MANILA - A rice trader who admitted receiving a warning from President Rodrigo Duterte regarding his dealings asserted the legitimacy of his business on Saturday.

This after the Bureau of Customs seized some 100,000 sacks of imported rice brought by Sta. Rosa Farm Products, owned by Jomerito “Jojo” Soliman.

In a statement, Soliman maintained that the imported sacks of rice were properly documented with different government agencies and insisted that he has no plans of selling these at a higher price.

“Our company immediately responded and committed to help the government when the President publicly announced that he was scrapping the import quota in order to bring in more rice and bring down the prices for the benefit of consumers, particularly the low-income households,” he said.

There are also enough documents, including letters from the National Food Authority, to disprove claims of rice hoarding against him, Soliman explained.

He had previously admitted to ABS-CBN News that he received a phone call from the President who asked about rumors that he is supposedly hoarding sacks of rice to get higher profits in the future.

• Rice trader na 'nagtatago ng bigas,' binalaan umano ni Duterte

The rice trader dismissed the rumors as "malicious" and argued that the President was "misinformed" about him.

“Malicious rumors harm all traders like me who conduct their operations with full transparency in accordance with the law and in coordination with the relevant government agencies,” Soliman said.