Issue Based Analysis

Arlyn Deslie Guevarra

AB in Political Science - PSC31

Political Economy

Jumel Estrañero

De La Salle University-Dasmariñas

RICE TARIFFICATION LAW: Does it promote or damage the farmers and consumers in
the Philippines?

Rice is the most essential staple food for Filipinos, supplying over half of the population's daily
calorie requirements. Indeed, a Filipino meal cannot be considered complete without rice
(Mamiit, Yanagida, & Miura, 2021, and National Nutrition Council, 2020). The Philippines is the
second biggest rice importer next to China as a consequence of the country’s rapid population
growth and shortage of land availability (Tobias, 2019). On February 14, 2019, the Duterte
administration authorized and implemented the Rice Tariffication Law, also known as Republic
Act No. 11203, in order to emphasize the value of rice and its farmers. According to Department
of Agriculture Secretary William Dar (Cudis, 2021), this law is a "game-changing reform policy"
because it will eliminate the inefficiencies of the Philippines' rice sector while simultaneously
enhancing its competitiveness in global perspective. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl
Kendrick T. Chua also supported this idea, claiming that this law will help to address the needs
of consumers for a lower retail price of rice, as well as allowing for the financial support of the
Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) through tariff revenues, and indicating that it
will provide more supplementary aid to farmers with excess tariff revenues, thereby establishing
the law as a best model that will be a great advantage to the Filipino people as a whole (NEDA,
2022). However, there are drawbacks to this law, particularly in its implementation, which are
unfavorable to Filipino farmers and consumers. One of its intentions is to supply low-cost rice on
the domestic market, however it has prompted prices to increase from 39 to 50 pesos per kilo, a
decline of around 1.50 pesos from 2018-2019. Similarly, the 3.5 Filipino rice farmers suffer a
significant loss of revenue from palay. This policy encouraged more major rice traders and
importers to maximize their profits and exploit the fact that it operates effectively with little or
no government interference, at the expense of Filipino farmers and consumers who suffered
rising inflation as a result of the pandemic.The Rice Tariffication Law, or Republic Act No.
11203, causes further harm to our Filipino farmers given that it will increase of number of cheap
rice imports, thereby ignoring the rights of these farmers and making them more impoverished.
As a direct result of the surge of cheap rice imports, the market price for this will plunge in a free
market. Therefore, this will not only have a detrimental effect on Filipino farmers, but also on all
Filipino consumers and the country as a whole.

References:

Cudis, C. (2021, November 25). Rice Tariffication Law ‘game changer’:DA. Retrieved from
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1160943

Mamiit, R., Yanagida, J., & Miura, T. (2021, September 21). Productivity Hot Spots and Cold
Spots: Setting Geographic Priorities for Achieving Food Production Targets. Retrieved from
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.727484/full#:~:text=Rice%20is%20the%
20most%20important,importing%20countries%20in%20the%20world.

National Nutrition Council. (2020, November 27). The importance of Rice to Filipinos’ lives.
Retrieved from
https://nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/mindanao/region-ix-zamboanga-peninsula/4387-the-importan
ce-of-rice-to-filipinos-lives

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). (2022, May 19). RICE
TARIFFICATION LAW IS THE BEST MODEL THAT WE HAVE TO HELP BOTH
FARMERS AND CONSUMERS — NEDA. Retrieved from
https://neda.gov.ph/rice-tariffication-law-is-the-best-model-that-we-have-to-help-both-farmers-a
nd-consumers-neda/#:~:text=Republic%20Act%20No.,funded%20by%20the%20tariff%20reven
ues.

Peña, K. (2022, August 16). Arguments to repeal rice tariffication: Prices still high but farmers
poorer. Retrieved from
https://www.pids.gov.ph/details/news/in-the-news/arguments-to-repeal-rice-tariffication-prices-st
ill-high-but-farmers-poorer

Tobias, A. (2019, May 23). The Philippine Rice Tariffication Law: Implications and Issues.
Retrieved from https://ap.fftc.org.tw/article/137