‘Country faces international sanctions for treaty violation’

THE lawyer of importers whose rice shipments have been unlawfully seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) upon the instructions of the National Food Authority (NFA) has called on the departments of Finance and of Trade and Industry to intercede and clarify the legality of the issuance of rice permits by the NFA in light of the "inability of the pertinent agencies to appreciate the significance of the June 2012 expiration of quantitative restrictions [QR[ for rice under the WTO-GATT [World Trade Organization-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade].” The DA enunciated this policy on Tuesday, with Secretary Proceso J. Alcala practically daring rice importers to try to get their rice into any of the major ports, including Cebu City, where huge volumes of rice had been unloaded by smugglers who used to operate in Manila. Invoking the administrative functions of the DA, Alcala said tersely: "It’s plain and simple, without permits, it is considered smuggled rice and should be confiscated.” Alcala has been constantly subjected to criticisms by lawyer Argee Guevara of Sanlakas, who has been championing the cause of rice importers, and economists at the Philippine Institute of Development Studies, led by Rhoelano Briones, who want to junk the rice self-sufficiency program altogether for being too expensive. The DA chief has been supported in his stand not to import more rice at this time by Sinag, an alliance of agricultural stakeholders who claimed that the rice importers who want to cash in on the supposed "shortage” are merely traders who have had no experience in the rice trade