A lawmaker urged the Senate to immediately pass its version of the rice tariffication bill once Congress resumes session next month to ensure the implementation of the measure next year.
Camarines Sur Second District Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte Jr. said the enactment of the rice tariffication bill would “stabilize retail prices of the staple and alleviate the plight of ordinary Filipinos reeling from inflation surge.”
“The prompt approval of the rice tariffication bill is the fastest way for both chambers of Congress to help President Duterte tame inflation and ease its impact on consumers—most especially this coming holiday season—given that food expenses account for 9.7 percent of the consumer price index,” Villafuerte said in a statement on Sunday.
He noted that Duterte has already certified the rice tariffication bill, which seeks to scrap the quantitative restriction (QR) on the staple, as urgent.
The lawmaker said the “speedy” approval of the measure would “go a long way in boosting palay productivity, which is a long-term approach to stabilizing the supply and price of the staple.”
Villafuerte added that this would be achieved through the establishment of the rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) which would earmark all tariffs collected from rice imports to the local sector.
“Under the bill, import tariffs are to go to the RCEF, which the Department of Agriculture [DA] will use to provide for, among others, easy-to-access loans to farmers for production, inputs like fertilizer, postharvest facilities, and research and development [R&D],” he said.
Villafuerte is a coauthor of the House of Representatives’ version of the rice tariffication bill, which the chamber already approved in August.
He noted that the lower chamber’s rice tariffication bill “promises to be a win-win for consumers and farmers alike at this time when Filipinos are reeling from an inflation spike.”
Citing figures of economic managers, Villafuerte said allowing the entry of more rice imports into the country would reduce inflation rate by 0.7 percentage point, while the retail cost of the staple would be slashed by P2 to P7 per kilogram.
“Lower prices would benefit farmers, too, as they are also rice consumers,” he said. “Moreover, farmers would benefit from the bill in the long run as it would boost their harvests and sharpen their global competitiveness as palay growers.”
“Hence, this rice tariffication measures promises to be a win-win solution for Filipino consumers and farmers alike as the Duterte administration continues to find ways to ease the inflation spike,” he added.