Duterte to rice traders: no illegal act, no problem with me
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Duterte said he was adamant in protecting local traders, especially when they pay the right taxes.
He added that the local traders did not have to import rice. However, he told the traders to find out where the rice supply was coming from.[]
Johnny Loyola, among the traders that Duterte met, manifested the group’s support and thanked the mayor for his assurance.
“The whole country is affected because of the loss of taxes,” Loyola said. “If you import cheap rice and flood it in the market, this will affect (the locally produced rice) that we are buying.”
Loyola said that there was a previous practice from some suppliers of imported rice where some documents were recycled. “We don’t know. We always buy in good faith, we assume that it is legal. But we don’t know how legal,” he said.
Loyola said they assured Duterte they would not buy smuggled rice.
Duterte said he would insist on a very strict rule for everyone.
“Beginning today, the Davao port would be ‘legal.’ If you enter, you have to pay taxes. I don’t care how many aircraft carrier-loads of goods you bring in. Just pay the taxes,” he said.
He added that rice goods would have to be cleared with the National Food Authority.[]
“More than what you import, it can create an oversupply and compete with the local farmers,” he said.
