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(Eagle News)–The Senate has approved on third and final reading a resolution that allows the government to distribute rice instead of cash under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps. Twenty-one senators voted in favor of Senate joint resolution no. 8. No one dissented or abstained. According to the resolution, under the 4P’s rice subsidy component, actual rice instead of cash should be distributed to beneficiaries. Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate committee on […]
(Eagle News)–Senator Kiko Pangilinan has called for a bigger budget for the agriculture department so the Philippines could compete with its rice-exporting neighbors. Pangilinan made the call as he noted that Vietnam’s and Thailand’s annual budget for agriculture trumps the Philippines’ 2.45 billion USD annual agriculture budget. Pangilinan said Vietnam’s 70.23 billion USD is over 28 times bigger and Thailand’s 1 trillion baht (or about 32.994 billion USD) is 13.44 times bigger based on Department […]
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the National Food Authority (NFA) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) to buy all locally harvested palay (unhusked rice) to help Filipino farmers who are hit by the very low palay prices. “What the solution should be or will be for the Secretary of Agriculture to buy all,” the President said addressing the complaints of rice farmers about the plunging palay prices The prices of palay […]
(Eagle News)—-Senator Cynthia Villar is pushing for the use of in-bred seeds to help farmers increase their production of rice. “Kaya gusto ko ito kasi iyong inbred seeds, pwedeng kayo ang magparami nito, hindi kailangang bilhin nyo lagi. Hindi kayo maghihintay sa gobyerno para mabigyan ng seeds dahil hindi naman kaya ng gobyerno na lahat ng magsasaka mabibigyan ng seeds,” Villar said. She said the use of the seeds will increase farmer’s yield by as much […]
(Eagle News) — What are the implications of the Rice Tariffication Act which was recently signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte? Will it address the so-called rice crisis in the country? In this epsiode of ASEAN in Focus Weekend Edition, former Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and former agriculture secretary, Dr. William Dar, analyzes the issue. Dar explains how the lifting of the quantitative restrictions […]
(Eagle News) –The country’s economic managers assured farmers they would have the necessary assistance to protect them from the possible adverse effects of the lifting of the quantitative restrictions on rice imports under the Rice Tariffication Law. Budget Benjamin Diokno said at least P5 billion has been released under the 2018 national budget for this purpose. He said this was apart from the P5 billion in Special Allotment Release Order issued to the Department of […]
(Eagle News)—The Palace on Tuesday, Feb. 19, assured the public there would be transparency in the use of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, and no corruption. “Good governance is the hallmark of the Duterte Administration and the President has zero tolerance against corruption and wastage of taxpayers’ money,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. According to Panelo, the Secretary of Agriculture would be accountable for the rice fund, which will be derived from the 35 percent […]
(Eagle News)–The tariffs on rice importation under the newly signed rice tariffication law will start on March 3, the Department of Finance said on Monday .Feb. 18. In a statement, the DOF said the National Food Authority Council also “approved the transfer of the NFA functions to the Department of Agriculture as provided under the rice tariffication law, effective March 3.” The DOF said the approval was made also on Monday, Feb. 18, during the NFA […]
Other bills signed, others vetoed (Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the rice tariffication bill into law, Senate President Tito Sotto said. The signing came after the President met with various rice traders who had been opposed to the measure that essentially allows the market to be flooded with cheaper rice imports for as long as they are imposed a tax. Under the measure, rice traders can import an unlimited quantity of rice for as long […]
(Eagle News) – The country’s business sector, including bankers and foreign businessmen, has issued a joint statement fully backing the bill seeking to impose tariffs, recognizing it as measure that will liberalize the economy and eventually free consumers from “food supply apprehension,” according to the Department of Finance. The joint statement was signed by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham), Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), […]
(Eagle News)–The Department of Finance has ordered the Bureau of Customs to donate 30,000 bags of undocumented rice shipments to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez made the announcement in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday, Dec. 25. According to Dominguez, he gave the order to Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero last month. Earlier, the BOC under then-Commissioner Isidro Lapeña donated 16,000 rice bags to the same agency. Goods under the […]
(Eagle News)–The Palace on Wednesday, Dec. 19, said President Rodrigo Duterte would sign the rice tariffication bill into law soon. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the measure has been submitted to the Office of the President. If signed into law, the quantitative restrictions on imported rice will no longer apply. Private traders will also be able to choose from where to import the rice. President Duterte had certified the bill as urgent.
