Abella pushes for review of Rice Tariffication Law

Presidential candidate Ernesto Abella on Thursday called for a review of the Rice Tariffication Law, claiming that the support provided to farmers was insufficient.

At the Pandesal Forum, Abella said that if the assistance is insufficient, there will be hunger.

“The rice tariffication, I think we should review that kasi unang-una it hurts people. Ang sabi naman nila, of course, na dapat tulungan lang, pero that's exactly my point. Hindi nga dumarating muna,” he said.

(The rice tariffication, I think we should review that because first of all it hurts people. They said, of course, they should provide assistance, but that's exactly my point. It’s not coming.)

“Unang-una yung ayuda sa rice farmers, kulang. That's always our problem. It's always kulang, Ibig sabihin, kapag kulang may nagugutom,” he added.

(First of all, the assistance to farmers is not enough. That's always our problem. It's always inadequate. If insufficient, someone would go hungry.)

If elected president, Abella said he would turn the agriculture sector into a “mega-industry.”

Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in February 2019, the Rice Tariffication Law removed the quantitative restrictions on rice importation and imposed a 35% tariff on imports from Southeast Asian countries.

The Bureau of Customs collected a total of P18.9 billion in duties from rice imports last year, up 22% from P15.5 billion in 2020.

Duties collected from rice imports, beginning March 5, 2019, go to the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) pursuant to the law.

The RCEF is used to finance programs that will increase the competitiveness of rice farmers by way of providing them with easy access to fertilizer, farm machinery and equipment, high-yield seeds and cheap credit, and offering them skills training programs on farm mechanization and modern farming techniques. — VBL, GMA News