Duterte orders suspension of rice importation
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Agriculture Secretary William Dar to suspend rice importation in the country.
“Because it is harvest time,” Duterte said in a hastily called late night press briefing in Malacañang.
President Rodrigo Duterte holds a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday night, November 20, 2019. NESTOR CORRALES/INQUIRER.net
The President also tasked Congress to allow funds to allow the government to purchase palay from local farmers.
“Kung gusto natin wala problema, bilihin lahat ng produce ng farmers. Gagastos tayo bilyon, bilhin natin. Tapos. Palugi tayo para ‘yong mga farmers may resulta sa pawis nila. Sino ang nalugi wala, tayong Pilipino. Bilhin natin yan,” he said.
(To address the problem of farmers, let us purchase all their harvest. We will spend billion, there will be losses but the farmers will reap the fruits of their labor.)
Local farmers have earlier complained of billions of pesos in losses due to the Rice Tariffication Law Duterte signed on February 14, 2019.
