Following rice tariffication, more Pinoys seen to work abroad

MANILA, Philippines — With the impending implementation of rice tariffication, more Filipinos are expected to leave the country and seek employment overseas to provide better lives for their families, an overseas workers group said yesterday.

Migrante International said the signing of the rice tariffication law is a bane not only for Filipino farmers, but for the entire country.

“As more farmers find rice cultivation unbearable due to the regime’s inclination towards importation, many will be forced to sell their lands to greedy developers and rice millers will find their storehouses empty,” Migrante said.

Migrante said many overseas Filipino workers came from peasant backgrounds in the countryside and fully understand the impact of tariffication to their families’ livelihood back home. 

“This will force farmers and their children to be among the many thousands of Filipinos who leave the country every single day to seek a better life overseas,” the group said.

Migrante said President Duterte is apparently eager to wipe out agricultural lands and turn them into commercial properties.

Migrante said the rice tariffication law will bring the death of the agricultural industry as it opens the country to the deluge of imported rice.

The government has been claiming that agricultural trade liberalization ensures food security for Filipinos but Migrante said the country has deteriorated from being among Asia’s largest rice producers to one of the world’s top rice importing countries.  

Vice President Leni Robredo said the government should ensure timely and sufficient safety nets for local farmers following the Rice Tariffication Law.

Robredo said the government must not repeat its mistake in the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, where the supposed assistance to the poor was not immediately distributed ahead of the rise in oil and basic commodities prices.

“The revenues of the farmers will surely go down, that’s why the safety nets for affected farmers are crucial here,” Robredo said.

Robredo underscored the importance of the proper implementation of safety nets for local farmers when the government lifts restrictions on rice importation. 

She said the local farmers are among the poorest sectors in the country.

Robredo earlier expressed her support for the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law.

Lawmakers also hailed the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, principal author of the measure, said the new law will help farmers improve their profitability and competitiveness with the P10-billion Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

She said the law complements other government programs to address the needs of the farming sector, including the P7-billion Rice Program under the Department of Agriculture and the P7-billion budget of the National Food Authority that will be used to buy palay from local farmers for purposes of buffer stocking.

Villar said rice is the only agricultural commodity in the country that has a quantitative restriction (QR), limiting the inflow of imported rice.

The new law replaces volume restrictions on rice importation with tariffs of up to 35 percent. It would allow unlimited rice importation.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said rice tariffication law would stabilize the supply of rice amid inflation.

“It will further help in easing the inflation which has hit the poor the most,” Arroyo said.

“Now we can focus on its proper implementation so that everyone can and should benefit from the law,” she added.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte said the RCEF under the bill allocates 10 percent of its P10 billion allocation for credit to farmers and cooperatives, which will help the agriculture sector gain access to lending facilities.

“This will, in turn, prevent a repeat of the 2018 inflation surge brought in large part by the supply shortfall and the subsequent retail price increase of rice,” Villafuerte said.

The law will also reduce the prices of rice by as much as P7 per kilo and help tame threats of inflation. 

“It will be a sigh of relief for consumers. With the passage of this bill, consumers can expect cheaper rice prices this year. This bill is expected to lower rice prices by up to seven pesos per kilo and stabilize inflation,” Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo added.

Former senator Juan Ponce Enrile however warned against the “over supply” of rice could adversely affect local farmers following the implementation of the rice tariffication law.

“When you bring in too much commodity from the outside, you deprive local farmers of their source of livelihood, so we should be using tariffs to protect them,” Enrile said.

“Farmers will not incur losses if (the government) only adheres to the rice tariffication law and relates (the tariffs) to the reasonable price of the commodity in the country,” he added. 

Enrile said the farmers would suffer losses. – With Delon Porcalla, Helen Flores, Jose Rodel Clapano