MikeLigalig.com

by Roy Pelovello and Christine F. Herrera

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday accused the Arroyo administration of allowing favored businessmen to reap windfall profits from the rice importation that the National Food Authority had opened to the private sector.

A recent audit of the food agency showed that a favored group was given the authority to import rice, Mr. Aquino told reporters at the Liberal Party’s 65th founding anniversary at the Club Filipino in San Juan.

The previous administration of President Gloria Arroyo had encouraged the private sector to participate in the rice importations as a way of reducing government spending.

“But it seemed [the authority given to the private sector to import rice] was on a first-come-first-served basis,” Mr. Aquino said.

“Our NFA administrator is puzzled why the manager’s checks issued by [the] private businessmen allowed to import rice came only from one bank.

“And there’s more. It was found that the [serial numbers of the] checks issued were sequential in order. It seemed only one group or one person benefited from this.”

But former Agriculture Secretary and now Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap said nobody was given preferential treatment.

“The government could not possibly [have allowed] anyone to corner contracts because of [the] strict implementing rules and guidelines,” Yap said.

“Everything was done through a public bidding or auction.”

Yap challenged the President to name names and to identify the businessmen who were supposed to have been favored.

“There was no such thing as a rice cartel or big players that were given favors,” he said.

He was willing to face any investigation to prove that the rice importations during his watch were conducted properly.

The President, who cut financing for the NFA in the 2011 budget, said the agency would continue to perform its mandate of ensuring an adequate supply of rice, but vowed to bring order back to the food agency.

He said that when he came to power, his administration inherited the agency’s P176.7-billion debt that he blamed on the excessive rice importation in 2009.

Earlier, NFA Administrator Angelito Banayo claimed that there also had been an excessive importation of rice in 2004 and 2007, and asked the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.

Mr. Aquino said that while the estimated need was only 1.3 million metric tons, the actual importation reached about 2.5 million metric tons, or about three times the projected demand.

“What is worse was that the importation was overpriced by about $60 to $125 [per ton] compared to the benchmark prices of the [Food and Agriculture Organization],” he said.

But Yap said the Arroyo administration in 2009 actually imported less than the amount recommended by an inter-agency committee.


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