The Senate approved on second reading Thursday the bill that would authorize and mandate the government to distribute its excess tariff revenues from imported rice as direct cash assistance to farmers.
Senate Bill No. 1927 was swiftly passed without amendments, a day after Sen. Cynthia Villar, Senate agriculture committee head, endorsed the measure for plenary approval.
If passed and signed into law, this would allow the Department of Agriculture (DA) to use the annual revenues under the Rice Tariffication Act in excess of P10 billion for cash aid to rice farmers owning one hectare of land or less until 2024. The Bureau of Customs (BoC) would be mandated to directly remit this fund to the DA.
Republic Act No. 11203, which liberalized rice importation with the imposition of tariffs in 2019, guaranteed a P10-billion funding for the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to help rice farmers compete with increased entry of cheaper rice imports.
The law also provides that tariff collections in excess of P10 billion may be allocated to other programs on rice, including financial assistance to small rice farmers, during its first six years of implementation.
Under the new Senate bill, the excess collections shall automatically be given as cash assistance, unless amended by law.
The beneficiaries shall be identified based on the DA's registry system.
The bill did not specify the amount to be given to the farmers but Villar, during her sponsorship speech Wednesday, said a cash assistance of P5,000 can benefit about one million rice farmers, while a cash assistance of P10,000 can benefit around 500,000.
Citing a report from the BoC, she said there was an excess of about P5 billion in the rice tariffs collected in 2019. As of September this year, there is an excess collection of P3 billion, she added.
Senators pushed for the disbursement of the excess tariff collections as financial assistance amid the plunging prices of local rice, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the destruction of agricultural lands due to the recent typhoons that hit the Philippines.
"Now more than ever, there is a need to exert all efforts to help our farmers recover," Villar said. "The Filipino farmers are among the most hardworking citizen in our country. Unfortunately, Filipino farmers are also among the poorest. Most farmers are unable to afford the food they provide," she added.
Aside from Villar, co-authors to the measure are Senators Francis Pangilinan, Joel Villanueva, Imee Marcos, Risa Hontiveros, and Ramon Revilla Jr.