A lawmaker is seeking accountability for what he calls the “biggest agricultural price manipulation case” in the country’s history.

This, as Albay Second District Representative Joey Salceda -- who chairs the House of Representatives’ Murang Pagkain Supercommittee -- accused cartels of exploiting the rice importation system during the Duterte administration, driving up prices and costing billions of pesos to Filipino consumers.

“The biggest case of price manipulation in the agricultural sector remains to be the cornering of import permits from 2016 to 2018,” Salceda said during a committee hearing.

He pointed to the private sector’s control over rice importation and the manipulation of import permits, which led to a significant price hike in 2018, costing consumers an additional P8 per kilo of rice.

The total economic loss, according to Salceda, was estimated at P88.6 billion.

Salceda expressed concern that the individuals responsible for the alleged anomalies have yet to be held accountable as he questioned the fate of investigations into the matter and the role of government agencies like the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Bureau of Customs.

To shed light on the issue, Salceda directed the committee secretariat to send letters to the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman to inquire about any ongoing investigations, as well as to request information from the NFA and the Bureau of Customs regarding rice import permits and arrivals from 2016 to 2018.

The Murang Pagkain Supercommittee, formed to address food security issues, is composed of several House committees and aims to tackle problems such as price manipulation, smuggling and hunger.