The Department of Agriculture (DA)  said on Monday that they are still determining if there are crimes committed regarding several container vans of imported rice overstaying in Manila ports for months. This, as their top priority, is ensuring food safety.

“That's part of our analysis; so far we haven't seen it yet, but our concern is food safety,” DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a Palace press briefing on Monday.

''GM mentioned earlier that there was only one shipment that lasted 275 days, so it has been sitting for nine months, plus it is also necessary to see when it was harvested…We would just like to ensure the safety of the rice,” he added.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) earlier said over 888 shipping vans are sitting at Manila ports, which contain over  23 million kilograms, or 23,000 metric tons, of imported rice. 

According to PPA General Manager Jay Santiago, more than 300 containers of imported rice were pulled out by their respective consignees last week.

“The good news is, because of our disclosure of overstaying rice, over the weekend alone, 300 containers have already been pulled out by their respective consignees, and we look forward to the coming days until the end of the month,” he said.

He added that with their continued coordination with the Department of Agriculture, they will be conducting more intensive monitoring specifically not only for rice but for other prime commodities like pork, chicken, and onions to avoid overstaying shipments in ports.

Santiago prior said during an inspection of the container vans that consignees were possibly deliberately delaying the release of staple grain imports in anticipation of their higher market prices.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco  Tiu Laurel Jr. said that as of September, there were only about 60,000 MT of imported rice that arrived. 

He said among the factors for the sluggish arrival of imported staple grain are port congestion and slow unloading.