The anticipated influx of imported rice will restrict Filipino millers from buying palay (unmilled rice) from farmers for only P17 to P20 in the next harvest, farmers group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said on Tuesday, June 25.
Through Executive Order (EO) 62, President Marcos has officially lowered rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent. This tariff reduction will commence on July 5, leading to an influx of rice imports into the markets.
“Local millers, sa next harvest, can only buy palay between P17 to P20 as they would be competing with a deluge of rice imports (Local millers can only buy palay between P17 to P20 in the next harvest as they will be competing with a deluge of rice imports),” Jayson Cainglet, the executive director of farmers’ group SINAG, said in an interview.
According to the groups of farmers, local producers might lose motivation to farm and raise animals if the farmgate prices for rice, hogs, corn, and chicken fall below their production costs.
“Sa perspective ng local producers, if babagsak ang farmgate ng palay (same sa hogs, corn, and chicken) to below cost of production; baka tamarin na ang ating local producers and raisers na magbukid at mag alaga ng hayop ( From the perspective of local producers, if the farmgate price of rice (as well as hogs, corn, and chicken) falls below the cost of production, our local producers and raisers might lose the motivation to farm and raise animals),” he said.
Bid to block EO No. 62
During the weekend, 17 agriculture groups announced that they would file a petition seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) before the Supreme Court (SC) to block the implementation of EO No. 62, which will reduce the tariff rate on rice from 35 percent to 15 percent.
The 17 agriculture groups are SINAG, FFF, KMP, PHILCONGRAINS, ABONO Party-list, UBRA, Phil Egg Board, NFHFI, AGAP Party-list, Phil Palay, PCAFI, PhilMaize, AA, RWAN, IRDF, Bantay Bigas, and P4MP.
Virgie Suarez, the lawyer of the farmers' group Samahang Industriya ang Agrikultura (SINAG), said they will file a petition before the EO No. 62 goes into effect, possibly on July 4 or July 5.
“Ang priority namin is the filing of the case before the Supreme Court because what we want is the immediate na pagpigil sa implementation ng Executive Order 62, and then the graft charges or the cases against NEDA [officials] and members of the Tariff Commission will come after (Our priority is to file the case before the Supreme Court because we want to immediately prevent the implementation of Executive Order 62. After that, the graft charges or cases against NEDA officials and members of the Tariff Commission will follow),” she said during a press briefing in Quezon City on Sunday, June 23.
“At this point in time, I don’t want to give the details or to even discuss it. It is enough that we are saying that, that is our plan because our focus now is to prevent the implementation of the Executive Order 62,” she went on.
Suarez said their petition will cite several grounds: the lack of consultation, the absence of a public hearing conducted by the tariff commission, and the unknown recommendations made by the NEDA. Despite these issues, Executive Order 62 was suddenly issued.
“Another ground ‘yung talagang mali at hindi makatarungan—‘yung pagbaba ng taripa (Another ground is the actual mistake and injustice—the reduction of tariffs),” she said.
The lawyer of the agriculture group stated that EO No. 62 will not address inflation or lower the price of rice in markets.
Laurel allays farmers’ fears
Addressing farmers’ concerns on Monday, June 25, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel reassured the public about the government's tariff reduction on imported farm products, especially rice. He stated that President Marcos' administration is prepared to allocate the necessary funding to modernize agriculture and improve the quality of life for farmers.
“It is not really anti-farmers because the government is committed to filling any funding gap in RCEF to enhance farmers' competitiveness,” Laurel said in a statement.
The move was necessary to address high global rice prices to benefit consumers by temporarily lowering rice prices, the DA chief said.
The agriculture department said it is poised to increase support for farmers by providing additional farm equipment and fertilizers to boost output.
On the other hand, the agency said the National Food Authority will continue purchasing rice from local farmers at fair prices to ensure their income remains stable.
Laurel noted that the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is constructing additional water-impounding dams and deploying solar-powered irrigation and pump systems in preparation for La Niña conditions.