“If you see piles of rice bags inside the warehouse, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re hoarding,” said Hazel Belacho, the NFA regional office’s information officer. ADVERTISEMENTFloro Calixihan, Bureau of Customs regional collector, said people might have suspected that piles of rice sacks at the port last week were hoarded goods. Elizabeth delas Llagas, MCT collector, said it did not make sense to hoard rice at the customs facility because of the hefty storage fees that they would have to pay. Apolinario Buerano, NFA assistant regional director, said there was no reason for traders to hoard rice because prices were already high. Samuel Natavio, NFA assistant manager in Misamis Oriental, said the provincial NFA inventory was 187,000 bags of rice imported from Vietnam and Thailand.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 23, 2018 21:56 UTC