(Ellson Quismorio/ File photo/ MANILA BULLETIN)

House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto is proposing two actions that he says can help address a looming national "food crisis".

Recto based his concerns on the sudden plunge in farm gate prices of palay (unhusked rice) from P23 to P19 per kilo.

The veteran lawmaker said the farm gate price skid came at the heels of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s price cap on rice.

Farm gate prices are defined as the prices received by farmers for the sale of their crops at the location of farm. The higher these prices, the more they get paid for their produce.

"Kung apektado ang kalahati ng forecast palay harvest sa taong ito--mga 10 million metric tons--lugi ang mga magsasaka ng P40 billion. Ngayon pa naman ay harvest season (If half of the forecast palay harvest this year--some 10 million metric tons--would be affected, then the farmers will lose P40 billion. To think that it's now harvest season)," Recto said.

One of Recto's proposals was to amend Section 13 of the Republic Act (RA) No.11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL). This concerns the menu governing the usage of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

"Amyendahan ang RCEF menu upang ipahintulot ang direct cash assistance (The RCEF menu must be amended to allow for direct cash assistance to farmers). Straight to their pockets, straight to their stomachs," he said.

"Second, because Congress will adjourn on Sept. 29, for the President to pull the trigger on Section 7 of the Rice Tariffication Law, and reduce import duty rates on rice," he said.

Recto said Section 7 provides that the President "may increase, reduce, revise, or adjust existing rates of import duty up to the bound rate committed by the Philippines under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and under the ATIGA, including any necessary change in classification applicable to the importation of rice: Provided, That the power herein delegated to the President shall only be exercised when Congress is not in session: Provided, further, That any order issued by the President adjusting the applied tariff rates shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication."

"In the event of any imminent or forecasted shortage, or such other situation requiring government intervention, the President is empowered for a limited period and/or a specified volume, to allow the importation at a lower applied tariff rate to address the situation. Such order shall take effect immediately and can only be issued when Congress is not in session," the section further read.

"So this is the urgent division of labor," Recto summarized, "Congress to amend the RTL to authorize direct cash payments to farmers, using past RCEF collections. This will benefit the rice producing poor."

"And for the President to TEMPORARILY reduce import duties to benefit the rice consuming poor. Not forever, but for a limited period that will not hurt any stakeholder," he said, the emphasis his.

Last Friday, Marcos ordered via Executive Order (EO) No.39 that a price cap of P41 per kilo and P45 per kilo be implemented on regular-milled rice and well-milled rice, respectively.

There have been concerns that such price ceiling would cause rice retailers to lose money, since they would essentially be selling their rice products at below price of acquisition, which is reportedly almost P50 per kilo.