President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. revealed that upon assuming office in 2022, he discovered that the high rice prices were due to excessive importation and the involvement of government officials in rice smuggling.
“Ang katotohanan, ang nakita namin ang pangkontrol doon sa presyo ng bigas ay ang smuggled na bigas kaya nagho-hoard,” Marcos Jr. said in Episode 1 of the BBM Podcast posted on Facebook.
“Ang isa sa una naming ginawa, nag-raid kami ng mga warehouse. Ito ang pinakamalupit sinabi namin, ba’t may ganito? At hindi na iniintindi basta’t puro ang import natin dahil ang nagi-smuggle mga official din ng gobyerno. Kumikita sila. Bakit nila papalitan? Sige pasok lang sila ng pasok hindi nila iniintindi ang production hindi iniintindi yung sistema, hindi nila iniintindi ang presyo ng palay, ang presyo ng bigas, ang kikitain na magsasaka walang ganun,” he added.
Marcos Jr. explained that these flawed systems needed to be fixed in order to fulfill his campaign promise of P20/kg rice, which took time to implement.
He did not identify the names of the officials involved in rice smuggling or whether any charges had been filed.
“Basta’t ito yung nakita namin ‘nung pag-upo ko mayroon talagang ganyan. Nung inipit namin yung mga smuggled at nire-raid na namin ‘yung mga warehouse nabawasan yung supply,” he explained.
“Kailangan namin ayusin yung NFA. Lahat ‘yan ung mga changes na ganyan hindi ganun kasimpleng gawin. May batas na kailangang palitan, mayroong mga taong kailangang palitan, ibang konsepto na. So ngayon lang namin nabuo lahat,” Marcos Jr. added.
After the May 12 elections, P20/kg rice was made available in select areas, with plans for expansion once the Department of Agriculture and local governments finalize subsidy-sharing agreements.
He also highlighted his administration’s efforts in building irrigation systems, constructing dams, and distributing machinery, which resulted in record-breaking rice harvests in 2023 and surpassing previous yields in 2024. (ZIA LUNA)
