Former senator and senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan pledged on Saturday to bring down rice inflation if elected to the Senate, citing his track record as the presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization during the Aquino administration.
Pangilinan highlighted his role in reducing rice inflation to below 1 percent during his tenure. He emphasized that stabilizing rice prices directly impacts overall inflation and the cost of living for Filipinos.
“That’s one of the main reasons I decided to run again,” he said. “We already found a way to manage overall inflation in the country by addressing rice supply concerns. If we did it before, we can do it again.”
Pangilinan lamented that rising food prices have made it increasingly difficult for minimum wage earners to make ends meet, noting that P1,000 today barely covers essential groceries. In contrast, he recalled that during his tenure as food security czar, the same amount could go a long way.
“In one year, we were able to manage rice supply inflation. Ask any economist — when you lower the price of rice, the prices of other food products will follow,” he explained.
Rice, as the staple food for approximately 117 million Filipinos, has a significant influence on the prices of other essentials such as sugar, cooking oil, coffee, onions and tomatoes.
To control rice inflation during the Aquino administration, Pangilinan said he targeted corruption by cracking down on hoarders, dishonest middlemen and blacklisted traders.
He recalled revoking the business permits of rice hoarders, compelling them to release stockpiled rice. By supplementing the market with the National Food Authority’s rice supply, he claimed to have achieved the lowest inflation rate in the country in two decades.
“That’s why P1,000 and P500 could buy a lot back then,” he stressed.
Pangilinan said he also refused to approve overpriced rice imports from Thailand and Vietnam, saving the government P7 billion in procurement costs. “We were able to save because there was no corruption,” he added.
The Senate hopeful urged the current administration to conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of high food prices, similar to recent government actions against Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
“Through a thorough investigation, we can examine why food prices remain high and push the executive department to act in lowering and ultimately arresting rice and food inflation in the country,” Pangilinan stated.