The Department of Agriculture (DA) is accelerating efforts to finalize nationwide consultations on the proposed amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), confident that the reforms will help bring down rice prices and restore fairness to Filipino farmers.
The series of regional consultations, set to conclude on the first week of November, will shape the final draft of the administration’s proposed amendments before its submission to Congress.
The DA is focused on addressing three pressing concerns: the erosion of farm incomes due to cheap imports, the failure of retail prices to reflect lower import costs, and the country’s rising dependence on unstable global grain markets.
“We cannot allow our farmers to be the casualties of market inefficiencies and unchecked speculation. Our goal is a rice industry that rewards productivity, ensures stability, and protects both producers and consumers,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr.
Momentum for reform gained pace after the 2025 Quinta Hearings in the House of Representatives, where legislators and stakeholders agreed that the 2024 amendments to the RTL, now Republic Act 12078, had not gone far enough.
The revision of the law is among the 44 priority measures endorsed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) to align key legislative priorities between Congress and the Executive branch.
The forthcoming administration bill will reintroduce calibrated state intervention through the National Food Authority (NFA) and is expected to serve as the foundation for measures such as the proposed Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act.
The bill will reinstate the agency’s previous powers to manage buffer stocks, regulate imports, and stabilize prices while preserving the benefits of trade liberalization.
An important feature of the DA’s draft is the creation of the Philippine Rice Industry Development Program (PRIDP), which will consolidate existing rice funds and mandate an annual allocation of P30 billion from tariff revenues to finance productivity and resilience programs.
The bill will also authorize a flexible floor price for palay to ensure fair returns for farmers, along with an affordability benchmark and a targeted rice subsidy for low-income consumers.
The final round of consultations will take place in Cagayan de Oro City on October 27 and in Quezon City on October 28, following earlier sessions in Iloilo.
The DA targets to submit the refined draft to Congress and the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office before sessions resume on November 10, with lawmakers aiming to pass substitute bills in both chambers by the end of 2025.
