The National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) has approved a resolution urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to declare a “food security emergency for rice.”

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a Palace briefing on Thursday the move was not yet final without his approval.

“The NPCC is recommendatory in nature, it would still be with the DA secretary to make the declaration,” he said.

He cited multiple reasons why the NPCC arrived at its recommendation.

One of these is the high prices of rice in the market despite declining global rice costs. Second is the full stocks of rice being kept in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses.

With this, the DA aims to sell the buffer stocks that are stored in the NFA warehouses to make room for the upcoming harvest of local farmers.

Laurel reiterated that the declaration of a food security emergency would be a last resort for the agriculture department.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) approved the resolution allowing the sale of the buffer stocks through Kadiwa centers, local government units, other partners and government agencies.

DTI Secretary Christina Roque sits on the NPCC as its chairperson.

Despite repeated statements that the country has an adequate rice supply, Laurel explained that the NPCC resolution activates the release rice stocks in the NFA warehouses to mitigate the high rice prices.

“The DA is now faced with full NFA warehouses. The warehouses have almost 300,000 tons of rice and the harvest season is coming. Our problem right now is we have to start buying rice and if we do not have any storage space left, we will have problems technically. So we really have to dispose of this rice and under the [Rice Tariffication Law], we cannot dispose of it unless it’s aging,” he said.

Laurel stressed it is important for the government to buy rice from the farmers at the right price and to rotate the NFA stocks.

Profiteering looms

Citing the law of supply and demand, Laurel said that with the release of the 300,000 metric tons of rice, rprices in the markets will be “guaranteed” to decline.

The DA chief said he will consult with Marcos before making a decision on whether to approve the resolution or not. He hoped that by the first week of February, the DA would be able to sell the rice buffer stocks.

Despite multiple interventions such as lowering the rice import tariff by 20 percent and the implementation of a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP), Laurel said profiteering may causing the high rice prices.

“In my opinion, profiteering might have played a small part, that’s the direct answer to that,” he said.

He said the price of imported rice was five percent higher from when importers availed of them compared to the current market price.

“If we lower the rice price further, it means that even your local rice mills or locals who buy local rice will lose profits. So we have to allow a little bit of time for them to signal to “flush out your old stocks that are priced higher so you don’t lose profits,” Laurel said.

Sanctions for profiteers

The DA has tasked the DTI with imposing sanctions on erring rice traders found to have profiteered.

“The DTI will of course monitor and enforce the directive of the DA regarding the price. So far, we haven’t found anyone yet but in case we do we will act accordingly,” DTI Secretary Roque said.

She said they can impose different sanctions which include a fine of P5,000 to P1 million for violating the price ceiling.

Laurel expects a rice harvest of 20.460 tons in the coming harvest season. However, this is the expected number if the budget for the DA’s rice program is restored.

In the 2025 national budget, the allocation for the program was slashed by P10 billion, which the President tried to restore.

“Last Monday, the President assured me that he found a way to restore our budget for the rice program. I would like to thank the President, of course,” he said.

According to Laurel, the program needs P30 billion to implement.

More storage facilities

This year, the DA is expected to have more NFA warehouses. The new facilities will store an additional 50,000 tons of rice.

If the emergency resolution is approved, the DA can begin to sell 20,000 to 35,000 tons of rice per month after milling.

While the current rice prices remain unaffected despite the lower rice tariff, the DA sees a return to the previously imposed rice tariff rate. But this time, the DA is looking into a hybrid implementation of the tariff.

“We are thinking of an idea… but I might recommend the hybrid [implementation], a certain type of rice is still set at 15 percent, a certain type of rice or quality of rice to 5 percent, and the other at 35 percent, something like that,” Laurel said.

He noted that this will still be subjected to review after four months.

“If the price really goes down, we can re-impose the tariff. Anyway, we review it every four months, so it needs to be studied well,” he added.

During his 2022 election campaign, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pledged to bring the price of rice down to P20 per kilo. To achieve this, he initially took on the role of agriculture secretary, focusing on reforms in the rice sector.

Failed efforts

However, the President has since revised the ambitious goal to an “aspiration,” acknowledging the complex challenges in achieving it.

The Philippines has imported 4.780-million metric tons (MMT) of rice as of December 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Plant Industry. Of the total, 3.6 MMT came from Vietnam, making it the country’s largest rice supplier for the year.

Laurel announced Thursday that under the government’s Rice-for-All program (RFA25), the price of the 25-percent broken rice variety would drop from P40 to P38 per kilogram starting Friday.

The DA’s SRP framework includes a nominal profit margin of about P10 per kilo above the landed cost of imported rice, excluding specialty varieties like malagkit, Japanese and black rice, the agri chief explained.

The Philippines has long struggled to achieve rice self-sufficiency, a goal dating back to the 1970s with the Masagana 99 Program under President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., aimed at boosting rice production through high-yielding varieties, credit subsidies, and modern farming techniques.

While it initially increased harvests, the program faced setbacks due to poor loan repayment rates and environmental damage from heavy fertilizer and pesticide use.

Subsequent administrations launched similar initiatives, but challenges such as limited farmland, climate risks, and inadequate support for farmers hindered its progress.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has pursued rice self-sufficiency through initiatives focused on supporting Filipino farmers.

In 2023, Marcos signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, condoning over P57 billion in debts of agrarian reform beneficiaries, freeing farmers from financial burdens and enabling them to invest in their farms.

Additionally, Marcos has prioritized infrastructure development for irrigation and post-harvest facilities, as well as increased subsidies for fertilizers and seeds, to enhance rice production and reduce reliance on imports.