Malacañang on Monday said the government will no longer push through with its importation of 300,000 metric tons of rice due to sufficient supply of the food staple.
In an online briefing, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) has decided to forgo its government-to-government (G2G) tender.
“We already have enough supply of rice that is why the importation will no longer push through,” Roque said.
Earlier this month, PITC sought the approval of President Duterte for the importation of rice, which was supposed to start on July 15, 2020.
The request came after the BusinessMirror reported that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) questioned the legality of the bidding process.
The DBM refused to release the P7.45 billion for the said acquisition citing the provision of the rice tariffication law (RTL), or Republic Act (RA) 11203, which bars the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the DTI from rice importation without authorization from the President.
The PITC, through the technical aid of DA, already conducted the bidding, which was participated by India, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.