P30kilo rice by july
Laurel said the P30 per kilo rice will be sold at certain Kadiwa stores beginning in July but for only five days a week since this would depend on the supply available to the NFA
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Daily TribuneLaurel said the P30 per kilo rice will be sold at certain Kadiwa stores beginning in July but for only five days a week since this would depend on the supply available to the NFA
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Photo from PNA
The Marcos administration’s aspirations for affordable rice could materialize by July, but only in certain parts of the country, Speaker Martin Romualdez said Monday.
“We are confident that it is possible to offer rice below P30 per kilo as early as July this year. The Department of Agriculture is currently identifying the areas where affordable, well-milled rice will be made available to the public,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez made the prognosis following a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., key officials of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and agencies affiliated with the DA who took part in a congressional hearing on proposed bills seeking to amend Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).
Romualdez said the P30 rice will reach all parts of the country once amendments to the five-year-old RTL, including allowing the NFA to sell rice again in the market, finally hurdle Congress.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had announced that he would certify amending the RTL as urgent.
Laurel said the P30 per kilo rice will be sold at certain Kadiwa stores beginning in July but only five days a week since this would depend on the supply available to the NFA.
“Gradually, we aim to increase the number of Kadiwa centers across the country with assistance from local government officials. Many have volunteered to provide public spaces for these centers,” he said.
Due to the RTL’s implementation, the NFA is not allowed to participate in the government’s Kadiwa program, which sells basic commodities at much lower prices.
Enacted in February 2019 during the Duterte administration, the RTL pulled out of the market the cheaper NFA rice, which was then being sold at P27 per kilo.
The RTL also abolished the NFA’s powers to regulate the rice sector, license market players, inspect warehouses, and track stock movements while liberalizing rice importation.
Critics of the RTL claimed the NFA’s functions had been restricted to stocking palay, which could be sold to the LGUs only during calamities.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food has been holding marathon hearings since last week to amend, if not repeal, the RTL in light of the skyrocketing price of rice, currently pegged at P55.12 and P49.44 for the local premium and well-milled varieties, respectively.
The current price of rice is still significantly far from Marcos’ target of P20 per kilogram.
