DA chief sees ‘hidden dangers’ in deregulated rice transactions

The Rice Tariffication Law, which is set to take effect on March 5, will officially remove quantitative restrictions on rice.

In an episode of Brigada that aired on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol admitted there are certain dangers to look out for in a more liberalized rice trade.

"It's a fantastic scenario but there could be hidden dangers, actually, because when you have unregulated transactions, what would prevent the importers from collaborating with one another?" he said.

"And instead of bringing in lower-priced rice, halimbawa yung 25 percent brokern, they bring in triple A rice from Vietnam which they would sell in the market at P50 to P60. Who's gonna prevent them from doing that? That could happen," he added.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has vowed that Republic Act No. 11203 will ensure that market rice prices will remain affordable.

The NEDA also said a drafting committee is finalizing the law's Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) which contains provisions on the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers and the streamlining of import requirements.

RA 11203 allows unlimited importation of rice as long as private sector traders secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the tariff on shipments from Southeast Asia.

The measure, however, drew criticism from different sectors including local farmers who feared the law would impede their livelihood as imported rice is expected to flood the markets.

When Piñol was asked: 'Sa tingin niyo po ba, ito ang talagang magiging solusyon sa problema natin ng bigas?', he said: "I don't know if this is the right solution but since the law has been signed and I'm a worker of government, I have to implement it." — Margaret Claire Layug/BM, GMA News