Six agricultural groups on Friday urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to remove Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan over their proposal to reduce the tariffs on rice imports.
In a joint statement, the various groups argued that the proposal of the two Cabinet secretaries to reduce rice tariffs to as low as zero would be a “death sentence” on rice farmers.
The groups said the tariffs serve as “the last refuge” of the farmers against imported commodities.
“Today, we stand together to oppose, in the strongest terms, the efforts of Secretaries Diokno and Balisacan to serve the death sentence on rice farmers and other industry stakeholders by cutting or eliminating tariffs—our last refuge,” the joint statement read.
The statement was signed by Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Pambansang Mannalon, Mag-uuma, Magbabaul, Magsasaka ng Pilipinas (P4MP), National Movement for Food Sovereignty (NMFS), and Bantay Bigas.
The groups claimed that the reduction in rice tariffs would benefit the poor consumers since bulk or about 85 percent of imported stocks are premium grades that are sold to “relatively well-off” consumers.
“At the current P60 per kilogram of premium imported rice, a P6/kilo reduction arising from a lower tariff will only benefit the rich consumers, and the importers,” the group said.
The group argued that the tariff reduction proposal by the two-thirds of the economic managers is against the agricultural policies being pronounced by President Marcos, who concurrently serves as the agriculture chief.
“The President has not made any policy pronouncements about reviewing the tariff on rice. What we have consistently heard is his unwillingness to import as the first choice,” the group said.
The groups quoted Marcos that the country cannot “depend” on importation as it is “not a wise choice” in developing the agriculture sector.
“Importations, more so unlimited rice importation through tariff reduction, are not and will never be the wise choice especially since we have an agriculture sector that is still recovering, with the full support of the President,” they said.
“What we need right now is to reassert our capacity to produce for our own agriculture and food needs, and to vigorously push for food self-sufficiency as we can never rely on the vagaries of the international market,” they added.
