Pacquiao to review Rice Tariffication Law; says gov't should prioritize procuring palay from farmers

Presidential candidate and Senator Manny Pacquiao on Friday proposed a review of the Rice Tariffication Law, saying the government should push for the procurement of rice from farmers instead of farm input subsidies.

"Sinabi ko na 'yan na pagdating ng panahon eh sisiguraduhin natin na hindi maaagrabyado ang ating mga farmers at kung babaratin 'yung mga palay nila, hindi tayo papayag at ang gobyerno ang bibili ng mga palay nila sa reasonable price," Pacquiao said in a statement.

(I said that when the time comes, we will make sure that our farmers will not be taken advantage of and we will not allow the haggling of their palay. The government will purchase their palay at a reasonable price.)

He said the government should protect Filipino farmers from the influx of cheap and imported rice that has supposedly brought down the farm gate price of locally-harvested rice due to the RTL.

Under the RTL, the quantitative restriction (QR) for the importation of rice commodities was removed, which is a government commitment as a signatory to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of the World Trade Organization.

However, Pacquiao said the allocation of farm input subsidies for farmers financed through rice import tariffs should be amended and use the RTL funds instead to buy rice from farmers at a fair and reasonable price.

Pacquiao continued his campaign in Nueva Ecija, which is known as the country’s rice granary.

He claimed the country’s agricultural sector suffered long years of government neglect and unrestrained entry of smuggled agricultural products.

“Alam mo sa totoo lang ang ating gobyerno pahina na nang pahina –kumbaga walang power ang ating gobyerno nakokontrol sila ng mga importation ng mga sindikato na 'yan at kawawa ang mga farmers natin," Pacquiao said.

(In reality, our government is gradually weakening- it has no power, it is controlled by the syndicates importing rice resulting to the misery of our farmers.)

"(Dapat) maglaan ng pondo ang ating gobyerno para matulungan itong mga farmers natin at kung maaari ang gobyerno na bibili sa kanila ng mga palay. Pati mga fertilizer na 'yan suplayan sila ng ating gobyerno," he added.

(Our government should allocate funds to help our farmers and if possible the government should purchase their palay. Even fertilizers should be supplied by the government.)—AOL, GMA News