00:00Some groups in the Supreme Court asked to stop the lowering of tariffs on some imported items, including rice.
00:07The Agriculture Department said that this has an effect on the supply.
00:11Mark Salazar was the one who pointed it out.
00:16The Supreme Court has already brought against the group of farmers
00:21under Executive Order 62 of President Bongbong Marcos.
00:26It was ordered to lower the tariffs on imported rice by 15% to 35%
00:32in the hope of lowering the price of rice.
00:35This is a violation of Constitutional Provision protecting our farmers against unfair competition
00:41because if imported products go bad, our farmers will really die.
00:48They asked the court to stop the implementation of the order
00:52which it did not consult with them.
00:55It is also something that the Senate Committee on Agriculture pointed out.
00:59There is no transcript of the public hearings of the Tariff Commission
01:04on the recommendation to lower the tariffs on imported rice.
01:08It did not come out in March.
01:10The opposite was said in September.
01:15Where did the 15% come from?
01:17The petitioner is the EDG.
01:19Yes, so it's the EDG.
01:21It means that EDG is not a stakeholder. EDG is a part of...
01:26What is EDG?
01:28Economic Development Group.
01:30A senator said that we should lower the tariffs on imported rice
01:36instead of the whole year until 2028.
01:39It's variable. It's not fixed. It's only 15% for four years, Madam Chair.
01:44It will be reviewed every four months.
01:46We have Section 1608 of the CMTA that can be petitioned to modify the tariff.
01:54Because from 2024 to 2028, it's not...
02:00The Department of Agriculture is concerned about the effect of stopping the implementation of the EO62.
02:07It will cause delay in the importation of our private importers.
02:14And even if the Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision against the EO62,
02:19it will have a negative effect on the decision-making of importers and rice inventories.
02:26They will have a hesitation delay.
02:28If they import, it will be 35% and 15% only.
02:31So it has implications.
02:34According to the National Economic Development Authority or NEDA,
02:38which is the respondent to the petition,
02:41even though the copy of their petition is still being waited for.
02:45But they respect the legal process and will respond to the petition through the Solicitor General.
02:52The government has also announced its program to sell rice for P29 per kilo to poor families.
03:02Only P10 per kilo can be bought by a family
03:05and it will be sold limited to the old stock of NFA rice.
03:10For GMA Integrated News, Mark Salazar.
03:14For Tutok, 24 Hours.
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