No lies shortage
Posted on March 29, 2008 - Filed Under Governance
UP professor Felipe Medalla is a rarity among former public officials. He rarely issues press statements but when he does, he makes excellent sense. As quoted by Malaya yesterday in reference to a looming rice crisis, the former Economic Planning secretary said,
“The collective wisdom of the market should decide importation. The more the government interferes in the market, the more the economy is vulnerable to shocks and crisis.”
Medalla’s words were a polite way of telling Pres. Gloria Arroyo that the existence of a rice cartel with supposedly close ties to people in her inner circle that hold sway over the National Food Authority is one of the primary reasons behind the escalating prices of the commodity.
In the meantime, the Palace continues to insist that there is no rice shortage.
To Agri secretary Arthur Yap’s credit, however, he seems to have heeded Medalla’s counsel with an announcement that he’s open to allowing the private sector to import rice. To what extent that’s allowed to happen by individuals who have more clout than Yap will determine how big a liar GMA will turn out to be on her ‘vow’ to peg the price of rice at P18.50 per kilo. The last time I checked online earlier this week, public market retailers already had theirs at P29.50 to P31.50.
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