DA drafting IRR on rice allowance

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) will work on a set of comprehensive implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the rice allowance for government workers.

DA senior undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said the agency would draft the IRR following the initiative of President Marcos, who is concurrent DA secretary, to give government workers rice allowance.

“The distribution of rice allowance forms part of the efforts of the current administration to assist local rice farmers, while reducing hunger and ensuring that families will have safe and quality rice as part of their meal,” he said.

Panganiban said the IRR will also include the specific guidelines “which will benefit both the rice producers and rice consumers.”

In an interview last week, President Marcos said he is looking to provide rice allowance for government workers to help with their daily expenses.

“There are a lot of corporations that give rice allowance. So we will institutionalize it,” he said.

Marcos said the government would buy rice in bulk as this is cheaper than what is sold at market prices and apportion this for distribution.

This will drive demand, which will benefit rice producers, he added.

The President also said measures are needed to be put in place to bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilo – one of his campaign promises. To do this, the National Food Authority (NFA) would have to return to its old function of buying and not importing rice.

Achieving this goal, he explained, could take up to three years before consumers can have access to cheaper rice.

Rice farmers have urged President Marcos to restore NFA’s “regulatory powers” to ensure farmers of a sure market that pays higher and assuring, at the same time, lower price for the poor segment of consumers.

Farmgate price

Meanwhile, the Mabandi multi-purpose cooperative (MPC) in Pulong Bayabas, San Miguel, Bulacan and the Federation of Central Luzon Farmers’ Cooperative (FCLFC) have asked Marcos to raise the farmgate price of clean and dry palay (unmilled rice) to P23 per kilo.

Buying palay directly from farmers used to be a major intervention of the former NFA prior to this function’s abolition under the Rice Tariffication Law.

Both groups claimed this would benefit farmers more than receiving ayuda or financial assistance.

“Not everyone gets to receive ayuda, only those close to those in power (would get it). But when palay price is raised to P23 per kilo at farmgate, that benefits all farmers,” said Atanacio Santos of the Mabandi MPC.

The increase to P23 per kilo already covers all costs of production including those for seeds, fertilizers, diesel, pesticides and irrigation, FCLFC chairman Simeon Sioson said.

Farmgate price has dropped to P18 to P19 per kilo and even hit a very low P10 to 14 per kilo, causing huge losses to farmers and compelling many farmers to give up tilling the land.

Aside from farmers, the government will also be a big beneficiary since government can collect additional value added tax (VAT), which may then be used to subsidize the cost of rice for consumers.

Furthermore, Sioson said government should strictly monitor the Philippines’ rice shortfall to prevent any excess in domestic rice volume that causes further rice competition to farmers.

“Importation only benefits farmers in Vietnam and Thailand.  We should rather protect our farmers. Only the shortfall should be imported,” he said.

Even government’s buffer stocking function for the lean months, with inventory level required at 30 days, will be addressed through higher production from incentivized farmers.