President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday he remains optimistic about bringing down the price of rice to P20 per kilo, even as the grain has been selling for more than double that amount.
In an interview in Zamboanga, the President said this could be achieved once the cost of agricultural production becomes stable.
“If we lower the cost of production, the price of rice will also decrease,” he said in Filipino.
Bringing the price of rice down to P20 a kilo was one of the President’s campaign promises.
President Marcos was in Zamboanga to distribute confiscated smuggled rice and other assistance to residents and the local government units in Zamboanga.
His visit to Zamboanga came after the Bureau of Customs seized 42,180 bags of imported rice worth P42 million inside a warehouse in Barangay San Jose Gusu, Zamboanga City on Sept. 15.
On Monday, the National Food Authority (NFA) Council, chaired by Marcos, raised the price at which the NFA buys wet palay, from P16 to P19 a kilo, and for dry palay from P19 to P23 a kilo.
Marcos said the new buying price for palay would help farmers.
He also defended his order mandating a price cap on regular andwell-milled rice, saying this would help the public afford the staple commodity despite its soaring cost because of the El Niño.
The President, who is concurrently Agriculture secretary, noted that such as China, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia were already racing to have enough buffer stock before the dry spell, which he said caused a spike in rice prices.
Marcos also vowed to continue the government’s campaign against rice smugglers and hoarders.
“We need sufficient food for our fellow countrymen. Part of that isstrengthening our agricultural system. However, that’s not the onlyproblem in agriculture here in the Philippines; a significant problem is the smuggling of rice into the country,” he said in Filipino.
Marcos cited the need for better laws on rice distribution to stop smugglers and hoarders.
“We also need to strengthen our enforcement of laws regarding the supply of rice…It is not right that smugglers and hoarders bring it in, hoard the supply, raise the price, and people suffer just so they can make a lot of money,” he said.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, meanwhile, said the President’s decision to raise the NFA’s buying price for palay would redound to the benefit of farmers and keep prices for the grain stable.
“The President wants to make sure our local prices are stable, regardless of what happens in the world market. Our priority should be our own. Of course, we prefer our local supply compared to imported rice. We should import only what we need. Self-sufficiency should be key,” he said.
Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, meanwhile, said the President might lift the price cap on rice in the coming weeks.
Tulfo said there were already recommendations from farmers’ groups about the lifting of the rice price ceiling, which is at P41 per kilogram for regular-milled rice and P45 a kilogram for well-milled rice.
“What I’ve been hearing from Malacañang, the President may suspend it hopefully by the end of the month or around October,” Tulfo said on ANC’s “Headstart.”
Tulfo said the cancellation of the rice price cap could begin when newly harvested rice starts to enter the market.
Romualdez called for more support for Filipino farmers to enable them to produce more rice so the country can reduce and eventually do away with rice importation.
He said rice importation fattens the pockets of foreign rice producers, while hurting Filipino farmers.
Instead of depending on rice imports, the country should address issues related to production, supply, funding, marketing, infrastructure, irrigation, and technology, he said.
In other developments:
• Senator Francis Tolentino said rice smugglers and hoarders should immediately be charged now that raids on warehouses are underway.
• Rep. Salvador Pleyto of Bulacan said President Marcos’ decision to give away smuggled and hoarded rice to poor families was the “best deterrent” against smuggling. Pleyto, a member of the House agriculture and food committee, said President Marcos’ decision would mean “confiscated smuggled rice can no longer be rescued by bribes.”
