Farmers’ groups on Sunday, May 4,  accused the Marcos administration of peddling false hope to millions of Filipinos suffering from high rice prices, branding the President’s P20-per-kilo rice promise as a “grand deception” and a diversion from the country’s deepening rice crisis.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women (Amihan) said the administration has no real plan to bring down the cost of rice, and that policies in place, particularly the Rice Liberalization Law, have only worsened the situation for farmers and consumers alike.

“Bente Bigas Mo is designed to be limited, short-lived, and tokenistic, far from offering genuine relief to the millions suffering from rising rice prices,” the groups said in a joint statement.

KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos, a farmer from Bulacan, said the administration’s cheap rice campaign is nothing more than a “gimmick” to distract from the real causes of food insecurity.

“Simula’t sapul, malinaw na propaganda at panloloko ang Bente Bigas Mo… Hindi ito solusyon, kundi panlilinlang habang patuloy ang pagkalam ng sikmura ng mamamaya (From the start, Bente Bigas Mo was clearly propaganda and deceit… It’s not a solution, but deception while the people continue to go hungry),” he stated.

Ramos blamed the Rice Liberalization Law for causing lasting damage to local rice production, increasing the country’s dependence on imports, and giving traders and importers more control over pricing.

“Because of the Rice Liberalization Law, the Philippines’ rice import dependency surged from 14 percent in 2018 to 23% in 2022. Sa madaling salita, isinugal ng gobyerno ang pagkain ng mamamayan sa merkado ng dayuhan (In simple terms, the government gambled the people’s food security on the foreign market),” he went on.

Data from the group showed that from 2018 to 2024, the average retail price of rice rose by 17 percent. During the same period, the minimum wage in Metro Manila increased by only 14 percent, with even slower growth in agricultural regions. 

Meanwhile, many rice farmers saw their incomes drop as imported rice flooded local markets.

“Pinatay ng importasyon ang kabuhayan ng libu-libong magsasaka, manggagawang bukid, at manggagawa sa mga mills (Importation killed the livelihood of thousands of farmers, farm workers, and mill workers),” said Ramos.

Amihan secretary-general Cathy Estavillo said the real beneficiaries of the current rice policy are large importers and rice traders, not ordinary Filipinos.

“Ginawa lang itong pampalubag-loob at gimik sa eleksyon. Gayundin, habang nalulubog sa gutom at utang ang taumbayan, bilyon-bilyong piso ang kinikita ng rice cartel at importers (This was just a pacifier and election gimmick. Meanwhile, as the people sink deeper into hunger and debt, rice cartels and importers are raking in billions),” she said.

The groups emphasized that only seven percent of the world’s rice is traded internationally, making the Philippines’ dependence on imports “dangerously unsustainable.” 

Since the implementation of the RLL in 2019, thousands of rice mills have closed and local production has declined.

“Hindi ‘Bente Bigas Mo,’ kundi Bente Milyong Pilipinong Nagugutom ang realidad (The reality is not ‘Bente Bigas Mo,’ but 20 million hungry Filipinos),” Estavillo said.

Both KMP and Amihan are calling for the repeal of the Rice Liberalization Law and the implementation of genuine agrarian reform to rebuild the domestic rice industry and achieve real food security.