Published by Bohol Chronicle
Newly elected
Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap who was former NFA administrator and agriculture secretary during the Arroyo administration appeared to be in hot water amid the clamor to investigate the "
midnight rice importation."
Rice Watch and Action Network, a coalition of farmers and NGOs, called for an investigation of a "grand theft" of the people's resources.
NFA chief Banayo, for his part said "paper trail" should be conducted so charges could be filed in 30 to 45 days against the culprits.
This rice importation was highlighted during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Pres. Benigno Aquino III last Monday.
Reacting to the expose' of the President, Rep. Yap told the Chronicle the "NFA only imports the volume of rice as recommended by the inter-agency committee on rice and corn."
"The decision to import is not dependent on one person," Yap stressed.
He said the members of the committee include representatives from the National Economic Development Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, Bureau of Agriculture statistics, Agriculture policy and planning group, Department of Science and Technology, and Pag-asa, among others.
Yap further said the recommendation is studied and approved a second time by the NFA council which counts for its members, among others, the farmers representative, the Department of Finance, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The former NFA administrator and agriculture secretary urged the government to re-visit the recommendations of these agencies to see if there was an over-importation or not.
"These agencies are in a better position to explain their recommendations through the past years," Rep. Yap said.
Yap recalled that in 2008, that was the year of global food price crisis while in 2009, the country lost a million tons of rice due to typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng.
Yap said the council did not adopt the recommended 3.2 million metric ton
rice importation. Instead the body approved of 2.3 million metric tons. He further said the role of NFA is to fight off price and supply speculation, in the market.
The solon said it could have been better if these facts were taken into consideration before declaring a rice over-importation.
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Topic: Rep Arthur Yap in Hot Water Over Rice Scandal Importation (Read 2456 times)