Econ managers want EO to remove admin constraints on food imports

President Rodrigo Duterte's economic managers want him to sign an executive order that will remove administrative constraints and non-tariff barriers in the importation of rice, fish, vegetables, sugar and meat, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.

Presidential spokesman Secretary Harry Roque said the draft EO would be submitted to the Office of the President following Duterte's meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday.

Asked if Duterte agreed in principle to issue the EO, Roque said in a text message: "Yes."

Apart from an EO, Roque said the economic cluster also proposed the simplification and streamlining of licensing procedures for rice imports of the National Food Authority, and prioritizing the release of essential food items in the ports.

The secretaries also urged the Senate to immediately pass the rice tariffication Bill within the month.

Medium to long-term proposed measures include facilitating access to better farming technologies, promoting research and development, developing resilient and high yielding varieties of rice, reassess the country's planting season, amendments to the Fisheries Code of the Philippines, and the tariffication of sugar, meat, fish and vegetables.

Duterte in a nationally televised interview with his lawyer said his economic managers were finding ways to curb inflation which climbed to a nine-year high last month.

Inflation clocked in at 6.4 percent in August, the fastest since it came in at 6.6 percent in March 2009.

It is faster than the 5.9 percent forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Department of Finance’s expectation that it will settle at 5.88 percent. —NB/MDM, GMA News