News Release
April 2, 2008
Reference: Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, chairman, KMP and president, ANAKPAWIS party list
 
Without changing Malacanang’s liberalization policy:
“P 5 billion subsidy will just go to the rice cartel!”-KMP
 
            The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) warned that without changing the liberalization policies that Malacanang is implementing, the supposed P5 billion subsidies it allotted for rice farmers will just go to the rice cartel and landlords.
            According to Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, chairman of KMP and concurrent president of ANAKPAWIS party list, “No matter how much money is poured into the rice production and trade, if the policies that are applied are still that of agricultural liberalization, then the ones who would benefit are the landlords and the rice cartel because they control the industry from rice planting to retailing. For now, unless a rice price control and the local procurement of palay is not increased by 25%, then the cartel still rules the rice market,”
            “Increased rice importation will also go to their favor because they can use these imports as covers for their rice smuggling, besides most of these imports also go to the cartel. To destroy the cartel we must change the current system of being import dependent and export oriented of our agricultural sector. It must become self-sufficient and self-reliant to prevent a malady of perennial rice crisis,” said Mariano.
            “Clear steps like the scrapping of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), the pull out from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the ban on land use conversions and crop conversions and ultimately the implementation of genuine agrarian reform will destroy the rice cartel and ensure our food security. Ironically all these are already part of the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) or House Bill 3059 but Malacanang’s allies are trying to derail it,” added the peasant leader.
            “Now on the other hand increasing rice importation will just aggravate the crisis and make the rice cartel stronger. It is a sure fire way to guarantee that we will be having rice crises as an annual occurrence if this is not stopped. The NFA has to procure more local rice so that it can wrest control of the Philippine rice market from the cartel, if this is not done then farmers and consumers will always be at their mercy,” ended Mariano. # # #