MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

KNOWN ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

This Memorandum of Agreement (“the Agreement”) is executed and entered

into by and among:

The DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, a national government agency

organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the
Philippines, with principal office at DA New Bldg., Elliptical Road, Diliman,
Quezon City represented by its Secretary, WILLIAM D. DAR, Ph.D., and
hereinafter referred to as “DA”;

-and-

The DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICES (DA-RFOs), namely;

1. DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE IX, a regional field office of the
DA, with office address Lenienza, Pagadian City, Zamboanga Del Sur,
herein represented by its Regional Executive Director, RAD DONN
L. CEDEÑO, herein referred to as the DA-RFO IX;
2. DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE X, a regional field office of the DA,
with office address Antonio Luna St., Cagayan De Oro City, herein
represented by its Regional Executive Director, CARLENE C.
COLLADO, herein referred to as the DA-RFO IX;
3. DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE XII, a regional field office of the
DA, with office address Prime Regional Center, Barangay Carpernter
Hill, Koronadal City, South Cotabato, herein represented by its
Regional Executive Director, DENNIS R. ARPIA, herein referred to
as the DA-RFO IX;

-and-

The MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, AND AGRARIAN

REFORM- BANGSAMORO AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM
MINDANAO, a government agency created under the laws of the Philippines, with
office address at ORC Complex, Cotabato City, represented herein by its Minister,
MOHAMMAD S. YACOB, Ph.D., herein referred to as the “MAFAR-
BARMM”.

WITNESSETH THAT:

WHEREAS, on 14 February 2019, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Republic Act No.
11203 (RA No. 11203), otherwise known as “An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation
and Trading of Rice, Lifting for the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice, and for
Other Purposes'. Article I, Section 2 of RA No. 11203 states that to ensure food security and to
make the country’s agricultural sector viable, efficient and globally competitive, the country now
adopts the use of tariffs in lieu of non-tariff import restrictions to protect local producers of
agricultural products;

MOA: DA, DA-RFO, and MAFAR-BARMM for RCEF-RFFA 1

WHEREAS, Article XIII, Section 13 of RA No. 11203 stipulates the Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund (RCEF), otherwise known as the Rice Fund, which shall consist of an annual
appropriation of Ten Billion Pesos (Php 10,000,000,000.00) for the next six (6) years following
the approval of the Act. The Rice Fund shall be used for rice farm machinery and equipment;
rice seed development, propagation, and promotion; expanded rice credit assistance; and rice
extension services to all eligible rice farmer beneficiaries in the identified target areas;

WHEREAS, Article XIV, Section 14 of RA No. 11203 specified that the beneficiaries of the
Rice Fund are those farmers and farmworker and their dependents listed in the Registry System
for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.

WHEREAS, Section 13 of RA No. 11203 also states that if the annual tariff revenues from rice
importation exceeds Ten Billion Pesos in any given year within the six-year period following the
effectivity of the said Act, the excess tariff revenues shall be earmarked by the Congress and
included in the General Appropriations Act (“GAA”) of the following year so it may be used for
other purposes;

WHEREAS, Among the intended purposes of the excess tariff collections is the Rice Farmer
Financial Assistance (RFFA) which is a direct financial assistance released to the DA and to be
provided to rice farmers as compensation for the projected reduction or loss of farm income
arising from the tariffication of the quantitative import restrictions on rice;

WHEREAS, the Bureau of Customs shall issue a certification, not later than April 15 of every
fiscal year, on the annual tariff revenue from rice importation of the preceding year to the
Department of Budget and Management, copy furnished the Department of Agriculture,
Department of Finance, and Bureau of Treasury, commencing upon the effectivity of the Act.
This certification shall likewise include the amount in excess of Ten Billion Pesos (PhP
10,000,000,000.00), if any, from the tariff revenue from rice importation the preceding year;

