malaysiangPresident Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Wednesday the double-digit drop in his approval and trust scores no longer came as a surprise, considering the plight of Filipinos bearing the brunt of the sudden spike in the prices of rice. In a media interview on the sidelines of the rice distribution in Taguig City, Marcos said the present situation in the country makes it ‘perfectly natural’ for him to earn lower approval and trust ratings. ‘It’s not surprising. People are having a hard time. Bigas ito, eh. Ibang usapan pag bigas (It is rice. It is a different story when it comes to rice). It’s different from anything else, any other agricultural product,’ he said. ‘Hindi mo masisi ang tao. Talagang naghihirap sila, eh (You can’t blame people. They are really suffering). That’s why we’re doing all of these things. That’s why we are doing all the things to try and maintain the prices at the level that is affordable to the people.’ Based on a Pulse Asia survey conducted from Sept. 10 to 15, Marcos’ approval and trust ratings declined by 14 percentage points from 85 percent to 71 percent, and 15 percentage points from 80 percent to 65 percent, respectively. Pulse Asia conducted the survey amid the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 39, which imposes a price ceiling of PHP41 per kg. on regular milled rice and PHP45 per kg. on well-milled rice to temper the increase in the prices of the staple. Marcos, during the media interview, announced the lifting of the implementation of EO 39 and assured continued assistance to affected individuals, including farmers and the underprivileged sector. He said he is focused on ensuring food security and stabilizing the prices of agricultural commodities in the country. ‘I completely understand it, and that’s why we’re working very, very hard to make sure that this comes up again. Not because of the survey, that’s not important to me. What’s important to me is that we make sure that people have enough to eat and that it is affordable to them,’ Marcos said. He also noted that he has already prohibited the collection of toll fees and charges on all motor vehicles transporting goods or merchandise. He was referring to EO 41 he signed on Sept. 25, which allows all cargo vehicles to pass through any national roads and other roads not constructed and funded by local government units without paying ‘pass-through fees.’ “‘Yun lang naman talaga ang kailangang gawin (That’s all that needs to be done). I think we’re slowly getting there dahil ang supply natin napakaganda. Ang distribution siguro, meron na tayong ginagawa doon sa pass-through para sa costs ng pag-deliver ng bigas, lalo na sa malalayo (because our supply is really good. The distribution maybe, we are already doing something there in the pass-through for the costs of delivering rice, especially to remote areas),’ he said. Relentless fight vs. smugglers, hoarders During the rice distribution in Taguig City, Marcos also assured the public that his administration is ‘serious’ in addressing the smuggling and hoarding of agricultural commodities that have caused the unreasonable increase in the retail prices of farm products. He bared that the government has already filed agricultural smuggling charges against San Pedro Warehouse, Blue Sakura Agri Grain Corporation, FS Ostia Rice Mill, and Gold Rush Rice Mill. ‘Hindi tayo papayag na patuloy na mamayagpag ang mga mapagsamantalang pumipinsala sa ating kabuhayan at sa buong sektor ng agrikultura. Binabalaan ko ang mga sumasabotahe sa ating ekonomiya: Kayong mga smuggler, kayong mga hoarder, at sindikato, tigilan na ninyo ang mga masama ninyong gawain (We will not allow the exploiters who harm our livelihood and the entire agricultural sector to continue to thrive. I warn those sabotaging our economy: You smugglers, you hoarders, and syndicates, stop your evil deeds),’ the President said. ‘Bagong Pilipinas na po tayo ngayon, at atin pong susugpuin ang mga hindi po lumalaban nang patas. Wala pong puwang sa lipunan ang mga nanlalamang at nang-aapi sa kapwa (We are now in the New Philippines, and we will defeat those who do not fight fairly. There is no place in society for those who abuse and oppress others).’ Citing Republic Act (RA) 10845, Marcos said anyone who is smuggling agricultural products would face a punishment of life imprisonment and a fine that is double the value of their contraband, plus the total amount of taxes, liability, and other fees. He added that RA 7581 also imposes stiffer penalties against those who are caught illegally stockpiling supplies. In a weekly forum in Quezon City on Sept. 30, Bureau of Customs Legal Service acting Director William Balayo said three rice smugglers are facing charges of economic sabotage, while the other one is facing a case for the violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) under Agricultural Product Smuggling. The charges stemmed from the inspection the BOC conducted in Bulacan on Aug. 24. The BOC said a case build-up is also being conducted for the filing of charges against the reported smugglers in Zamboanga City. Meanwhile, about 1,000 sacks of premium quality rice were distributed by Marcos to beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Taguig City. The distributed rice is still part of the 42,180 smuggled premium rice forfeited by BOC – Port of Zamboanga during its Sept. 15 raid on a warehouse in Barangay San Jose Gusu, Zamboanga City. The confiscated sacks of rice were turned over to the DSWD for distribution to 4Ps beneficiaries.
Source: Philippines News Agency
