REGIME OF IMPORTED RICE A employee unloads imported rice right into a warehouse in Dagupan Metropolis final January. —RICHARD A. REYES
Rating Home leaders on Thursday mentioned the decrease chamber would nonetheless pursue the proposed amendments to the rice tariffication legislation (RTL) even after President Marcos Jr. ordered a 20-point minimize within the 35 p.c tariff on rice imports till 2028.
Throughout a press convention, Speaker Martin Romualdez harassed that Home Invoice No. 10381—which was handed final month and seeks to revive the value stabilization and provide regulation features of the Nationwide Meals Authority (NFA)—nonetheless shaped a part of their “approaches to stabilize the value of rice.”
“We wish to take a look at all of those approaches, one for focusing on the imported rice, and one with the NFA,” Romualdez mentioned. “We can have [the] full arsenal of laws and tariff discount.”
He additionally vowed to take up the RTL amendments, which was licensed pressing by Mr. Marcos, along with his upcoming “legislative coordination” assembly with Senate President Francis Escudero. The Senate had earlier expressed hesitation about passing the RTL amendments, fearing returning these powers to the corruption-ridden NFA.
READ: Marcos: Will increase NFA rice inventory with native sources, imports
However for the Home Speaker, he mentioned, “we is not going to surrender on any measure so we’re nonetheless hopeful and optimistic that our pals within the Senate may also move an appropriate model of the amendments to the RTL.”
The Nationwide Financial and Improvement Authority earlier accredited the discount of rice responsibility price to fifteen p.c till 2028 in a bid to stem hastening inflation pushed by excessive meals prices.
‘Shot at nighttime’
Whereas the Marcos administration foresees a P6 to P7 worth drop from the tariff price cuts—or P29 per kilo within the coming months—farmer teams just like the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) have referred to as it a “shot at nighttime” quite than an actual resolution to rising rice costs.
The FFF predicted that native farmers stood to lose a minimum of P10 billion from customized revenues meant to finance productiveness packages for farmers.
Nevertheless, Romualdez mentioned, they deliberate to “maintain the stress on” to make sure that the tariff cuts would translate to an actual markdown and never be pocketed by middlemen and hoarders.
Home agriculture committee Chair and Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Enverga additionally assured that tariff collections from rice imports for the 12 months have thus far reached P16 billion.
This, he mentioned, can be sufficient to cowl the RTL’s proposed amended goal of P15 billion for use to subsidize native farmers.
“Worse case state of affairs, if it falls brief, the federal government will fund it,” he mentioned.
On the similar time, Enverga mentioned, they had been hoping that the just lately ratified Anti-Agricultural Smuggling As Financial Sabotage Act—which now awaits the President’s signature—would additionally act as a deterrent in opposition to hoarders and smugglers
Ratified act
Beneath the act, all rice warehouses are mandatorily required to submit their inventory stock each three months. Violators might face life imprisonment.
“All of us need to be on the identical web page in order that that doesn’t occur once more,” Romualdez mentioned. “We’re going to be watching one another, we’ll maintain one another trustworthy. We’ll be sure that, as an example, the importers is not going to abuse the merchants or the opposite stakeholders or the retailers.”
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“It’s attainable that these issues occurred earlier than as a result of coordination [between agencies] was not good,” the Speaker mentioned. “However we guarantee the Filipino individuals, [we] are… able to be sure that once more, as I can usually repeat that these financial savings might be handed on to the top customers and to the shoppers.”
