Lacson wants review of Rice Tariffication Law

STA. ROSA, NUEVA ECIJA - Presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson on Sunday said the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) should be reviewed or repealed due to the “bad implementation” of the measure.

“Kailangan reviewhin kasi talaga ang implementation masama. So kailangan amyendahan kung ‘di man totally i-repeal,” Lacson said in a press conference before their town hall meeting with famers in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija.

(We should review it because the implementation is bad. So we need to amend, if not repeal it.)

He noted that the RTL’s promise to bring down palay prices by P7 was not realized and the P10 billion subsidy under the measure did not benefit farmers.

“Sinong ‘di aayaw doon? Pero ‘yung implementation is one thing. Kailan namin pinasa ‘yung batas na iyon? I think February 2019 nung pinirmahan ng Pangulo,” he noted.

(Who will reject the proposal? The implementation is one thing. When did we pass the law? I think in February 2019 that was signed by the President.)

“Three years [after], ano ang nangyari sa magsasaka? ‘Yan ang gusto kong malaman,” he added.

(Three years after, what happened to the farmers? That’s what we want to know.)

Apart from that, Lacson also hit the alleged corruption in the agriculture sector, including the possible overpricing of machinery bought by the government for the farmers.

The lawmaker cited an issue in 2020 in which the government-procured threshers, mobile tillers, hand tractors, among others, were no longer functional after one use.

“Isang gamit lang o ‘di pa nagagamit sira na. Balik na naman tayo sa issue ng korapsyon,” he emphasized.

(It was used once. Some of the machines were not even used at all. We will go back to the issue of corruption.)

Lacson said he had asked Agriculture Secretary William Dar to provide a report on the said incident but nothing was given.

Under the 2022 national budget, he said there was a P13 billion allocation for agricultural machinery. This is two billion higher than the proposed budget for the program under the National Expenditures Program.

Moreover, Lacson said the National Food Authority has lost its functions and it was “rendered inutile.”

NFA

Senatorial candidate Manny Piñol added that the biggest flaw of the RTL was the “emasculation” of the NFA.

“Nu’ng nawala ang power ng NFA to regulate, supervise and even inspect the warehouses, fiesta ang mga rice cartel. Now, they are importing very expensive rice, selling it at very high prices. So hindi na-realize ang 7 pesos na reduction sa per kilo price sa market,” said the former Agriculture Secretary.

(When the power of the NFA to regulate, supervise, and even inspect the warehouses was removed, the rice cartels rejoiced. Now, they are importing very expensive rice, selling it at very high prices. So, the P7 reduction in the price of rice per kilo was not realized.)

He then proposed to empower the NFA as a trading agency for Philippine crops and fisheries.

“Actually, ako dapat ang NFA, ‘di lang dapat bigas. NFA is the only [World Trade Organization]-recognized trading agency of the Philippine government and yet we fail to exploit that privilege,” he said.

(Actually, NFA should not cover rice only. NFA is the only WTO-recognized trading agency of the Philippine government and yet we fail to exploit that privilege.)

“I-empower ang NFA na maging trading agency ng Philippine agriculture and fisheries na maghahanap ng merkado ng produkto sa labas because that is supposed to be the function of the NFA. Hindi lang bigas. National Food Authority nga e. It covers every food commodity,” he further pointed out.

(The NFA should be empowered to become a trading agency of the Philippine agriculture and fisheries. It should be in charge of finding markets outside the country because that is supposed to be the function of the NFA, not only rice. That’s why it is called National Food Authority because it covers every food commodity.)

Piñol also supported Lacson and Sotto’s idea for the government to buy 50% of Filipino farmers' crops by creating a government-owned and controlled corporation called the Regional Consolidation Center.

He cited the situation in Mindanao where middlemen buy squash at P3 per kilo and sold it in Iloilo at P25.

“Kawawa si farmer at consumer (The farmers and consumers are disadvantaged). What if we set up a regional consolidation center operated by the government to buy that kalabasa at a fair price and distribute it in Iloilo at a fair price then we have food stability,” he said.

The former agriculture chief said the food supply was not the main problem of the country but the “positioning” or distribution of crops across the archipelago.

Lacson and his running-mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III conducted a town hall meeting with around 1,200 farmers in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija on Sunday afternoon.

Before this, they had a consultation with tricycle drivers in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

The tandem was endorsed by Sta. Rosa Mayor Josefino Angeles.

According to Commission on Elections’ data, Nueva Ecija has 1,541,685 registered voters in Eleksyon 2022. Of the said number, 48,393 are from Sta. Rosa. — DVM, GMA News