Rice is life

This high-calorie staple grain, whether long, short, or medium, is a regular fixture on Filipino tables and dominates the nutritional needs of more than 100 countries worldwide. It is not just food but sustenance that can buoy up an empty stomach.

A nutritional and cultural powerhouse, rice is a vital base of many dishes, from the simple but sumptuous Sinangag (garlic rice) in the Philippines to Congee in China, Bibimbap in South Korea, Paella in Spain, Risotto in Italy, Jambalaya in South America, and Biryani in the Arab world, among others. While generally low-cost and accessible to everyone, any price drop or increase in the local market could affect consumption, incite protest, and impact society.

We have been bombarded for months by news of rice price increases, rice smuggling, rice shortage, rice hoarding, and rice importations, all happening surreptitiously while we were sleeping. Yet, with fingers crossed and unmistakable newfound confidence, we patiently await President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s campaign promise of a P20 per kilo of rice to become a reality.

To poor folks who can only afford one meal daily, rice is everything, even with just salt as a side dish. Rice is not just pro-poor; it is also pro-rich and pro-business. Keeping rice production flowing and the price steady is essential in feeding the growing local population and the world.

With impending protest actions as a backdrop, the government was quick to soothe angry hearts by putting ceilings on rice prices. Under Executive Order 39, which took effect last September 5, regular milled rice may only be sold for up to P41 per kilo, while the price ceiling on well-milled rice is at P45 per kilo. Accordingly, the price ceiling may be in effect for less than two months or after additional rice supply has arrived to stabilize prices. The DTI stressed that the recommendation to lift the price cap would come from the Department of Agriculture.

With good news to consumers comes grief for small businesses which are complaining of operating at a loss since they bought rice at higher prices, prompting the DTI to announce that it is considering possible subsidies and ways to keep small businesses affected by the price ceiling on rice afloat until rice prices stabilize.

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros questioned the price cap move, describing the price control as a "lazy job" in combating illegal price manipulations like hoarding. She stressed that price hoarders must be caught, but if there were no hoarders, the price of rice would still skyrocket due to the DA's "failure to provide aid and insurance to farmers whose crops were affected by recent weather disturbances."

On the other hand, Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero believes the "government should put its money where its mouth is" regarding the rice problem. He says: "The invocation of the President's power to impose a price ceiling for rice under the law is that there is an emergency or widespread profiteering, hoarding or price manipulation. Is there? Or are prices just really high because of lack of supply or higher cost of inputs? If there is, why hasn't the government arrested and/or sued anyone for such illegal acts?"

As a former Bureau of Customs commissioner, stopping agricultural smuggling was among my seven-point priority programs. Rice smuggling was not a major issue then; onion was. We made humble strides in combatting rice smuggling when a municipal circuit trial court found several rice traders guilty of transporting smuggled rice in Orion, Bataan. I was then the Director of the Enforcement and Security Service under the BOC Enforcement Group, and modesty aside, it was my men in the Customs Police who arrested and filed cases against those smugglers.

There should be an urgent move to revisit the Rice Tariffication Act (RA 110203), passed by the Duterte administration in 2019, to address the perennial problems concerning rice. The law liberalized commercial rice importation by the Philippines by lifting the quantitative restrictions on the volume of rice allowed to be imported each year, replacing it with tariffs, and thereby allowing the entry of cheaper rice from neighboring countries.

While lawmakers are girding for possible committee hearings on the law, the DA should sustain adequate funding to help local farmers and revolutionize rice production. Indeed, rice is life, so make it flow abundantly.