Makati Mayor and senatorial candidate Abby Binay called on the government to take stronger action against rice cartels and smuggling, urging that those involved be prosecuted and put behind bars.

In an interview with Super Radyo DZBB, Mayor Binay emphasized that the full force of the law should be applied to deter price manipulation.

“Sa dami ng mga batas natin when it comes to cartel, profiteering, bakit wala pa yatang nakakulong? Pati smuggler pag nahuli di naman nila ipinapakita, hindi nila inilalabas. Sinasabi lang nila iba-blacklist...Pero ang tanong, mayroon ba tayong nasampolan man lang?” Mayor Abby said.

(With all the laws we have regarding cartels and profiteering, why hasn’t anyone been jailed yet? Even when smugglers are caught, they don’t show it or release any information. They just say they are blacklisted… But the question is, have we shown any examples?)

She added, “If wala po tayong naipapakita na seryoso ang gobyerno sa pagpapatupad ng batas, then paulit-ulit na gagawin ng mga cartel o mga sindikato na malalakas ang loob na magkontrol ng presyo.” (If we cannot show that the government is serious in enforcing the law, then cartels or syndicates will continue to manipulate and control prices without fear.)

The mayor also expressed support for declaring a national food security emergency to address rising rice prices, but cautioned that it would only provide temporary relief if middlemen were not removed from the supply chain.

“Rice prices would go down if the government directly buys rice products from local farmers, without going through middlemen,” Mayor Abby said.

Earlier, reports indicated that the proposed declaration would allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy rice directly from local farmers and sell it at lower prices.

“Dapat bilhin ng gobyerno ang ani ng mga magsasaka para hindi na ito dumaan sa mga middleman. Ang problema natin yumayaman ang middlemen,” Mayor Abby said. (The government should buy the farmers’ harvest directly so it doesn’t pass through middlemen. The problem is that the middlemen are getting rich.)

Last year, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signed the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act (AGES) into law which imposes harsher penalties on smugglers, hoarders, and cartels.

Violators face fines up to five times the value of smuggled or hoarded agricultural products and life imprisonment if convicted.