After the house of a leader of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan was raided, ransacked and a firearm was planted, rice farmers were treated to a show by the Department of Agriculture (DA) by way of announcing that cheap rice will be available for the “poor and vulnerable sectors.”
Miffed by another gimmick to paper over the scandals at National Food Authority (NFA) and the indecent haste to remove all non-tariff barriers in the importation of rice and other commodities to “guarantee food security,” which prompted the protest of Agriculture Secretary Franco Laurel Jr. as the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) never consulted him about the order crafted by its resident shaman, Director General Aristeo Balisacan, KMP responded to the Bigas29 plan to sell rice at P29 per kilo at Kadiwa outlets as “another pathetic attempt of DA and Marcos Jr. to solve the worsening rice price crisis.”
KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos scoffed at the plan, months after the NFA tried to sell its rice stocks at P25 per kilo to private traders rather than have them rot in their warehouses. From its former role as a market whip by unloading rice when prices rise, NFA has been reduced to merely keeping buffer rice stocks and barred from the rice trade, which has been privatized, and rice importation has become the function of private traders, particularly those favored by the government.
Rather than craft a comprehensive plan to solve the nagging problems of the rice industry, from the obsolete rice milling equipment, inadequate drying and post- harvest facilities, insufficient irrigation services, expensive agricultural inputs, high electricity and fuel costs, as well as usurious rates from loan sharks in the farming areas, the DA creates Bigas29 after the government flubbed its promise to sell the staple at P20 per kilo. They are again selling the grain in the Kadiwa stores, another martial law failure, while not controlling the hoarding of rice by importers as rice prices zoomed to P70 per kilo despite the supposed adequate supply in the market.
Joji Co, longtime leader of Philcongrains and rice miller, said that modern milling equipment and drying facilities would greatly minimize post-harvest losses, noting that such losses are roughly equivalent to volume of rice imported annually. The rice production deficit, from a low of 7% less than a decade ago, has ballooned to more than 10%, which indicates that the DA has failed to stop main the hectarage for palay cultivation. Considering that more arable lands are being converted for residential, commercial, industrial purposes and even as cemeteries, eco-tourism sites and solar and wind farms, it is certain that rice production will be reduced substantially. Worse, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is selling water at P1 per cubic meter to private water companies even as its own data say that it has not serviced more than 30% of the country irrigable areas, with communal irrigation systems being larger that NIA-serviced areas.
Ramos scoffed at the attempt of the DA to tout Bigas29 as a substantial effort to provide the toiling and hungry masses with “aging but good” NFA rice stocks at P29 per kilo, reminding everyone that there used to be the “sisid rice” during the martial law period, and the “bukbok” rice or recent provenance. They were cheap, low-quality rice that were proffered as the solution to rice shortages, even if the eating quality was so bad that the market refused to consume it. Keeping rice in warehouses for more than a year guarantees its bad eating quality. In fact, the staple deteriorates after six months of storage.
KMP argued that the DA, the lawmakers led by Sen. Cynthia Villar who approved the Rice Liberalization Law (RA 11203) as well as the DA bureaucrats who championed it, should be held liable for the rice prices despite the unbridled importation of rice. Worse, government will still import rice to replace the stocks to be used for its Bigas29 scheme. “Only rice importers and rice traders will benefit from the Bigas29 — a repackaged rice importation program of the Marcos Jr regime,” the group said.
“Wala talagang interes ang DA at gobyernong Marcos na resolbahin ang krisis ng mataas na presyo ng bigas. Ganito rin ang ginawa dati sa bukbok rice na gusto ng DA na ibenta at ipakain sa masa. Lumang bigas na nakaimbak sa mga NFA warehouse ang ibebenta sa mahihirap sa P29 kada kilo, samantalang naisiwalat na ang ginawa ng NFA na nagbenta ng P25 kada kilo ng bigas sa mga traders,” Ramos howled.
He challenged Marcos and Laurel to publicly cook and eat this Bigas29. “Ang tanong namin kay Pangulong Marcos Jr, DA Sec Tiu-Laurel at iba pang opisyal ng gobyerno, ito bang Bigas29 ay handa nilang kainin at ipakain sa kanilang mga pamilya?” Ramos asked.
