Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero expressed his support for the Department of Agriculture's (DA) plan to declare a national food security emergency, stressing the importance of reducing rice prices to combat the impacts of inflation in the country.

“I support the planned declaration…We must do everything we can to lower the price of rice which, to a large extent, is responsible for a big chunk of our inflation numbers,” Escudero told reporters in a Viber message on Monday.

The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) expressed concerns that lowering rice prices may affect the earnings of local rice growers, urging the DA to “fully study” the declaration.

However, Escudero believes that certain modifications could be implemented if necessary.

“If the concerns of the FFF are indeed proven correct, I am sure the DA can make the corresponding adjustments to rectify its unintended ill-effect, if any,” he said.

Should the declaration be approved, the NFA will be allowed to release buffer stocks and begin purchasing rice from farmers during the upcoming harvest season.

The declaration will also enable the National Food Authority (NFA) to distribute approximately 300,000 metric tons of rice, or six million bags, at below-market prices through local government units (LGUs) and Kadiwa stores.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said they expect to release an initial 300,000 sacks, with the possibility of increasing this to 450,000 to 500,000 sacks, depending on demand from LGUs and Kadiwa stores.

With this, NFA rice will be sold to LGUs at P36 per kilo and to consumers at P38 per kilo, with strict price controls in place to ensure retailers do not charge above these rates.

The National Security Council earlier expressed support for the proposed declaration, saying it serves as “a national security interest” as food security remains a major component of the administration’s 15-point National Security Agenda, outlined in the 2023 National Security Policy (NSP).

The National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) previously approved a resolution recommending the declaration of a “food security emergency for rice” as prices of the staple commodity remained high.