April 15 (Bloomberg) — The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer, intensified efforts to crack down on hoarding as prices rose to a record and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said the president’s popularity may be undermined by food inflation.

The Southeast Asian nation would target “unscrupulous traders together with their accomplices in the bureaucracy,” President Gloria Arroyo said today. “We have already taken steps to protect our consumers from rice and even bread bandits.”

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