House OKs bill restoring NFA power to import rice

MANILA, Philippines —  Administration lawmakers approved on third and final reading on Tuesday the measure amending provisions of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) in the hope of substantially bringing down the price of rice in the retail market.

House Bill 10381 was approved in plenary via a 231-3 vote with one abstention, which proposes to amend Republic Act 8178 (Agricultural Tariffication Act) as well as the five-year-old RTL (Republic Act 11203).

The measure was approved overwhelmingly, with the objective to amend certain provisions in the RTL and bring back the power of the National Food Authority (NFA) to import as well as sell the staple in the market.

Speaker Martin Romualdez said the move is aimed at making “high-quality rice affordable” to every Filipino.

“This bill is not just a policy change; it is a powerful pledge to every Filipino. We are committed to ensuring that rice – our staple food – remains affordable and accessible to all,” Romualdez said.

Rep. Mark Enverga, chairman of the House committee on agriculture and food security, earlier assured the senators and the public in general that they definitely have “safeguards” in restoring the power of the NFA in helping stabilize the price of rice.

“Before, the NFA had monopoly in terms of rice imports, they had monopoly in terms of regulation. I would like to assure our counterparts in the Senate that this is a different scenario,” he said.

House Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon province and Rep. Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list expressed hope the Senate will change their mind about bringing the power back to NFA, citing the history of corruption the agency had in previous administrations.

“Let’s not forget this is not an issue of corruption, but rather an issue of food security and price of rice and we should bring our attention to the main agenda, which is the price of rice, which is food security, that should be our focus,” Suarez said.

Acidre said the passage of the amendments to RTL “is an important step for them (senators) to prove that we are also one in providing solutions to our problems.”

Former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor in a radio interview yesterday asked the Senate