THE House Committee on Agriculture yesterday approved the proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication law (RTL), a day after President Marcos Jr. acknowledged the urgency of allowing the National Food Authority (NFA) to again sell rice in local markets to bring down the price of the staple.
The panel chaired by Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga approved the still unnumbered substitute bill on the motion of Rep. Robert Raymond Estrellla (PL, Abono) who said the committee has already thoroughly discussed the measure after holding marathon hearings.
The substitute bill is a consolidation of House Bill Nos. 212, 405, 1562, 9030, 9547 and House Resolution 1614. The measures were filed by Reps. Mikaela Angela Suansing, Arlene Brosas, Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Stella Quimbo, Rosanna Vergara and Lordan Suan.
The measures called for amendments to the RTL to bring down the price of rice to P30 per kilo by June or July this year, from the current prices of P40 to P50 per kilo, by lifting the prohibition on the NFA to sell cheap rice in local markets.
The bills’ proponents noted that while the law allowed the unlimited entry of imported rice in the country, it prohibited the NFA from selling rice and limited its mandate to managing buffer rice stocks.
Aside from lifting the NFA restriction, the measures also seek to stabilize rice prices by reducing the influence of unregulated rice importation and curbing the ability of middlemen to inflate prices excessively.
Enverga said the substitute bill aims to ensure that “there will be the presence of NFA to stabilize the price of rice and make it affordable to our countrymen.”
“(It provides) that they (NFA) should also be there para panlaban din po ng gobyerno sa mga mapagsamantalang mga traders sa merkado (as a government deterrent against unscrupulous traders in the market),” he said, adding that the NFA should always be ready to intervene in the market to bring down prices, especially in emergency cases.
Enverga said it is important that local price coordinating councils and the National Price Coordinating Council monitor prices and coordinate NFA’s market intervention.
Speaker Martin Romualdez thanked the panel for quickly approving the measure, saying it is “important that we provide our people, especially the poor, access to rice that is much cheaper than market prices.”
The Speaker has also vowed to have the RTL changes approved on third and final reading at the House before Congress goes on its annual sine die adjournment late this month.
On Monday, Romualdez and Department of Agriculture officials led by Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel agreed to work together to reduce the price of rice to P30 per kilo in certain parts of the country starting in July through Kadiwa stores.
‘BUSINESS, PERSONAL INTERESTS’
Rep. Erwin Tulfo (PL, ACT-CIS) expressed apprehension that the efforts of the House to bring down rice prices might get derailed in the Senate like many other measures.
He pointed out that time is running out on the approval of the proposed RTL amendments, with Congress going on its sine die adjournment in less than three weeks.
Sen. Cynthia Villar has filed Senate Bill No. 2601 seeking to liberalize the importation, exportation, and trading of rice, and lifting the quantitative import restriction on rice.
“We’re facing another uphill battle here. Nakalusot nga ho dito, ang problem ho namin ngayon, is the Senate. Iba ho ‘yung version nila e. ‘Yung version ho ng Senate, walang laman, e (It was able to pass here, our problem now is the Senate. They’re version is different. The Senate’s version is empty,” he said.
He asked the Senate to just adopt the House version of the RTL amendments “and set aside business and personal interests.”
“Unahin po muna natin ‘yung interest ng mga tao, ng nakakarami ho sa atin. Otherwise, wala ho mangyayari. Kaya tayo napupulaan ng taongbayan. Puro tayo porma. Puro tayo kwento. Why don’t we just do our work? (Let’s prioritize the interest of the people, the majority. Otherwise, nothing will happen. That’s why the people are criticizing us, we always project, we’re all talk). Let us unite, para sa isang mission, ang mission natin (for one mission, our mission is) everybody can buy rice),” Tulfo said.
