Thursday, April 17, 2008 LGUs urged to activate LPCCs to stabilize rice prices
INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno has called on local chief executives nationwide to organize or activate their respective local price coordinating councils (LPCCs) to help check against possible unwarranted price increases of rice and other basic commodities in the face of volatile petroleum and food prices in the world market.
In a memorandum circular (MC) issued to all provincial governors and city and municipal mayors, Puno pointed out that LPCCs would help protect consumers from hoarders and other unscrupulous traders who might take advantage of the current rice woes to unduly jack up prices of the staple and other basic goods.
"All local chief executives are strongly encouraged to activate their LPCCs or to organize the said councils where there are none, for consumer protection purposes, and for a more purposive and sustained monitoring of selected prime commodities," Puno said in his circular.
Besides activating or organizing their respective LPCCs, Puno also urged local officials to do the following:
* Conduct regular inspections of rice warehouses, public markets and other retail outlets;
* Set up consumer complaints desks, consumer hotlines and timbangan ng bayan;
* Deputize barangay officials and non-government organizations to monitor abnormal price increases; and
* Actively coordinate with other government agencies to prevent hoarding and unjustified price increase of rice and other prime commodities.
Puno noted that LPCCs, as stated in Section 5, Rule 6 of a Joint Administrative Order issued by the trade, agriculture, health and environment departments in 1993 creating such councils, are empowered to:
* Coordinate and rationalize programs of member-agencies in the respective provinces, cities and municipalities to stabilize prices and supply of basic necessities and prime commodities;
* Recommend to the National Price Coordinating Council or to the implementing agencies the suggested retail prices of basic necessities and prime commodities;
* Conduct in-depth analysis on the causes of price fluctuations; and
* Recommend steps to correct unwarranted price increases and supply shortages.
Earlier, the DILG chief called on local executives nationwide to closely coordinate with agriculture officials in making available affordably priced rice to depress communities as part of Malacañang's ongoing efforts to guarantee the supply and stable prices of rice.
Puno had also tasked the Philippine National Police (PNP) led by Director General Avelino Razon Jr. to focus on the criminal aspect of the investigation of cases against rice hoarders to help eliminate illegal trade practices that could further jack up rice prices in the retail market.
Palay subsidy
The provincial governors, during a meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last Tuesday, agreed to help the National Government subsidize the palay (unhusked rice) buying price in their provinces to prevent hoarding by rice traders and to boost the stocks of the National Food Authority (NFA).
Eastern Samar Governor Benjamin Evardone, secretary general of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), said the President welcomed the idea as one of the options to mitigate the impact of the rice problem.
Evardone said some governors have already increased the NFA's buying price of palay at P17 per kilo in their provinces in order to match that of the traders.
"(The) purpose is to prevent traders from controlling the harvest of the palay for them to hoard. In areas where the NFA cannot compete with the traders, the LGUs (local government units) will try to support the NFA," he said.
He said the increase in the buying price would depend on the financial capability of the Provincial Government since they would have to fund the subsidy.
He said only the provinces that are capable of shouldering the subsidy would be able to raise the buying price of palay.
Evardone said LGUs are also closely monitoring the warehouses and traders.
He said aside from subsidizing the palay-buying price, the local officials could appeal to the farmers to sell to the NFA instead of the traders. He said the governors have persuasive powers over the farmers, who benefit from the hybrid seeds, fertilizers, and construction and repair of irrigation facilities.
"In my case I bought 350 hand tractors and I intend to buy more," he said.
Bio-Fuels Act suspension
Senator Rodolfo Biazon meantime called for the suspension in the implementation of the Bio-Fuels Act passed last year by Congress in view of the current rice crisis, saying it should be deferred until after the government has crafted a plan to ensure food sufficiency especially in rice production.
"The implementation of the Bio-Fuels Act should be held in suspension until we can put up a program on food sufficiency. I am afraid its immediate implementation could jeopardize the need for food production. At the least, we should confine ourselves at this time to research purposes and not on production," Biazon said.
He said arable land devoted to food production, especially the growing of rice, is on the decline due to various reasons such as the conversion to residential or industrial estates and the lack of a well-thought out plan on agriculture.
He said the lack of a long-term plan on food sufficiency has resulted in the Philippines losing its pre-war position as a rice exporter to a net importer up to the present.
The lawmaker said the government should come up with a long-term plan on agriculture to enable the country to be self-sufficient and not at the mercy of rice exporting countries, which he added could eventually be the new cartel on the world stage much like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
"Right now I am looking at the emergence of Rpec or the Rice Producing and Exporting Countries exerting pressures and manipulate the price of the commodity on the world stage much like Opec," he added.
The leading rice exporting countries today were Vietnam, Thailand, India, Indonesia and the United States.
According to Biazon, the ball is now in the hand of President Arroyo, but said Congress can pass a joint resolution calling for the suspension considering the current problem.
He said the move has a precedent when the bidding law was suspended for a year during the time of former President Fidel Ramos to enable the government to address the energy shortage which threatens the country. (Sunnex)
