RTL amendments not meant to restore NFA powers -DA

Testifying before the Senate on the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which is provided under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. on Tuesday said there was no intention to revive the powers of the National Food Authority which were stripped from the NFA after the enactment of the RTL.

During the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization hearing, Senator Cynthia Villar and Senator Imee Marcos had warned of the NFA's bad track record and "dismal history."

Villar, principal sponsor of the RTL in the Senate, reiterated her opposition to the restoration of the NFA's previous powers and suggested that the authority to buy and sell rice during emergencies be given to the president.

Asked by Senator Francis Tolentino if the executive department was seeking to restore the previous powers granted to the NFA through the proposed amendments to the RTL, Laurel explained that the amendments they were seeking to the RTL were premised on how they could intervene in the market during times when rice prices climb to an all-time high and amid conditions like the El Niño when rice production is affected.

Furthermore, Laurel said that there would be situations when there was a need to intervene to "keep traders honest."

"The real intention is not to give full power back to the NFA, but use NFA lang as a conduit to operationalize certain moments of intervention, maybe once or twice a year. But not through the authority of anybody in NFA," he said.

While he was open to Villar's idea to give the authority to the president, Laurel feared that an emergency response might come too late if the power was given to the chief executive.

"Ang sinasabi namin is kung pwedeng ibigay ang authority sa DA Secretary. Mas maganda ho actually si presidente ho 'di ba? I agree with you. But ang tingin ko lang, the president is very busy with so many things baka maging  ang reaction is late," he said.  

"Kami, sa DA, well mino-monitor namin ito araw araw. We can technically foresee or kung anong mangyayari and act accordingly," he added.

He suggested giving such authority to two Cabinet secretaries.

The DA chief added that these were "last resort" powers in case there was a need to import.

Laurel also shared Villar and Marcos' misgivings on giving back powers to the NFA as he, too, did not want a repeat of the previous problems at the agency.

"Ayaw ko rin ho mangyari 'yung nabanggit niyo dati sa NFA. Pati ho ako allergic d'yan," he added.

For her part, Marcos suggested the creation of a Presidential Commission on Rice Sufficiency because lawmakers no longer trusted the NFA.

"Pwedeng task force, pwedeng commission. Pero hindi naman kailangan na sa pang-araw-araw na pagtatakbo ang pangulo ang makikialam. Maari naman 'yung ating kagawaran mismo ang tututok d'yan. Emergency lang po. Huwag lang NFA kasi naririnig pa lang namin eh nangangatog na yung tuhod namin," Marcos, the president's sister, said.

The DA chief responded that he agreed with Marcos and that the proposed council could include the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Price Council.

Last week, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he was amenable to certifying the proposed amendments to the RTL as urgent as rice prices increased due to the competition of traders.

On Monday, the House Agriculture and Food Committee released a substitute bill amending the RTL.

The proposed bill in the House authorizes the NFA to buy and sell rice in emergency cases and increases farmers' productivity aid to P15 billion. — DVM, GMA Integrated News