Rice law slammed 4 years on, farmers feel the pain

Different groups mobilize in front of the Department of Agriculture office in Quezon City to decry the Rice Liberalization Law on its fourth anniversary on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. Photo from Pamalakaya

MANILA, Philippines — Tuesday saw numerous entities take to the streets to express their outrage over the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL), signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte four years ago, citing it as an impediment to local agricultural production.

Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), Bantay Bigas, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Amihan Women were among the groups gathered in front of the Department of Agriculture (DA) office in Quezon City.

“Bigo ang rice liberalization na pababain ang presyo ng bigas kahit pa bumabaha ang imported na bigas. Bagsak ang presyo ng palay habang napakataas ng gastos sa produksyon gaya ng fertilizer, transportasyon, atbp., tumaas lalo ang import dependency natin sa bigas kahit may pagtaas sa lokal na production output,” said  KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos in a statement.

(Rice liberalization failed to lower the price of rice even if we are flooded with imported rice. The price of raw rice has fallen despite the soaring cost of production like fertilizer, transportation, etc., and our import dependency has increased despite the rise of local production output.)

The KMP also urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step down as DA chief to “save the agriculture sector.”

In a joint statement, Bantay Bigas and Amihan Women also suggested the return of the National Food Authority Rice costing P27 to P32 in the market to alleviate the impact of inflation.

“Sa pag-iikot namin sa mga palengke, bihira na ang P38 kada kilong bigas. Patunay na bigo ang Rice Liberalization Law na pababain presyo ng bigas. Mas mataas pa nga ang presyo ng bigas ngayon kaysa noong 2017 bago ipatupad ang batas,” said Cathy Estavillo, Amihan’s secretary general and speaker of Bantay Bigas.

(When we went around wet markets, it was rare to see rice that cost P38 per kilo. It is proof that the Rice Liberalization Law failed to lower the price of rice. The cost of rice is higher now than it was in 2017, before the law was enacted.)

According to the DA’s price watch, special rice costs P46 per kilo if imported and P48 if local. The cheapest rice is local, regular milled rice, which is P32 per kilo.

“Kagaya ng epekto ng importasyon ng isda sa mga lokal na mangingisda, lalong bumagsak ang presyo ng produkto ng mga lokal na magsasaka sa pagbaha ng imported na bigas. Sa kabila ng presyo ng bigas sa palengke na hindi na bumababa sa P40 kada kilo, ang presyo ng palay sa mga magsasaka ay nasa P10 hanggang P20 lamang kada kilo,” said Ronnel Arambulo, the national spokesperson of Pamalakaya.

(Similar to the effects of fish importation to local fisherfolk, the farm gate price of unhusked rice has further shrunk. Amid the retail price of rice that costs more than P40 per kilo, the farm gate price of unhusked rice ranges from P10 to P20 per kilo.)

The RLL was enacted in 2019 to help both consumers and local farmers. However, Anakpawis has claimed that farmers have lost P206 billion within the first three years since the law was signed.

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Farmers lose over P206B under Rice Liberalization Law — Anakpawis 

Rice imports: Group says PH farmers, consumers both lose 

JPV/abc