Pangilinan pushes floor price for palay

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday expressed support for the call for a floor price for palay or unmilled rice, citing the prevailing low prices that are not enough for farmers to pay for their debts and the expenses incurred to plant.

According to Pangilinan, farmers continue to struggle even after the temporary ban on rice imports—covering regular milled and well-milled varieties—that was implemented on September 1, 2025.

“Mahigit isang buwan na ang rice import ban,  pero patuloy pa rin ang pagdaing ng ating mga magpapalay. Mababa pa rin ang bentahan ng kanilang ani. Kulang na kulang na pambayad sa lahat ng inutang para makapagtanim. Wala pa ang sariling pangkain,” he said in a statement.

“Kailangan nating magpatupad ng mga hakbang upang matulungan ang ating mga magpapalay. Isang malaking solusyon ang magtakda ng floor price para sa palay, na dapat ipatupad sa lahat ng pagbili ng gobyerno,” he added.

(It has been more than a month since the rice import ban, yet our rice farmers continue to struggle. The selling price of their harvest remains low. It is not enough to pay off the debts they incurred just to plant. This does not even include their own food yet.

We need to implement measures to help our rice farmers. One major solution is to set a floor price for palay, which should be applied to all government purchases.)

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last month ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to coordinate with relevant offices for the drafting of an executive order on the palay buying floor price.

Aside from this, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier said the administration is looking at extending the rice import ban until the end of the year, citing the continued decline in prices of palay in the country.

Tiu Laurel earlier this month said the government will lift the ban in January 2026 with possibly higher tariffs, but will reimpose it again from February to April of the same year.

Moving forward, Pangilinan said the Sagip Saka Act or Republic Act 11321 should be implemented properly, as this would allow government agencies and local units to directly acquire rice from farmers and fisherfolk.

“Every year, by our estimate, tons of rice are purchased by the DSWD, DOH, and DepEd for their various programs,” he said, referring to the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Health, and Education.

“In the 2025 budget of the DILG alone, over “278 million has been allocated for rice subsidies. If we include the rice purchases of other agencies and local government units (LGUs), this already amounts to a substantial sum, one that, if the Sagip Saka Act is properly implemented, would go directly into the pockets of our rice farmers,” he added. — BM, GMA Integrated News