Solon: Review expiring Rice Tariffication Law

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros is seeking a review of the implementation of Republic Act 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law.

Hontiveros on Thursday filed Senate Resolution 956, directing the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform to lay the groundwork for an “evidence-based, consultative and comprehensive review” of RA 11203.

Hontiveros said the inquiry will enhance the implementation of the RTL until its expiration in 2025.

“To facilitate the conduct of this review, preliminary investigations are needed to determine its scope and identify other important standards for its effectiveness in addition to the primary benchmark of farmers’ income stated in the IRR (implementing rules and regulations),” Hontiveros said in the resolution.

“These investigations will also aid in enhancing the implementation of the RTL in the period remaining until its expiration in 2025,” she added.

The law liberalized rice importation, exportation, and trading by lifting quantitative import restrictions on rice.

The RTL also created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or RCEF, with an annual appropriation of P10 billion for six years.

Hontiveros, however, noted that rice smuggling led to considerable revenue losses of around P7.2 billion last year, with the government losing additional tariff revenue due to undervaluation and misclassification of rice imports.

Citing the 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Hontiveros lamented that only 14 percent of the estimated 10 million farmers and fisherfolk in the country are registered in the Registry of Basic Sectors in Agriculture, while seven out of 10 farmers remained unbanked.