MANILA, Philippines--With the plan of five rice-exporting countries in Southeast Asia to form a price-fixing cartel, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo on Friday called for the adoption of the militant bloc's bill on the development of the Philippine rice industry.

"This situation makes imperative the adoption of the proposed Rice Industry Development Act, embodied in the bill we filed in the House of Representatives," said Ocampo, a House deputy minority leader.

House Bill No. 3958, filed by Ocampo and the other representatives of the party-list groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela and Anakpawis, seeks an initial three-year P15-billion credit to rice farmers, and mandates the government to spend for irrigation and postharvest facilities and to increase the procurement of locally produced grains, among others.

The bill seeks to turn the Philippines into a self-reliant and self-sufficient rice producer in the next three years.

"Our country has a very high potential [to attain] self-reliance and self-sufficiency in our main staple," Ocampo said.

"What is left for us to do is develop this potential to build a rice industry with the strong capability to meet our consumption requirements," he said.

Core programs

The "core programs" HB 3958 are: Direct credit for rice farmers, sustained subsidy for production inputs, development of irrigation systems and postharvest facilities, strengthening of the unhusked rice procurement capability of the National Food Authority and upgrading of the distribution of rice, and extension services.

In addition, the bill seeks to protect agricultural lands from conversion "so that the country will have the reserve to ensure that we can produce our main staple at levels required for food self-sufficiency."

The bill also provides for a seed fund of P15 billion for collateral-free credit, to be allocated and released at P5 billion every year for three years.

It shall be made available to farmers and farmers' organizations or farm production cooperatives as loans for the "exclusive purpose" of rice production and rice production related endeavors.

Block it

The bill also proposes P1 billion annually as rice production subsidy for farmers for three years.

Thailand and four other members of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean)--Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam--have reportedly agreed in principle to form the Organization of Rice-Exporting Countries, or Orec, similar to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

At the Senate, lawmakers called on the Arroyo administration to block the plan.

"The rice cartel will be antipoor, and its global implications will be tremendous. If the Philippines does not assert itself now as an Asean member and as a rice-producing economy, we will soon be at the mercy of this proposed Orec," said Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

Sen. Mar Roxas urged the administration to formally propose the holding of a special Asean Leaders' Summit on Rice and Food Security in order to convince Thailand to drop the plan.

"Before Orec is institutionalized, the Asean community must weigh in as a regional bloc to obtain trade privileges with its fellow members in keeping with the Asean spirit," Roxas said.

"Neglecting to act as a regional bloc amid a rice and food crisis can raise doubts in the minds of other world leaders on Asean's determination to pursue economic integration," he said.

He added that it would be unfortunate if Asean, which has the two biggest rice-exporting countries in the world as members, failed to reach a common agenda on rice and food security.

Move as one

Roxas, chair of the Senate trade and commerce committee, said Asean must move as one in helping secure regional food security in light of soaring oil and rice prices.

He said that apart from the rice summit, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo should seek a briefing from the Thai Embassy on how the planned cartel would affect rice-importing countries like the Philippines.

"Given the cordial relations between and among the Philippines and these five other Asean countries, we should take a more proactive role in clarifying the role of Orec and whether it is prepared to give concessions to fellow Asean members," Roxas said.

Pangilinan said the Philippines would be at a disadvantage if it decided to join the rice cartel without first becoming self-sufficient.

"We will have to follow their standards regardless of the impact it will have on our people. What if the rice cartel imposes another increase? We've seen how Opec resulted in creating a bloc that generates and shares profits among themselves. What assurance do we have that Orec will not be the same?" he said.

Bill of particulars

Roxas said that while President Macapagal-Arroyo had obtained Vietnam and Thailand's commitment to meet the Philippines' order for 1.2 million metric tons of rice, the government should still confirm whether such shipments were guaranteed.

"We need to see the bill of particulars governing these orders, to check whether there are fixed dates for delivery and a firm, iron-clad commitment to meet the order," he said.

He also said the Philippines could not block the planned cartel even if it tried.

"What we can do is join it by being an exporter. We can attain this with the right policy and implementation," he said.