Farmers' groups call for resignation of Diokno, Balisacan

Several farmers’ groups on Friday called for the resignation of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan amid the proposal to cut the tariff rate on rice imports.

During the public hearing of the Tariff Commission on the proposal of the Foundation for Economic Freedom to reduce the tariff rate on rice from 35% to 10% temporarily for six months, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet read the joint statement of agriculture groups calling for the removal of Diokno and Balisacan.

“Today, we stand together to oppose, in the strongest terms, the efforts of Secretaries Diokno and Balisacan to serve the death sentence on rice farmers and other industry stakeholders by cutting or eliminating tariffs – our last refuge,” Cainglet said.

“The petition at hand is not for the welfare of consumers. Any claims about consumer benefits are at best, debatable. In reality, they are doormats to a sinister agenda. The rice farmers are the intended victims of the petition,” he added.

Among the signatories in the joint statement are SINAG; Federation of Free Farmers (FFF); Philippine Confederation  of Grains Associations (PHILCONGRAINS); Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP); Pambansang Mannalon, Mag-uuma, Magbabaul, Magsasaka ng Pilipinas (P4MP); and National Movement for Food Sovereignty (NMFS).

Sought for comment on the calls of farmers groups for his removal, Marcos’ chief economic manager Diokno seemed unbothered as he responded: “Enjoy the wonderful weather! Have a nice weekend!”

Balisacan, meanwhile, has not responded yet to GMA News Online’s request for comment.

DOF proposal

The farmer groups' statement comes after Diokno disclosed that the Department of Finance (DOF) is proposing “the reduction of the 35% rice import tariff rates, both ASEAN and MFN [most favored nation] rates, temporarily to 0% or maximum of 10% to arrest the surge in rice prices."

Diokno argued that rice is the biggest contributor to inflation and emphasized the need to propose a tariff reduction for rice imports.

Inflation, or the rate of increase in the prices of consumer goods and services, accelerated to 5.3% in August, faster than the 4.7% rate seen in July.

Cainglet, however, said the farming sector sees the proposal as “simply meant to increase the profits of importers, in the guise of taming inflation.”

“Such cuts do not benefit the poor consumers, because as much as 85% of imports are for premium grades of rice that cater to the relatively well-off consumers,” Cainglet said.

“At the current P60 per kilo of premium imported rice, a P6/kilo reduction arising from a lower tariff will only benefit the rich consumers, and the importers,” he added.

The SINAG executive noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., himself, has not made any policy pronouncements about reviewing the tariff on rice.

“What we have consistently heard is his unwillingness to import as the first choice,” Cainglet said, referring to Marcos’ recent remark against the Philippines’ dependence on importation.

The President earlier said that the Philippines could ill afford to continue its dependence on importation to have a sufficient supply of food at affordable prices.

“We cannot now continue to depend on importation which is what has happened for the Philippines… importation was the easy way out. And the pandemic showed us that this was not a wise choice to have made and so we continued to develop our agriculture sector,” said Marcos.

With this, Cainglet said farmers are opposing a tariff reduction on rice for the very reasons espoused by the President.

“Importations, more so unlimited rice importation through tariff reduction, are not and will never be the wise choice especially since we have an agriculture sector that is still recovering, with the full support of the President. What we need right now is to reassert our capacity to produce for our own agriculture and food needs, and to vigorously push for food self-sufficiency as we can never rely on the vagaries of the international market,” Cainglet said.

“Both Secretaries have shown manifest partiality towards importers. When farmers are suffering devastating losses, these economic managers are silent, laid back, and cite market forces to justify inaction. But when profits of importers are threatened by the very same ‘market forces’ they become activists and intervene in the market,” he said.

Misrepresenting Marcos

Cainglet said both Diokno and Balisacan must be held accountable for their “reckless” public statement of “not being consulted” by the President prior to his recent imposition of the rice price ceilings.

“They are not only misrepresenting the President; they are giving him a bad name,” he said.

Diokno had earlier admitted that the economic team was surprised by the announcement, as they were in Japan when the announcement about the imposition of price caps on regular and well-milled rice varieties was made.

“Nasa Japan kami talaga when that was announced. Magkatabi kami ni Arsi. Nagulat nga kami, lumabas. Nagulat siyempre,” Diokno said on Friday, referring to Balisacan.

(We were in Japan when that was announced. Arsi and I were seated next to each other and we were surprised when it came out. Surprised, of course.)

Nevertheless, Diokno clarified that the economic team supports the implementation of a price cap on rice. 

Executive Order 39 mandates a price cap of P41 per kilogram for regular-milled rice and P45 per kilogram for well-milled rice, effective September 5, amid rising prices.

In an earlier statement, NEDA expressed its support for the price ceiling, saying this would only be a temporary measure given the coming rice harvest season.

Advocacy groups have since sounded the alarm over the measure, as they said this could result in lower farmgate prices to the detriment of farmers.

Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno also resigned last week from her post, allegedly due to her Facebook post that supposedly threw shade over the imposition of the rice price ceiling. Malacañang said the termination of her appointment was “expected,” as she “clearly does not support the administration and its programs for nation building.” —VAL, GMA Integrated News