kilo hinges on its efficient performance.

Under the RTL, the NFA is limited to building up the rice buffer stock for emergencies through purchases from local farmers.

Continuing the racket within the agency of selling cheap to traders hurts farmers, as the farmgate price of palay is expected to drop due to unfair competition from the NFA.

According to some industry sources, NFA rice is being repacked and sold at the prevailing prices or a profit of more than double through the underhanded deal.

Laurel has guaranteed that corruption in the agency will be stamped out, and the Ombudsman can expect his cooperation in “finding out the truth and in making those responsible accountable.”

He said a special panel of DA investigators has been formed to determine culpability and to “see how we can prevent it from happening again.”

The DA secretary made the right move to backtrack to 2019 when the RTL was implemented to determine the extent of crookedness in the agency.

If the goal is to make the supply abundant at a price approximating the “aspiration” of the President, the anomaly at the NFA should be resolved, and the rice syndicate clipped off its wings.

Cleansing the NFA has been a daunting task even in the past, to the point that calls for its abolition were entertained during the previous regime.

Laurel assessed that the shenanigans have been happening long enough, with NFA officials enriching themselves at the expense of the millions of Filipinos “who struggle every day to feed their families.”

The NFA should be cleansed or shut down if the agents of deceit are too deeply ingrained.