Farmers covered by the Rice Tariffication Law stand to get additional benefits, including scholarships and free health services, as soon as Congress approves a Senate bill that will amend it and Malacañang signs it into law.
In filing Senate Bill 231, Senator Robin Padilla was banking on lawmakers to frontload early passage of the enabling legislation boosting services for farmer-beneficiaries under Republic Act (RA) 11203.
At the same time, the Padilla bill also sought to increase the existing Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to enhance the Filipino farmers’ competitiveness in the market.
The first-term senator clarified that the remedial legislation aims to increase the amount earmarked for RCEF to P15 billion annually from the current P10 billion “to aid our farmers in reducing the rice production cost while increasing farmer incomes.”
Apart from the initial amendments, Padilla proposes that 10 percent of the RCEF “be made available for scholarship, health and other similar benefits for the rice fund beneficiaries.”
Moreover, the senator cited “issues in the implementation of the law,” including loopholes that, he said, allowed the entry of rice from abroad “forcing our farmers to lower the prices of their produce.”
Worse, the lawmaker lamented the P10-billion annual RCEF for farm mechanization, seed development, propagation and promotion, and credit assistance and extension services “failed to bring down production costs for Filipino farmers.”
Padilla’s proposal seeks to fast-track amendments to the law including allowing the export of rice during harvest season and allocating 20 percent of the rice fund for rice seed development, propagation and promotion.
Former President Duterte signed RA 11203 in 2019. Under the law, interested importers will only need to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry as proof the rice they will bring in is safe for consumption.
They will also have to pay a tariff of 35 percent if the imports are coming from a member-state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and 50 percent if from outside the region.
Image credits: robinpadilla.ph