Senate urged to adopt House version of rice tariff law amendments

 

MANILA, Philippines – Taguig 2nd District Rep. Amparo Maria Zamora on Monday proposed that the Senate adopt the House of Representatives version of proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) so that Congress can pass the changes even if there are only a few session days left.

In a press briefing on Monday, Zamora said that if the Senate adopts House Bill (HB) No. 10381,  a bicameral conference committee would no longer be needed to thresh out differences between the House and Senate versions.

Technically, the House and the Senate have until Friday to approve the amendments, as Congress will go on a sine die adjournment on May 24. 

After this, the next time that plenary sessions would be held was on July 22, which coincided with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona).

“Even if we have three days to go only, we are hoping that our Senate counterparts, our wish is they adopt the House version so that we would no longer need to go through a bicam(eral conference committee),” Zamora told reporters in the Batasang Pambansa complex.

“And therefore, the passage of these amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law would be quicker,” she added.

 On May 14, the House approved the proposed RTL on second reading, which seeks to reinstate some of the National Food Authority (NFA) functions in a bid to lower rice prices.

A day later, it was brought back to the plenary for some minor changes.

 With the approval on May 15, HB No. 10381 can be brought to the floor for third reading within the week, because it complies with the rule that three session days are required before bills approved on second reading can be considered for third reading.

Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, who also attended the briefing, said that the bill’s goal is good. It seeks to give NFA back its power to buy and store rice and to make rice cheaper by inserting a power to monitor and regulate prices.

“The goal of the proposed measure is good because it seeks to strengthen the government’s power to store rice and create an intervention where rice is made cheaper during emergencies and when there is a supply shortage,” Khonghun said in Filipino.

“So, we are appealing to our counterparts in the Senate that I hope they can prioritize this to ensure rice security in the country,” he added.

The House leadership, including no less than Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, believes that the following amendments can bring down rice prices by P10 to P15 per kilogram in June, if the bill is signed into law.

But while the mood at the House regarding the proposed amendments was optimistic, some senators have been lukewarm to changing the RTL.

According to Senate members like Senator Cynthia Villar, giving back some of NFA’s mandates — like allowing it to directly import and sell rice again — might lead to corruption anew.

“I’m worried about giving [the mandate] back to the NFA. I’ve not seen its sincerity. It has not proven itself to be taking care of the welfare of the rice farmers and the consumers,” she said.