TWO rice traders, one of them a Taiwanese, were arrested yesterday in Iligan City for allegedly hoarding 40,000 bags of rice, according to Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.
In his Facebook post, Piñol said businessmen Sonia C. Payan, a Filipino-Chinese, and Jhonny D. Tan, a Taiwanese, will be charged with hoarding, involvement in cartel operations, and profiteering.
National Food Authority acting Administrator Tomas Escarez said the rice stocks kept in four warehouses in Iligan City were seized by the government.
Escarez said the two traders were the first to be arrested in the intensified campaign against rice hoarding ordered by President Duterte.
Members of the Sub-Committee on Rice Hoarding, Cartel, and Smuggling, which include the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Ports Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the NFA, swooped down on the four warehouses following reports of alleged hoarding by the two grains traders.
Escarez said the documents in the possession of the two traders were inconsistent with their stock inventory and appeared spurious, prompting the NFA to order the seizure.
NFA Adjudication Officer Sam Dimaporo and Chairperson of the Sub-Committee NFA Director Diane Silva of Region 10 together with ARD Buerano and all Region 10 PMs conducted the adjudication proceedings.
The arrest of the suspected hoarders and the seizure of the rice stocks were the first major accomplishment of the government team involved in the campaign against rice hoarding.
