Farmers of Bantay Rice and the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women hold Ferdinand Marcos Jr accountable for the 23 million kilos of rice revealed hoarded at a Manila port. The rice came from Vietnam and is believed to have been deliberately hoarded at the port to keep rice prices high in the market. The business owners have kept it there for more than 30 days. The stored rice is estimated worth more than ₱500 million.

Cathy Estavillo, Bantay Bigas spokesperson and Gabriela Women’s Party second nominee, said the Marcos regime’s excessive reliance on imports and the weakening of government regulation worsen the problem of hoarding and smuggling in the country.

“In all of this, no other than Marcos should be held responsible because he promoted Rice Liberalization Law, Executive Order No. 62 and others,” she said.

Estavillo’s group said the importation of rice should be stopped because it clearly serves another agenda and only big traders benefit from it. Their claims that a large supply of imported rice will decrease its market price is not happening anyway, she said.

“Marcos and DA constantly repeat the lies that the impact of EO 62 will be felt in October or January next year, while in fact the rice industry remains liberalized or controlled by big landlords and monopoly trader-importers,” she said.

“In experience, imported rice is released in time with the harvest season, to force the lowering of the local farmgate prices,” she said. “Despite claims of having EO 62 and Rice Liberalization Law, hoarding persists because the government is incompetent and continue to favor traders.”

Farmer groups reiterate their call to strengthen local production. Recently, they also called for compensation and subsidies especially for provinces that have been devastated by consecutive typhoons.