‘NFA guilty of legalized smuggling’ – farmers, NFA employees

‘NFA guilty of legalized smuggling’ – farmers, NFA employees

As of five days ago, the NFA awarded to the private sector the rights to import 660,000 metric tons out of the 860,000 metric tons of rice to be imported for the year, this despite news reports of sacks of rice rotting in NFA warehouses. And rice traders who import the rice would even be exempted from paying taxes.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
Who’s not surprised that there’s rice smuggling in the National Food Authority (NFA)? The employees of the NFA and the rice price monitoring group Bantay Bigas, that’s who.

According to Bantay Bigas, the rice smuggling at the NFA is actually “legalized practice,” and that the privatization of the food agency is to blame.

Roman Sanchez, President of the NFA Employees Association (NFA-EA) and member of Bantay Bigas, said that the privatization of the NFA has made the agency more prone to corruption. He said that because of the private sector-financed importation (PSF) policy , rice smuggling has become legal. The group calls the PSF smuggling because commercial traders are allowed to import rice without paying taxes.

“Rice traders connive with corrupt NFA officials,” he said.

Earlier last week, media was furnished with a copy of the audit report prepared by a three-member team hired by the NFA. The reports said that the implementation of the PSF importation from 2008 to 2010 resulted in massive losses for the government. It said that from 2008 to 2010, the NFA allowed commercial rice traders to import a total of 1.4 million metric tons (MT). The NFA also asked the Fiscal Incentives Regulatory Board, on behalf of the traders, a tax exemption worth P20 billion (US$46,511 million).

Bantay Bigas has launched “Brigada Kaldero”, a series of protest actions against continued increases in the prices of rice and other food items, as well as oil products. The group said that farmers don’t need dole-outs and demand that the government implement the National Food Authority’s mandate to ensure the country’s food security.(Photo courtesy of Bantay Bigas / bulatlat.com)

Under the PSF scheme rice traders are allowed to import rice duty and tax free. If they deliver earlier than the agreed upon schedule, the NFA even gives rice traders rebates. The traders then sells the rice they import to the public but with permits and licenses from the NFA. And they get to keep their profits from the sale. This is supposedly part of the government’s “commitment to develop the marketing and entrepreneurial capabilities of the private sector, primarily the farmer organizations.” However, only rice traders have the capital to finance rice importation.

The NFA union and Bantay Bigas said that there was nothing surprising about these findings and that there was nothing new about it at all. Based on Bantay Bigas estimates, smuggled rice comprises 15 to 21 percent of the country’s total rice imports. The group said that because of smuggling, Filipino farmers are denied remunerative income from their produce..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/25/nfa-guilty-of-legalized-smuggling-farmers-nfa-employees/