WHEREAS, General Appropriations Act of 2021 (“GAA of 2021”) Special Provision No. 3
stipulates that an amount of Two Billion One Hundred Thirty-Five Million Two Hundred
Ninety-Nine Thousand Pesos (Php 2,135,299,000.00) is appropriated to Financial Subsidy to
Rice Farmers and shall be used to provide direct cash transfers to rice farmers;

WHEREAS, Special Provision No. 22 of GAA of 2021 under Unprogrammed Appropriations

stipulates the Use of Excess Tariff Collections from Rice Importation. It mentions that the excess
of the Php 10,000,000,000.00 collected by the Bureau of Customs for the year 2020 under the
Rice Tariffication Law (“RTL”) shall be released as cash assistance for rice farmers as
compensation for the projected reduction or loss farm income arising from the tariffication of
quantitative import restrictions on rice;

WHEREAS, the Bureau of Customs has certified in 03 June 2021 through an official
communication to the Department of Agriculture an excess tariff collection in FY 2020
amounting to Five Billion Four Hundred Seventy-One Million One Hundred Forty-Nine
Thousand Six Hundred Ninety -Seven Pesos and Forty Centavos (Php 5,471,149,697.40);

WHEREAS, MAFAR-BARMM is mandated to play its role in the promotion of sustainable

agri-fishery growth and development on the Bangsamoro region;

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WHEREAS, MAFAR-BARMM was given allocation and target beneficiaries for the RCEF-
RFFA Program to be implemented this FY 2021;

WHEREAS, MAFAR-BARMM can receive fund appropriations from DA for the purpose of
provision of social pension as stipulated in RA No. 11054 Article VI Section 13.

WHEREAS, the National Government-Intergovernmental Relation Body (IGRB) has agreed

that the enumerated programs and projects in RA No. 11054 Article VI Section 13 is not
exclusive. Thus, while the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) provides for an annual block grant
for the Bangsamoro Government, the National Government may, in the exercise of its sound
discretion, still include BARMM and its constituent local government units in its national
programs and projects;

WHEREAS, DA authorize the total allocation for MAFAR-BARMM amounting to Five Million
Three Hundred Seventy Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty Pesos (PhP 5,370,750.00) be transferred
to the DA RFOs 9, 10, and 12 chargeable against Special Allotment Release Order (“SARO”)
SARO BMB-E-21-0002835 and SARO BMB-E-21-0008494;

WHEREAS, the MAFAR-BARMM fund allocation downloaded to DA-RFOs 9,10, and 12 shall
be utilized for the purpose of providing unconditional cash assistance under the RCEF-RFFA
Program; and

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the foregoing premises and their mutual
covenant herein set forth, the DA and MAFAR-BARMM hereby agree and stipulate the
following:

ARTICLE I

THE PROGRAM

The DA through Memorandum Order No. 64 Series of 2021 or the implementing guidelines for
the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)-Rice Farmer Financial Assistance (RFFA)
program will be implemented by the DA-Regional Field Offices (DA-RFOs).

The activity shall also be referred to as the RCEF-RFFA Program.

Under this Program, the DA-RFO shall provide unconditional cash assistance amounting to
about Five Thousand Pesos (Php 5,000.00) to Registry system for Basic Sectors in Agriculture
(“RSBSA”) RSBSA-registered rice farmers owning/tilling rice lands of two (2) hectares and
below. The service fee, i.e. Eighty-One and 77/100 Pesos (Php 81.77), and card cost of Eighteen
and 23/100 Pesos (Php 18.23) shall also be credited to the account of farmer beneficiaries on top
of the Five Thousand Pesos unconditional cash assistance.

A. Objectives
The RCEF-RFFA Program aims to provide cash assistance to smallholder
RSBSA-registered rice farmers tilling rice lands of two (2) hectares and below,
and to provide temporary relief to eligible farmers throughout the implementation
years of the RTL.

MOA: DA, DA-RFO, and MAFAR-BARMM for RCEF-RFFA 3

 B. Scope
The activity shall cover the provision of cash assistance to eligible farmer
beneficiaries identified in municipalities and provinces nationwide.

