SENATE PRESIDENT Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero on Monday backed a plan by the Agriculture department to declare a food emergency to address rising food prices, as he cited the need for the state to step up efforts to lower rice prices.
“We must do everything we can to lower the price of rice which, to a large extent, is responsible for a big chunk of our inflation numbers,” he told reporters in a Viber group message.
The Federation of Free Farmers in a statement on Sunday urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to study a national food emergency declaration since lowering rice prices could risk cutting farmgate prices and affect farmers.
“If the concerns of the [federation] are indeed proven correct, I am sure the DA can make the corresponding adjustments to rectify its unintended ill-effects,” the Senate president said.
Agriculture Secretary Franciso P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. earlier said that his agency is likely to declare a nationwide food security emergency on Feb. 4 to lower rice retail prices.
According to the DA’s price monitoring of Metro Manila markets as of Jan. 31, a kilo of imported special rice costs P52 to P61 compared with P57 to P65 a year ago.
He has said imported rice prices are stubbornly elevated even after the government slashed import tariffs on the staple. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. lowered the tariffs on imported rice to 15% from 35% until 2028.
The price of imported premium rice was P51-P58 per kilo as of Jan. 31 from P54-P62 a year earlier. Imported well-milled rice costs P44 to P52, while imported regular milled is P40 to P48 per kilo.
The declaration of a national emergency on rice would let the Agriculture department flood the market with rice held by the National Food Authority (NFA).
The NFA had said it was planning to release 300,000 metric tons of rice held in warehouses to make way for the harvest season. — John Victor D. Ordoñez