Villar urges DA not to issue import permits for rice, corn before, during harvest season

Senator Cynthia Villar on Monday appealed to the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry not to issue import permits for rice and corn before and during the harvest season in the country to prevent plummeting local farmgate prices.

"Talagang common sense naman 'yun eh na kapag magha-harvest, huwag magbibigay ng import permit kasi pwede namang maghintay din ang mga farmers kaya lang ang problema natin wala naman tayong enough warehouse for them to wait for better prices," Villar said during the continuation of the hearing for the DA and attached agencies' proposed P86.3 billion budget for 2021.

"We have to build pa warehouse just to take care of our small farmers but sana huwag na lang magbigay [ng permit]. Maggawa ng schedule na pag tatama ang pagdating ng importation sa harvest time eh huwag nang ibigay 'yun para wala tayong problema, 'yung plummeting palay prices," she added.

In response, Senator Imee Marcos made a manifestation that importations of rice and corn should be "scheduled and staggered according to need."

"The BPI is enjoined not to import during or immediately before during harvest season, particularly the main harvest season in September and October," she said.

Earlier this month, the DA said the buying prices of dry palay is at P19 per kilo in top rice-producing areas in the country—refuting claims of some interest groups in social media that the prices have reached a low of P12.

Marcos also asked the Bureau of Animal Industry to be vigilant of smuggled poultry, specifically whole chicken meats.

Deboned chicken shall be allowed to be imported by processors only, not by traders, according to Villar.

"Ang bigyan nila ng import permit 'yung processor, hindi 'yung traders. Kasi pag trader ang kumuha ng permit eh mag-iimport ng deboned at i-smuggle 'yung whole chicken," she said.

Further, Marcos added that the alleged excess importation and reported smuggling of fish in Navotas and other fishports shall be reviewed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said he clearly heard the manifestations.

Villar authored the Rice Tariffication Law which allowed the unlimited importation of rice in the Philippines and imposed a 35-percent tariff on such.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed this law in February 2019. A few months later, the palay prices in the country plunged to P7-P10 per kilo.

This prompted Duterte to order the DA to temporarily halt rice importation during the harvest season.

Last June, the Philippine government shelved plans to import rice from Vietnam after determining that there is enough supply of the staple food amid the COVID-19 pandemic.—AOL, GMA News