C. Eligible Beneficiaries
A RSBSA-registered rice farmer owning or tilling a total cumulative rice area of
two (2) hectares and below as declared in the RSBSA.

ARTICLE II

PROGRAM FUND

The DA-RFOs shall open a program fund account for MAFAR-BARMM to the
corresponding branch of the partnered Government Financial Institution (GFI) and
deposit the allotted fund to be used for this Program. The DA-RFOs shall transfer the
corresponding amount to the program fund account for MAFAR-BARMM:

DA-RFO Concerned Amount to be Transferred

(Php)

DA-RFO 9 15,210.00

DA-RFO 10 11,540.00

DA-RFO 12 5,222,100.00

ARTICLE III

OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES

A. DA-Central Office

1. Comply with the budget and legal requirements to secure budget

allocation and ensure the timely release of funds intended for the RCEF-
RFFA, subject to pertinent accounting rules and regulations;

2. Establish RCEF-RFFA NPCT that will formulate policies and procedures

to resolve grievances and ensure proper execution of the program;

3. DA-ICTS to lead in ensuring the cleanliness and deduplication of the final

list to be submitted to the LBP for processing;

4. DA-ICTS to send only the final list of beneficiaries received from the DA-
RFOs to GFI;

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 5. DA-FOS and DA-ICTS to provide necessary support (i.e. briefing,
trainings among others) to the DA-RFOs upon implementation of the
program;

6. DA FOS to submit quarterly reports of cash assistance distributed in target

areas to oversight agencies of RCEF-RFFA;

B. DA-RFOs

1. Provide the funds necessary to support the implementation of the Program;

2. Open and maintain the DA-RFO RCEF-RFFA Program Fund under
nominated GFI Branch;
3. Upon receiving the Letter of Instruction (LOI) signed by the Minister of
MAFAR-BARMM, submit the endorsement letter of the LOI to the DA-
RFO for sending to GFI to process payout requests to GFI through the
sending of the Transaction Files matched with a via a secured electronic
interface, file transfer, or any form of transmission as may be agreed upon.
4. Mobilize Accounting Section to submit reports pertaining to the available
balance, for payment and other financial statuses related to the
implementation of the program; and
5. Consolidate and prepare reports.

OBLIGATIONS OF MAFAR-BARMM

1. Coordinate with the local government units (“LGUs”) and ensure that the
following are carried out:
a) Conduct of information dissemination to farmers;
b) Preparation of a prospective master list of farmer-beneficiaries
based on RSBSA;
c) Mobilization of their agricultural extension workers to register all
their farmers to the RSBSA;
d) Facilitate the release of cash assistance via Intervention Monitoring
Card (“IMC”) under the Program to the target beneficiaries;
e) Validation and certification of the authenticity of all documents
presented by the farmer-beneficiaries for this Program;
f) Orderly and smooth coordination in the claiming of cash assistance
using IMC;
g) Facilitation of the consolidation and submission of liquidation
documents such as master lists, among others; and
h) Periodical submission of reports.

2. Identify the areas (municipal level) of implementation for the Program;

3. Conduct information dissemination and briefing to LGUs, and other
relevant stakeholders;
4. Ensure that the implementing guidelines and other issuances are
understood by all partner implementers;
5. Through its Information and Communication Technology Service (ICTS)
Unit, conduct the following:

MOA: DA, DA-RFO, and MAFAR-BARMM for RCEF-RFFA 5

 a) Conduct data cleaning and directly upload beneficiary list to the
Farmers and Fisherfolk Registry System;
b) Amend any data corrections as necessary;
c) Revert transactions as necessary; and
d) Process cancellation of entries as necessary.
6. Provide the validated list of eligible farmers to GFI via secured electronic
interface, file transfer, or any form of transmission as may be agreed upon
containing the minimum information as detailed below:
a) Full Name;
b) Date of Birth;
c) Current Address;
d) RSBSA Number;
e) Place of Birth;
f) Mother’s Maiden Name;
g) Marital Status;
h) Valid ID;
i) Nationality;
j) Occupation;
k) Nature of Work; and
l) Source of Funds;

