MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / July 12, 2014) – Interior Secretary Mar Roxas has ordered the police to intensify its campaign against hoarders of rice and other basic commodities in an effort to break cartels.
“I expect the police to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to break the operations of criminal groups responsible for hoarding and price manipulation of basic commodities,” Roxas said.
Just recently, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headed by Chief Superintendent Benjamin Magalong inspected about a dozen warehouses in Metro Manila that led to the discovery of more than 170,000 bags of rice and that almost half of it were being repacked and mixed with other types of rice for reselling.
Other warehouses yielded old stock and broken rice not even fit for human consumption.
Roxas commended the CIDG for its successful operations against hoarders. “I commend the PNP-CIDG under Chief Superintendent Benjamin Magalong for the successful operations against suspected rice hoarders. These efforts will definitely jumpstart our campaign to put behind bars those responsible for hoarding and help bring down the cost of food,” he said.
Roxas’ directive came after President Benigno Aquino ordered law enforcement agencies to investigate and file charges against those behind the artificial increase in the prices of essential commodities such as rice, garlic, ginger, pork, chicken, and milk.
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