(File photo)

Congressmen who took part in the Murang Pagkain Super-committee's hearing Wednesday, Jan. 15 were exasperated by the Department of Agriculture's (DA) move of setting the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for rice at an astronomic ₱58 per kilo.

“Diyos ko ang taas nun (My God that's so high),” overall chairman Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda said of the MSRP on the Filipino staple food. He said he "found it hard to accept" such number.

The Murang Pagkain Super-committee is also known as the quinta-committee (quinta-comm).

Expressing similar sentiments was Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin, who accused the DA of failing to address key issues in the rice supply chain. This has reportedly led to the current elevated prices of rice.

“Bakit naman si DA may MSRP na ₱58, saang planeta ito nanggaling, Mr. Chair?” Garin said during her interpellation, wherein stressed that the MSRP should have been lower following the drop in the price of regular milled rice.

(Why does the DA have an MSRP of P58 [for rice], from what planet did this come from, Mr. Chair?)

Salceda grilled DA Undersecretary Asis Perez on the basis of the P58 per kilo MSRP for rice. This, as the Bicolano noted that the cost of imported rice had gone down to between P44 and P47, while the buying price for palay (unmilled rice) had fallen as well.

Garin described the P58 per kilo MSRP as “unrealistic” and “a disservice to consumers". It is nearly three times the Marcos administration's ideal or target retail price for the grain of P20 per kilo.

The quinta-comm will invite DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to shed light on the MSRP during the next hearing.

Garin cited reports showing that the landed cost of imported rice ranged from P35 to P39 per kilo--significantly lower than the DA’s MSRP. She argued that even with logistics and mark-ups, rice should not exceed P45 to P49 per kilo at retail.

“Kung ang landed cost ay P35, maibebenta mo siya ng P42 to P43. ‘Yung iba namang landed cost ay P39, maibebenta mo siya ng P47 to P48. Pero siyempre, ‘pag may damage, logistics, aakyat siya, pinakamataas P49,” she explained.

'Reasonable mark-up'

Perez defended the P58 MSRP as part of a pilot program for Metro Manila. He said that it was designed to address higher rice prices in the area, which reportedly range from P62 to P64 per kilo.

Perez said the P58 price “was based on the landed cost of imported rice, plus a reasonable mark-up for all those involved in the distribution chain". 

"Mahaba po ‘yang chain na yan (It's a long chain),” he noted.

However, Garin dismissed his explanation and called the DA's action the “wrong solution” to tackling the lofty prices of rice.

“No, I’m sorry, Mr. Chair. I’m sorry, Usec Asis, but that is a wrong solution...How do we resolve the problem of mahal na bigas (expensive rice)? Magkano ang landed cost? Magkano ang kapital ng local farmer? Magkano ang pwedeng ipatong ng mga dadaanan?” she asked.

(How much is the landed cost? How much is the capital of a local farmer? How much can the players added along the way?)

The quinta-comm is tasked with addressing the systemic challenges of soaring food prices, smuggling, price manipulation, and hunger—issues that have left millions of Filipinos struggling to access affordable and secure food.

Formed under House Resolution (HR) No. 254, that was introduced by Speaker Martin Romualdez, this super-committee brings together five key House panels to identify gaps in government programs and hold accountable those responsible for market abuses.

The joint panel is composed of the Committees on Ways and Means, Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Food, Social Services, and the Special Committee on Food Security.