HOUSE Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay 2nd District) has called on the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to examine the tax filings and payments of major rice importers, in light of allegations of profiteering in the domestic rice market.
“Congress cannot directly request tax filings, as they are protected under Section 270 of the Tax Code. However, the BIR has the authority to verify its own assessments and records. These importers are bringing in billions of pesos worth of rice, so their tax payments should reflect that scale,” Salceda explained.
He further emphasized that a tax evasion charge would enable the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to investigate the financial transactions of the importers, since tax evasion is a predicate offense under AMLC’s jurisdiction.
Salceda also pointed out a troubling discrepancy in the rice market: “Around the time the President imposed the rice price ceiling, the gap between the landed import price and the domestic retail price was just 3 pesos per kilo. Now, it’s surged to 20 pesos per kilo, even as the farmgate price has decreased.”
“This suggests significant pricing abuse, and we need to identify where it is occurring in the supply chain,” he added.
The congressman noted that further investigation would be extended to the large retailers and wholesalers, who seem to be contributing to the profiteering.
Salceda also raised concerns about potential hoarding in the market. “Rice inventories are up 24 percent year-on-year. We’ve consistently exceeded USDA’s import projections, and some importers are delaying the withdrawal of rice from our ports,” he said. “These actions suggest both speculation and possible hoarding, as they may be anticipating a rollback of lower import tariffs.”
To address these issues, Salceda revealed that the Murang Pagkain Supercommittee will hold an executive session with the Department of Agriculture (DA) tomorrow to discuss the DA’s ongoing efforts to combat price manipulation in the rice industry.
