Solon: Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act needs RTL amendments

The proposed Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, which, if passed into law, would slap severe sanctions on smugglers, hoarders, and cartels, would be inefficient in driving down rice prices without amendments to the Republic Act 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).

Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, the chairperson of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, made the remark Monday in response to Senator Cynthia Villar's insistence that passing the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law should be the top priority of Congress if it wants to curb the skyrocketing cost of rice.

Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture, is keen that the penalties in the proposed law would discourage unscrupulous traders, hoarders, profiteers, and cartels, believed to be the culprits behind the soaring prices of the staple grain.

The proposed Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, which was certified as urgent by President Marcos, is still pending at the bicameral committee.

"Senator Cynthia Villar is right in that part, it compliments it. But for the law to be successful as well, it's also important for us to pass, that NFA's (National Food Authority) mandate of monitoring be instilled in their current mandate," Enverga told the media.

Enverga's panel had already passed the proposed amendments to the RTL, including allowing the NFA to intervene again in the rice domestic market by selling its buffer stocks.

House members are rigid about reinstating NFA's import mandate to shrink the price of rice, citing the increase in competition with commercial traders.

"Senator Villar is right, but I believe this is complementary to it. We cannot predict the certain spikes, the changes in the world market prices of rice in importation. So, it is really important that NFA will be given the power to stabilize the market and regulate it," Enverga averred.

In the same vein, House Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo "Jill" Bongalon said that the proposed Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act could not independently resolve the issue of the buffer stocks and the stability of rice prices.

"So again, it complements this. We are going to amend the RTL and I hope they also pay attention to the amendment in the RTL not just on this particular law," Bongalon said in the same press briefing.

Villas has expressed strong objection to reinstating NFA's regulatory and import licensing functions, which House members believe will lower the cost of rice, which is currently pegged at P60.81 and P51.63 for local special and well-milled, respectively.

Over the weekend, she said that the "majority" of the senators are also against the House proposal, citing previous instances in which the NFA was embroiled in various corruption scandals regarding rice importation.

Villar believes that the rice crisis could be addressed without having to tinker with the RTL and revive the primary functions of the NFA, which she deemed "has not proven itself to be taking care of the welfare of farmers and consumers."

Affordable NFA rice, which was then sold at P27 per kilo, was pulled out in the markets pursuant to RTL enacted in February 2019 during the Duterte administration.

The RTL abolished NFA's powers to regulate the rice sector, license market players, inspect warehouses, and track stock movements while liberalizing rice importation.

The prices of rice have been drastically high, and the trend will persist until July as the agriculture sector reels from the impact of El Niño, according to the Department of Agriculture.