Palace welcomes questions on Rice Tariffication Act’s legality

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after the farmers’ group, the Philippine Farmers Advisory Board (PFAB), expressed concern that the law might cause the price of palay to further decline. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — Farmers have the right to question the legality of the Rice Tariffication Act if they feel that it would cause more harm than good to the agriculture sector, Malacañang said on Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after the farmers’ group, the Philippine Farmers Advisory Board (PFAB), expressed concern that the law might cause the price of palay to further decline.

“It’s their right. The Palace welcomes any move from any sector questioning any act of the government–that is democratic process in work,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Panelo assured that the new law has safeguards that will protect farmers, including an annual allocation of PHP10-billion in Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

He, meanwhile, said he had suspected that the middlemen, not farmers, were complaining about the new Rice Tariffication Act.

“Yung reklamo ng mga farmers mukhang hindi naman nga farmers mismo, mukhang yung mga middlemen yung nagrereklamo. (The complaint of the farmers, it didn’t seem like it came from farmers, it seemed like the middlemen are complaining),” Panelo said.

On Friday, Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Act, which is expected to result in lower rice prices and help cushion the impact of inflation for the benefit of the consumers.

Panelo said the law is also meant to protect farmers from the emerging competition as a result of its implementation, through the direct safety net and productivity support PHP 10-billion RCEF.

Duterte earlier certified the bill’s passage by Congress as urgent.