Marcos: Senate, HoR find 'solution' to lower rice prices

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Senate and the House of Representatives found a solution to lower rice prices in the market on the back of plans to certify as urgent the proposed amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).

In a media interview earlier this week, Marcos said he wants to expedite the review process on the amendments of the RTL, where he reiterated he will certify it as urgent.

Marcos acknowledged the ongoing discussions between the House of Representatives and the Senate, indicating a potential resolution that would allow government intervention in rice importation.

"When the price of rice is high, we will release rice and sell it at a low price so the market follows," stated the President, outlining a strategy to utilize government-imported rice to regulate market prices.

The Rice Tariffication Law, enacted in 2019, liberalized rice importation by replacing quantitative restrictions with tariffs.

It created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), a program that helps farmers and raises rice yield. Additionally, it required the NFA to oversee a buffer stock that came only from nearby farms.

 While intended to increase competition and lower consumer prices, the law's effectiveness has been under scrutiny.

“I don’t want to preempt the bicameral committee, but I think we have found the solution already. The mechanism will be different from that which is proposed but, in the end, and net effect will be the same, the government will be able to import (rice),” Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino.

"If the price of rice is high, we will sell at a lower price so the market would follow," Marcos added.

Marcos said earlier this month that the government would be able to decide when retail prices of rice increased by revising the RTL and the charter of the National Food Authority (NFA).

The President claims that because the government has no control over the rice market, its price is rising.