Panukalang pag-amyenda sa Rice Tariffication Law, sesertipikahang ‘urgent’ ni PBBM
Panukalang pag-amyenda sa Rice Tariffication Law, sesertipikahang ‘urgent’ ni PBBM
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00:00President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is ready to certify as urgent the amendment to the rice tariffication law.
00:07This is to lower the price of rice in the market.
00:11The Department of Agriculture is open to the President's decision.
00:15Clazel Bardilla, in Detalle, Rice and Shine, Quezon.
00:20President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself said
00:25the amendment to the rice tarification law must be certified as urgent.
00:30Since the implementation of the RTL,
00:32the National Food Authority has prohibited the sale of cheap rice in the market
00:37due to the increase in the price of rice in the market.
00:40That is why the Department of Agriculture is returning the power of the NFA
00:45to sell rice to consumers,
00:48but only in times of emergency or high prices.
00:52Unlike before, the price of rice per kilo of NFA rice is now P27.
00:56It will be sold for P40,
01:00depending on the price of rice in the market and according to the NFA regulations.
01:05If the stock of NFA is for 3 months to below 6 months,
01:10the price will be 20% lower than the prevailing market price monitored by the PSA.
01:19For example, if the price monitored is P50,
01:22the price will be minus 20%, so that's minus P10.
01:26So, they will sell it for P40.
01:29So, if it's more than 6 months,
01:31and it's still okay,
01:32the price will be 30% lower.
01:34This is a win-win solution that our government thinks
01:38that the NFA will not be affected,
01:40and at the same time, the price of rice will be cheaper.
01:43The Federation of Free Farmers said
01:46that the sale of cheap rice should be limited.
01:49Even if there's no need for subsidized rice, it can still be bought.
01:53So there might be a need to limit the distribution channels.
01:59If the NFA sells rice at a very cheap price,
02:05cheaper than the commercial price,
02:08the effect might be that the price of rice will drop.
02:12Traders will be forced to buy rice at a low price.
02:18But Senator Cente Villar insisted that the NFA's ability to enter the market should be restored.
02:25Villar is the principal author of the Rice Tarification Law
02:28and the NFA's mandate to import rice
02:33and not to let the market know that it was planted by corruption.
02:37It was removed because the NFA used to import rice exclusively.
02:44The government noticed that rice is not being imported at a cheap price
02:49in spite of the fact that there's no tariff.
02:51The former Agriculture Secretary, Manny Piñon,
02:54who was a member of the RTL, said,
02:57Corruption is not the NFA's fault.
02:59The people who run the NFA are the ones who are involved in corruption.
03:03And there are safety nets instituted by law to address problems like corruption.
03:10The NFA's regulatory power should be restored
03:14to stop those who violate the supply and price of rice.
03:18The NFA inspects the supply of rice in the warehouses
03:22and indicates where and how much it is being sold by the importer or trader.
03:27That's why in 2018, the price of rice was only Php 38 per kilo.
03:33What happened? Now, it's Php 60 per kilo of rice.
03:36We cannot allow the staple food of the Filipinos to be controlled by the rice cartel.
03:40And I would like to thank the President for this.
03:42Because of the many things that need to be changed,
03:44the RTL just trashed the NFA
03:46that has been monitoring the all-time high price of rice
03:50according to the Rice Watch.
03:52We continue to call for the trashing of the RA 11203.
03:57The five years of implementation of this is concrete
04:00in terms of its effect on farmers and consumers.
04:05Because the Philippines is a two-step importer of rice.
04:09The Aga Partylist is also urging
04:11to put suggested retail price on agricultural products
04:15to avoid the importers.
04:17Put SRP, suggested retail price.
04:22The DTI and DA should monitor this.
04:26If they see that your price is like that,
04:30why is it over the suggested retail price,
04:35you should trace back.
04:38Kalaysal Pardiliya for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.