NSP 2023-2028 to complement PHL development plan, Año says

ASIDE from giving the government guidelines in addressing all national security concerns, National Security Policy (NSP) 2023-2028 will also complement the medium-term Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

This was stressed by National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año in a statement Tuesday as he lauded President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for issuing Executive Order No. 37, which effectively adopted NSP 2023-2028 on August 12. He said “NSP 2023-2028 aims to complement the medium-term Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, as well as contribute to the realization of the long-term national dream of a ‘Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Buhay’ by the year 2040.”

Año, who is also the head of the National Security Council (NSC), said NSP 2023-2028 is in-line with the Chief Executive’s vision of a free, united, secure, and prosperous Philippines.

He also added that the NSC crafted NSP 2023-2028 with the goal of providing “the guidelines for addressing our national security needs and concerns in the next five years highlighting the crucial connection between security and development.” export ban as a humanitarian consideration,” Estoperez added.

The NSP 2023-2028 is the Philippines’ third such national security policy document that contains the guiding principles and interests for the protection and promotion of national security.

It further outlines policy objectives and priority areas to guide the state in its efficient allocation of its finite resources and capitalization of its core strengths for the attainment of a peaceful and prosperous nation.

Año said the national security goals identified in NSP 2023-2028 are based on an assessment of our ever-changing strategic environment, while also noting the country’s socio-political values, fundamental laws, and core national interests.

The NSP 2023-2028 has identified the following as the country’s national security interests: national sovereignty and territorial integrity; political stability, peace, and public safety; economic strength and solidarity; ecological balance and climate change resiliency; national identity, harmony, and culture of excellence; cyber, information, and cognitive security; and regional and international peace and solidarity.

THE Federation of Free Farmers on Tuesday cautioned the Department of Agriculture (DA) against “frightening” legitimate rice traders in its bid to control rice hoarding and eliminate market price manipulation through warehouse inspections.

“It is very difficult to detect hoarding and price manipulation. Traders normally buy a lot of palay during harvest time, then gradually mill and dispose of their rice inventory during the off season,” FFF national manager Raul Montemayor told the B usiness M irror on Tuesday.

“So it is only normal that they have stocks in their warehouses. As for manipulation, they can say they are just following price trends,” he added.

Montemayor cited a recent DA statement that the agency will tap its Inspectorate and Enforcement Group, headed by DA Assistant Secretary James Layug, to inspect warehouses amid persistent reports of manipulation of stocks to justify another spike in retail prices of rice.

DA Assistant Secretary and deputy spokesman Rex Estoperez said that while the Rice Tariffication Law or Republic Act (RA) 11203 removed the regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA) to inspect warehouses, the DA is still empowered to visit rice storage facilities.

“We cannot compel the rice warehouses as the regulatory function of the NFA was removed but on the part of DA, we can, through our Inspectorate and Enforcement, we can also request them to visit the warehouses of rice,” he said.

Montemayor, however, said that some monitoring and inspection could help and discourage too much profiteering.

“But the basic problem still remains—there is limited and tightening supply because of the slow inflow of imports. But they also have to be careful so as not to frighten the legitimate traders,” the federation official added.

Estoperez noted that the retail price of the staple food increased as the palay harvest would start in the latter part of September or early October.

Earlier, Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban announced that the country is eyeing the importation of 300,000 to 500,000 metric tons from India and Vietnam to ensure that there will be enough rice stocks in the country.

For his part, Jayson Cainglet, executive director of Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura said that DA is “acting too late and too little” to assure the public that there is ample stocks of rice.

“By visiting warehouses, it sends the wrong signal that there is an ongoing hoarding or shortage of rice,” he said.

Cainglet added that “the President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] has assured us of enough stocks until the end of El Niño. What we do not have is the buffer stock in government’s possession.”

“The NFA has a P7-billion budget to buy rice. The price is P25/kilo farm gate, they can buy 5.6 million bags of rice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cainglet said that instead of resorting to imports that will only benefit importers and favored traders, the DA, through the NFA, should start buying palay from local rice farmers.

“They asked for additional budget to buy rice. The mindset is always importation, we don’t have a shortage of supply. What is missing is the holding stocks of NFA,” he added.

Cainglet said that importation as a solution has all been discarded by countries in the era of extreme weather situations as the new norm.

“Countries with surplus production have been limiting their allocation for export as a way of increasing their local stocks. Nations across the globe are all protecting their local agriculture and building capacities for self reliance,” he said.

Cainglet added “the last two cropping seasons have been very positive to our rice farmers because of the extended help of the private sector [buying palay from P21/kilo and up] and the increased fuel and fertilizer subsidies from the government.”

Meanwhile, farm-gate prices have increased and the cost of producing palay has been reduced because of these interventions.

These developments are encouraging farmers to plant and more institutional support from the DA would further encourage the local rice industry.

No rice price manipulation?

RICE traders in Intercity Industrial Estate and Golden City Business Park, two of the country’s major rice trading centers, denied allegations hurled by certain quarters that they are involved in rice price manipulations on Tuesday.

