DA responds

I write on behalf of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in response to an opinion piece titled “Potemkin” by Prof. Alex Magno that the agency will impose suggested retail prices on rice to stem rising prices caused by fear – both here and abroad – of possible supply shortage due to El Niño.

As Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. clarified, the suggestion to implement SRPs on rice was an idea floated during discussions of remedies available in the Price Act, or RA 7581.

The Price Act empowers the DA to set price ceilings on agricultural products and inputs during emergencies. But such power is not self-executory. The DA needs to craft implementing rules and regulations before it can exercise that power with other implementing agencies.

Please note that Secretary Tiu Laurel has already ordered the creation of a technical working group to prepare the IRR to operationalize the provision in the Price Act.

We agree with Prof. Magno’s opinion that price-setting is incompatible with a market economy like the Philippines and only creates more problems than achieving the primary goal of taming inflation.

Sec. Tiu Laurel is cognizant that setting price limits on goods is counterproductive and would only hurt farmers and consumers.

The DA is working to ensure there is enough rice inventory, especially during the lean months, to ensure stable prices of agricultural commodities. To augment the production, rice imports are now arriving and agreements are being worked out with other nations to secure more supply. Locally, the DA has stepped up preparation to mitigate the impact on agricultural production of an expected prolonged drought due to the latest episode of El Niño.

Rest assured that the DA is not resorting to building Potemkin villages but is implementing strategies and initiatives to modernize agriculture, increase farm and fishery output, make the Philippines truly food secure and eventually lift millions of Filipinos dependent on agriculture and fishery out of poverty. – Alvin John Balagbag, Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary, DA