SULU, TAWITAWI BARTER TRADE
HAS OPERATED FOR CENTURIES
By Manny Piñol
The uproar over my proposal for the establishment of a Rice Trading Center in Tawitawi for government to take full control rice smuggling activities in the Southern Philippines may have been the result of my failure to provide an historical predicate to the idea.
I can only blame myself for assuming that people outside of Mindanao understood the realities in the Southern Philippine island-provinces of Sulu and Tawitawi.
Let me make another attempt at explaining what the controversial oxymoron “legalizing rice smuggling” really meant by providing a cultural and historical background.
The trading of goods between Sulu and Tawitawi, island provinces of the Philippines, and Sabah, a federal state of Malaysia, has been going on for centuries, even before the Spaniards and the Americans even discovered the islands.
Sabah is so near some of the islands of Tawitawi that locals say that if you are in Taganak Island, one of the Turtle Islands, you could actually hear the crowing of roosters in the morning.
The people on the other side of the blue waters separating Tawitawi and Sabah are actually relatives of the Sama’ and Tausugs of Sulu and Tawitawi.
People of Sulu and Tawitawi bring many of their produce to Sandakan and Labuan and on their way back, they bring whatever items they need.
Try visiting the markets of Bongao, capital town of Tawitawi, and you will feel like you are in a different country.
There are no Perla soap bars or Rufina Patis. Almost all the items sold are Malaysian, Chinese or Vietnamese brands.
The popular “Maling” canned luncheon meat first came in through the barter trade.
In fact, even the cigarette packs have the “Blue Seal” which indicates that these have not been taxed by the Philippine government.
What is smuggling to us is barter trading to them, that is the reality.
Barter trading is in fact supported by President Rody Duterte and the Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA) Chairman Abul Khayr Alonto.
Even the World Bank recommends the operation of a Barter Zone in the Southern Islands. (https://www.rappler.com/…/199762-free-trade-zone…)
Spinning off to the rice smuggling issue, the entry of rice from Vietnam or Thailand using the Sandakan and Labuan Ports as transhipment points has been going on for years now.
While the illegal activity supplies the rice needs of the ZAMBASULTA Area (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawitawi) which has a rice sufficiency rate of only 10%, it actually deprives government of revenues and worse, it threatens the livelihood of farmers in the main island of Mindanao.
When the Malaysian authorities decided to clamp down on the rice smuggling activities in the ports of Labuan and Sandakan, the ZAMBASULTA Area suddenly ran out of rice supplies.
Now, the rice needs of the islands are provided for by the National Food Authority (NFA) but this obviously cannot be sustained because with a total consumption of 220,000 metric tons every year, the ZAMBASULTA rice requirement would deprive other regions of government subsidized rice since the NFA is importing only about 500,000 metric tons of rice every year.
Shipping commercial rice to the island provinces is a difficult option because the price of rice per kilo would be over P50 due to the difficulty in shipping the supplies to the area, a problem made worse by security concerns.
So, during the series of meetings I had with the local officials of ZAMBASULTA, the idea of establishing a Rice Trading Center, where the erstwhile illegal rice traders could bring in their stocks covered with import permits, quarantine and sanitary clearances and charged with the correct tariffs and duties, was endorsed by the stakeholders.
What would be the advantages of the Rice Trading Center?
1. It would end rice smuggling because every sack of rice brought in through the Rice Trading Center will be charged with corresponding tariffs roughly estimated to be between P1-B to P2-B every year;
2. It will ensure steady supply of legally imported rice for the people of the ZAMBASULTA area until such time the Department of Agriculture and the LGUs have fully revived the rice farming industry in the islands and in Zamboanga City.
3. It will provide a safeguard against the unregulated entry of rice which could adversely affect the rice farmers of the main island of Mindanao. Under the proposal, the volume of rice which would be allowed to brought in through the Rice Trading Center should not exceed the total consumption requirements per capita of the ZAMBASULTA Area.
So, there you are. I hope this clarifies everything.
Finally, let me just respond to those who are saying that this idea is “stupid” because it “legalizes smuggling.”
Let us define “smuggling.”
Smuggling is the act of bringing valuable goods into a country evading and avoiding the payment of tariffs, duties and taxes.
So, if the rice shipped in through the proposed Tawitawi Rice Trading Center is covered with import permits, charged with appropriate tariffs and duties and covered with quarantine and sanitary clearances, would that still be “smuggling?”
Anybody who says “Yes” is the real stupid.
(Photos of the map showing the proximity of Tawitawi to Sabah and stores in Tawitawi selling goods coming from Malaysia were downloaded from public websites.)
More Stories
Breeding Season Starts!
Practical Tips On Cattle Feeding!
Bamboo Goat House Model Now Ready For Occupancy!