The Unlawyer

Monday’s prime-time TV news was filled with reports of how the poor in Metro Manila and elsewhere endure long queues day in and day out at public markets and official retailers in to obtain their supply of government-subsidized rice, at PHP 18.50 a kilogram, even as supply of the precious grain remains readily available for those who can afford its high prices. Some authorized outlets are even employing measures usually reserved to deter election fraud to prevent greedy consumers from buying more than their allotted daily ration of rice: Indelible ink limits Bicolanos to kilo of rice–NFA exec.

The Daily PCIJ describes the typical Pinoy’s rice-consuming habits:

“In 2006, every Filipino consumed 118.7 kilos or 2.4 sacks of rice a year. That amounts to a daily per capita rice consumption of 325.21 grams per citizen.”

On the other hand, the President says: There’s no need to panic over rice: GMA, a claim immediately shot down by a leftist farmer’s group: There is an Actual Rice Crisis Aggravated by an Artificial One.

One response to the looming crisis: Import restrictions on rice, corn lifted.

““Any businessman can import rice and corn as long as they pay the proper taxes,” said Cerge Remonde, head of the Presidential Management Staff.

““The import quota [on rice and corn] have been lifted, but not the tariff,” deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said in a text message to reporters.”

One farmer’s group immediately threw cold water on this plan: Rice import plan compromises RP’s self-sufficiency.

Rice import liberalization may increase the availability of rice on the open market but with benchmark prices expected to reach USD 850 a metric ton this week, up from the USD 360 at the end of 2007, how this initiative will reduce Philippine rice prices is a mystery.

At any rate, obtaining a supply of rice for import may be problematic to begin with:

“The United States Department of Agriculture predicts demand to exceed supply, with 2007/08 global rice production expected at 421 million tons against a forecasted consumption of 424 million tons. Water shortages and a sharp coldspell in China, floods in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, excessive rainfall in North and South Korea, a typhoon in the Philippines and severe drought in Australia have all drastically reduced rice harvests. And global rice stocks are 4 percent below a year earlier and the smallest since the 1983/84 season. Moreover, ninety percent of rice produced in countries like Thailand, is consumed by its own domestic market, leaving a very small percentage for export purposes.”

Here’s the biggie, proposed by no less than the President herself: Arroyo bares P48.7 billion agri aid. Its salient features include:

# P500 million for fertilizer support and production.
# P6 billion per year for large and small irrigation systems.
# P6 billion per year for farm-to-market roads and Roll-On-Roll-Off ports.
# P5 billion for research and development, capacity building, and improving educational efforts for the agriculture and fisheries sector.
# P2 billion for hybrid seeds (for the remaining five planting seasons, up to 2010).
# P6 billion for certified seeds (also up to 2010).
# P2 billion for dryers and other post-harvest facilities.
# P15 billion for agricultural loans to farmers, most of which will be coursed through Landbank.

Like the loosening of import restrictions I mentioned above, this package immediately attracted criticism from the usual suspects, and not an unwarranted one at that: Militants wary that P 43-B set for food supply might lose to corruption.

Tonyo Cruz links to a presentation prepared by the leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on the Philippines’ rice crisis. I am usually not sympathetic to Bayan’s position on many issues but I wholeheartedly approve its recommendations, like improving farm productivity and suppressing the cartel that controls rice distribution.

I didn’t know that the Senate in 1995 probed the existence of a cartel that had a stranglehold in the Philippines’ rice distribution, in the wake of a rice crisis then. Evidence suggests that such an illegal organization exists and continues to thrive.

“Farmers claim that the strength of the rice cartel is founded on social inequities, the lack of farm support mechanisms such as credit, technical assistance, and infrastructure for farmers from government, financing institutions, among others.

““Farmers are forced to borrow for production inputs from traders, compromising their produce as these are used as payment for commodity loans. Even before harvesting, production is already pledged to buyers who are part of the network of the cartel,” said Rafael Mariano, chairman of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and chairman of the Anakpawis partylist.”