Bill seeking to amend Rice Tariffication Law sent back to House plenary

Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo during one of the deliberations in the House of Representatives. File photo / From a video posted on the Facebook page of the House of Representatives

MANILA, Philippines – The bill seeking amendments to Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) , was brought back to the House of Representatives plenary on Wednesday for additional changes.

During the session, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo asked that Page 8 of House Bill (HB) No. 10381, which was approved on second reading on Tuesday, be changed.

Page 8 of HB No. 10381 seeks amendments to Section 13 of R.A. 8178, the Agricultural Tariffication Act, as amended by RTL in 2019. It specifically discusses the excess in annual tariff revenues generated from rice importation.

“On page 8, delete lines 16 to 18 and in lieu thereof, put after the words ‘shall be earmarked by Congress and included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of the following year’,” Quimbo said.

“The paragraph shall now read as ‘Provided, furthermore, that if the annual tariff revenues from rice importation exceeds P15 billion in any given year, within a six-year period following the effectivity of this act, the excess tariff revenues shall be earmarked by Congress and included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of the following year’,” she added.

Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing accepted the amendments pushed by Quimbo. The bill, including the new amendments, was  again approved on second reading.

HB No. 10381 seeks to reinstate some of the National Food Authority (NFA) functions — in a bid to lower rice prices — was approved via viva voce or voice voting.

Under the proposal, the NFA would be given the “authority to oversee and ensure compliance with all pertinent standards and regulations, leveraging its established expertise and nationwide network to uphold the national interest in rice buffer stocking and food security” by placing a new Section 5 in R.A. No. 8178.

If HB No. 10381 is enacted, the Agriculture Secretary can also, upon the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) or Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC), may declare a food security emergency due to the following reasons:

• shortage in the supply of rice
• sustained increase in the price of rice
• extraordinary increase in the price of rice

During a food security emergency, the NFA could intervene and sell rice directly by purchasing grains from local farmers, with importation as a last resort.

READ: Romualdez: Rice prices down P15 if rice tariff law amended by June 

The House leadership, including Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, believes that the following amendments can lower rice prices by P10 to P15 per kilogram.

However, the bill is facing opposition in the Senate amid fears by senators that giving back some of NFA’s mandates might lead to corruption again.