6. Transmit the corresponding LOI duly signed by the MAFAR-BARMM

Minister to the DA-RFOs 9, 10, and 12 for their endorsement to the GFI to
process payout requests/Transaction Files sent;
7. Co-facilitate distribution of final list to LGUs to gather farmer
beneficiaries for the distribution of IMC;
8. Lead the smooth rollout and distribution of the IMC to the farmer
beneficiaries;
9. Prepare a list of verified farmers (with account details) for disbursements;
10. Receive allocation from the DA for the purpose of providing cash
assistance to eligible rice farmer beneficiaries in the Bangsamoro region
for the RCEF-RFFA Program;
11. Provide augmentation funds for logistical support, if necessary.

ARTICLE IV

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITION

Section 1. Supplemental Agreement - Supplemental agreements may be executed by and

between the parties in order to fully undertake and fulfil the provisions of this agreement.

Section 2. Amendments/Modification - The parties hereto may amend, revise or change any
of the covenants and stipulation herein through mutual consent and only in the form of another
written agreement.

Section 3. Effectivity - The Memorandum of Agreement shall take effect upon its signing and
shall be in force for the entire implementation period of the Program, unless otherwise
expressly terminated in writing.

Section 4. Settlement of Differences - In case of conflict or dispute between the parties,

arising from this agreement, both parties agree to freely and voluntarily submit themselves to

MOA: DA, DA-RFO, and MAFAR-BARMM for RCEF-RFFA 6

mutual consultation and negotiation for purposes of amicable settlement and find a mutually
acceptable solution to their conflict/dispute. If the dispute is not hereby settled, the same shall
be administratively settled or adjudicated in the manner provided in Chapter 14, Book IV of the
Executive Order 292 and other applicable laws, rules, and regulation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties, through their duly authorized representatives,

have hereunto affixed their signatures on this_______ day of ________________ 2021, in
___________________, Philippines.

BANGSAMORO REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO

____________________________________
MOHAMMAD S. YACOB, Ph.D.
Minister, MAFAR-BARMM
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE IX

_____________________________ _____________________________
WILLIAM D. DAR, Ph.D. RAD DONN L. CEDEÑO
Secretary Regional Executive Director

DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE X DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE XII

_____________________________ _____________________________
CARLENE C. COLLADO DENNIS R. ARPIA
Regional Executive Director Regional Executive Director

Signed in the presence of:

BANGSAMORO REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO

____________________________________
INSERT NAME
Designation
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE IX

_____________________________ _____________________________
ARIEL T. CAYANAN INSERT NAME

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 Undersecretary for Operations Designation

DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE X DA REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE XII

_____________________________ _____________________________
INSERT NAME INSERT NAME
Designation Designation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )

) S. S.

BEFORE ME, a Notary Public for and in above-stated locality this ______day of
______________ personally appeared:

Names Government-Issued Expiry

ID

WILLIAM D. DAR, Ph.D.

Secretary, DA

MOHAMMAD S. YACOB, Ph.D.

Minister, MAFAR-BARMM

WILLIAM D. DAR, Ph.D.

Secretary, DA

RAD DONN L. CEDEÑO

Regional Executive Director, DA RFO IX

CARLENE C. COLLADO
Regional Executive Director, DA RFO X

DENNIS R. ARPIA
Regional Executive Director, DA RFO XII

Known to me and to me known to be the same persons who executed this Memorandum of
Agreement and they acknowledged to me that the same is their free and voluntary act and deed
and of the entities they represent.

This instrument consists of eight (8) pages including this page whereon the acknowledgement
is written, and has been signed on each and every page thereof by the parties and witnesses.

MOA: DA, DA-RFO, and MAFAR-BARMM for RCEF-RFFA 8

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal on this _________ day of
______________________.

WITNESS MY HAND SEAL on the date and place above written.

Doc. No. ______;

Page No. ______; NOTARY PUBLIC
Book No. ______;
Series of 2 0 2 1

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