Rice stakeholders claimed that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have started conducting revenue inspection on rice traders in the two major rice trading centers at a time when rice and palay stocks are currently thin and business is on a slump.

Malou Tolentino, Bulacan coordinator of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement, confided that many wholesale rice traders in Bulacan are thinking of temporarily shutting down their operations due to the high cost of palay that translates to the rising prices of rice.

Meanwhile, for his part, Tony Santos, a rice trader, said that the country is now currently at the peak of the “rice lean months” wherein stocks of the grain staple are thinly spread throughout the country.

He cited that rice prices usually increase during these times as palay traders and rice traders have thin volume stocks of the staple grain and its prices follow the law of supply and demand.

Santos explained that the law of supply and demand states that prices are determined on the volume and supply of a product wherein if the supply of a good or service outstrips the demand for it, prices will fall. If demand exceeds supply, prices will rise.

Citing reports from certain quarters that rice traders manipulated the spike in rice prices, Santos urged these sectors to first assess the meaning of rice lean months; assess if the National Food Authority (NFA) or what government agency has enough rice buffer stocks for the country’s rice lean months; the effect in the increase of fuel prices and the rising dollar-peso exchange rate.

“What actually happened was that the price of rice increased in the world market,” Santos explained.

Recently, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas national chairman Danilo Ramos and Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo accused rice traders of being involved in price manipulation to justify the spike in retail prices of grains.

“It is not true that the high retail price of rice was caused by the high farm-gate price of palay as farmers have yet to harvest. The spike was caused by the rice cartel,” Ramos said.

“The stocks are already in the warehouses. The retail prices of rice have increased because of the rice cartel,” he added.

Estavillo noted that the farm-gate price of palay in Mindoro, Iloilo and Isabela was only at P21 per kilo.

“The P34 [per kilo] farm-gate price of palay mentioned by traders was only part of efforts to condition the minds of the public that the retail prices of rice could reach as high as P60 per kilo,” Estavillo said. Raadee S. Sausa

1. Defense and Military Security;

It also identified the following as the country’s 15-point National Security Agenda:

2. Maritime, Air, Land and Space Security;

3. Border Security; 4. Political Security; 5. Public Safety, Peace and Justice; 6. Health and Biodiversity;

7. Economic, Infrastructure and Financial Security; 8. Food, Nutrition and Water Security; 9. Energy Security;

10. Transportation and Port Security; 11. Moral and Spiritual Cohesiveness; 12. Socio-Cultural Cohesiveness; 13. Ecological Balance and Climate Change Resiliency; 14. Cyber, Information and Cognitive Security;

15. Regional and International Peace and Stability.

To implement the policy document, the President, through Executive Order No. 37, has directed all national government agencies and Instrumentalities, including governmentowned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and local government units (LGUs) to adopt NSP 2023-2028 in the formulation and implementation of their security-related strategies and programs.

“There is a need for all national security-related strategies, along with the plans and programs of all national government agencies and instrumentalities to be aligned with the NSP 2023-2028. This alignment is vital for the successful wholeof-government and whole-of-society implementation of the policy document,”

Año emphasized.

Executive Order No. 37 also stated that the National Security Council Secretariat, through the NSA, shall serve as the principal body for the monitoring of the implementation of the NSP 2023-2028.

The monitoring will be conducted by coordinating with various national government agencies and instrumentalities, GOCCs, and LGUs.

Año underscored his commitment to the effective implementation of the NSP 20232028, which now serves as the Philippines’ roadmap in ensuring that the country’s “sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interests, and the well-being of its people and institutions are preserved, protected, and enhanced.”

He added that NSP 2023-2028 will be vigorously pursued across all government agencies and that they will take the lead in mainstreaming the said policy not only in government agencies but across Philippine society. Rex Anthony Naval

He also defended the decision of the DA to use the humanitarian issue in its negotiation with India to allow the Philippines to import rice despite its export ban.

“We were hit by a typhoon and so far, based on our negotiation with India, we asked that we should be exempt from the

DOLE ready to assist workers affected by reclamation suspension–Laguesma

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured it is ready to provide assistance to workers, who are expected to be affected by the suspension of 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

“As long as there will be workers who will be affected or displaced, we are prepared to help them in various forms,” DOLE Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma told reporters in an interview with reporters in Malacañang last Tuesday.

H e said the aid may include filling up vacancies in DOLE’s official job facilitation website, PhilJobnet.

The labor chief said they might also refer the affected workers to their partner firms and business organizations for placement.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Laguesma said they have yet to receive any report of workers, who were displaced amid the suspension the reclamation projects.

Last week, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced the suspensions pending the result of their assessment on the soundness of the projects.

It noted that the reclamation activities, which will be found to have violated environmental laws and regulations, might have their respective environmental compliance certificate (ECC) suspended or even canceled.

DENR S ecretary Maria Antonia YuloLoyzaga assured they would give the affected reclamation projects time to implement the necessary corrective measures.

The review of the said projects comes amid concerns these have a negative impact on the environment, which includes worsening flooding in areas near Manila Bay and vulnerability to rising sea water level. Samuel P. Medenilla