House Oks use of P10 billion for palay buying

MANILA,Philippines — The House of Representatives yesterday approved a joint resolution allowing the use of nearly P10 billion in additional funds this year for palay buying to prop up the price of the produce of millions of rice farmers.

Under Joint Resolution No. 19, a total of P9.9 billion would be turned over to the National Food Authority (NFA) to augment its palay procurement budget.

The committee on agriculture endorsed the measure, which mandates that the P600 rice subsidy per month of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps would be pooled and used by the NFA to buy palay from farmers at P19 per kilo.

The NFA would then mill the palay and distribute the rice to conditional cash transfer (CCT) recipients at 20 kilos each. This means that instead of cash, CCT beneficiaries will receive rice.

The joint resolution states that the rice subsidy portion of the 4Ps budget for this year still has a balance of almost P7 billion, which is equal to the NFA’s palay procurement budget.

Additionally, the measure authorizes the transfer to the NFA, also for palay buying, of some P2.9 billion similarly appropriated for rice subsidy for soldiers, policemen and other uniformed personnel like those in the Coast Guard and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

These personnel too would receive 20 kilos of rice each month from the NFA instead of cash.

Lawmakers are hoping that the scheme would force palay-buying prices up.

The concerned agencies like the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, National Defense and Interior and Local Government would be asked to turn over their rice subsidy balances to the NFA.

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero of 1-Pacman proposed that aside from rice, the government should help rice farmers with direct financial aid through unconditional cash transfers under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“With palay prices at their record eight-year low and with cash flow pressure bearing down on farmers and their families, hard cash is what the farmers need to cope with the low market price for their harvests, not the various forms of aid in the Rice Tariffication Law,” he said.

He said assistance like farm machineries and equipment would take time to procure.

“Unconditional cash transfers due to farmers’ families who are in the 4Ps should be funded and disbursed now, so those families can have hard cash to pay for daily needs, schooling expenses and preparations for Christmas,” he said.

GMRC revival

Meanwhile, the House committee on basic education and culture approved yesterday a measure seeking to revive the Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) subject in the grade school curriculum.

The panel chaired by Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo approved on first reading the consolidated bills that reintroduce GMRC as a separate subject from Kinder to Grade 3 levels.

The proposed measure provides for the inclusion of GMRC subject in the Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao curriculum of the Department of Education (DepEd)’s K-12 program. – With Edu Punay