DA called out for failing to stabilize rice prices

The House Committee on Agriculture and Food called out the officials of the Department of Agriculture for failing to deliver its commitment to stabilize the cost of rice after the harvest season.

ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo, during Wednesday's briefing of the DA on the rising prices of rice and egg, quizzed DA officials over the disparities between the promised stabilization and the current market prices of rice.

Tulfo, the House deputy majority leader for communications, recalled DA's assertion during the months of July, August and September that the cost of rice would be stabilized after the harvest season.

September marked the beginning of the rice harvest season, which continued through October.

In August, DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian told lawmakers that the cost of the staple grain is seen to destabilize at P45 to P46 by the harvest time.

The DA reiterated in September that prices of palay may stabilize until October, with over 5 million metric tons of grain expected to be harvested during the said months.

"The problem is when Speaker and I made the rounds, we didn't see a decrease in the price of rice," Tulfo stressed.

In late November, Speaker Martin Romualdez and Tulfo made a surprise price inspection at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao to ensure that costs of essential commodities such as vegetables and rice fall within SRP ahead of the holidays.

The House leaders staged the surprise inspection to stave off price gouging of essential goods during the Christmas rush, which traders usually take advantage of.

However, Tulfo lamented that despite the DA's guaranteed stabilization—rice prices have stayed high— varying between P52 to P60 per kg.

The prices are still significantly distant from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s target of P20 per kilo of rice.

"Whatever happened to that promise na bababa [ang presyo ng bigas], because people were waiting? Bakit hindi po bumaba?" Tulfo asked.

National Food Authority chief Roderico Bioco cited vital factors contributing to the surge in rice prices, including a shortfall in production between 2021 and 2022, low fertilizer uptake among farmers affecting yields, and international factors such as Indonesia's announcement to buy two million tons of rice.

The combination of the factors, along with import parity being higher than the landed cost, has resulted in higher rice prices in the local market, acceding to Bioco.

The panel, chaired by Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, continued to exercise its discretion, including price monitoring of essential goods, such as rice, chicken and egg, to ensure that the commodities are at low cost.

Based on the DA's PhilRice Bantay Palay App last November, fresh long-grain and rumble rice has an average price of P22.39 per kilogram. For dry palay, long grain recorded the highest price of P33 per kg in Region 3 and the lowest at P20 in Region 12, with a national average price of P25.18 per kg.

Rumble dry palay, meanwhile, is at an average of P24.39 per kg.

Enverga said they expect that the data presented by the DA and its attached agencies will support the committee in taking crucial steps to address concerns about the rising cost of agricultural commodities, particularly rice and chicken eggs, and head off further intricacies.

"We need correct information for us to assess the situation and help [make] the necessary steps to address such concerns and to avoid the same mistakes," Enverga said.

In November, the DA told the panel that the cost of well-milled and regularly milled is seen to be pegged at P48 and P41 to P43 per kilo in the upcoming Christmas rush.