WHEN RICE TARIFFS ARE PAID,
IT AIN’T SMUGGLING ANYMORE!
By Manny Piñol
So much fuss has been stirred by my proposal to establish a Rice Trading Center in Tawitawi Province to give government full control of the illegal rice trade in the Southern Philippines.
I cannot help by shake my head and laugh at how it is being slanted out of its proper context by saying that I am proposing the “Legalizing of Smuggling.”
This is a perfect example of how shallow minds work and how some people simply react without giving the idea a more profound understanding.
Let me just ask this very simple question:
When the rice supplies coming in through the Southern Islands are charged with tariffs and duties, documented, inspected by Quarantine Officers and the needed volume controlled, is that “SMUGGLING?”
No, Sir, it is not! That is already a legal importation of rice!
In fact, this proposal is expected to earn the government an estimated P2-B in revenues every year.
It will also ensure stable rice supply in the ZAMBASULTA Area which is totally dependent on smuggled rice.
By setting a volume of rice to be imported based on the per capita consumption of the area, the rice farmers in the main island will be protected.
Some people, however, simply refuse to look at the practicality of the Rice Trading Center in addressing and ultimately stopping rice smuggling in the ZAMBASULTA Area.
Now, I am starting to suspect that the people who are raising hell over this proposal are connected with the smugglers because this measure will finally put an end to rice smuggling in the Southern Philippines.
(Images were grabbed from the websites.)
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