DA, DTI seek rice import authority

The House of Representatives is exploring ways to ensure that amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) will not be tainted with corruption to ensure it effectively lowers rice prices, according to House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairperson Mark Enverga.

Enverga, in an interview Sunday, said the committee would examine the Department of Agriculture’s proposal to designate either the DA or the Department of Trade and Industry to replace the National Food Authority (NFA) in rice importation when prices surge.

“It’s either that option or return it to the NFA,” Enverga said.

The prices of rice have not significantly gone down in the five years since the RTL’s passage, with the House open to allowing the NFA to regain market presence and compete with private traders.

This, lawmakers believe, would provide Filipino consumers, especially those struggling financially, with access to affordable rice.

House leaders also cited the need to eliminate the practice where private traders allegedly buy NFA buffer stocks and resell them at higher prices.

“The sale of their rice supply does not go to the government agencies that need it or to local government units, but it is being sold to commercial traders and importers,” Enverga said.

In March, the Ombudsman suspended 141 NFA officials, including Administrator Roderico Bioco, for allegedly selling 75,000 bags of “aging” and “deteriorating” rice buffer stock to private traders. The supplies, reportedly re-bagged and sold at a higher price, were later deemed fit for consumption.

Enverga assured the committee would develop proactive measures to ensure the RTL amendments are well-crafted and limit corruption opportunities for the NFA if Congress restores its import and sales mandate.

The current RTL prohibits the NFA from directly selling rice and restricts its role to stockpiling rice, which can only be sold during emergencies. It also removed the NFA’s authority to regulate the rice sector, license market players, inspect warehouses, and track stock movements, while liberalizing rice importation.

Enverga said his committee would hold extensive hearings to pass a bill amending or repealing the RTL before Congress adjourns on May 24.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez previously stated that the House amendments aim to reduce rice prices by P10-P15 per kilo by June.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez previously stated that the House amendments aim to reduce rice prices by P10-P15 per kilo by June.

Based on the DA’s latest data, the price of local regular milled rice was P50 per kilo, and P48 to P55 per kilo for local well-milled rice.

As for imported commercial rice, the regular milled rice was priced at P48 to P51 per kilo, while well-milled rice was at P51 to P54.