Senate urged: Approve revisions to RTL when session resumes

CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte yesterday pressed the Senate to pass their version of the House-approved bill seeking amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) when the 19th Congress reopens for its third and final session on July 22.

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP) president, appealed to senators to approve the proposed bill in the face of the rising cost of the staple across the country.

With President Marcos’ recent approval of the hefty reduction in the rice import tariff which is expected to slash the retail cost of the staple, Villafuerte said congressional approval of the proposed amendatory law to the RTL or RA 11203 “will further pull down market prices of this grain, as part of the government’s aim to slash the per-kilo price of rice to below P30 for the benefit of Filipino consumers.”

“With rice accounting for a sizeable share of the food expenses of Filipinos, most especially of poor or low-income families, writing a law to amend RA 11203 by restoring certain regulatory and trading powers of the NFA (National Food Authority) to intervene in the market and make the staple more affordable and accessible for our consumers is one way for us lawmakers to help take the edge off sticky inflation,” he said.

Speaker Martin Romualdez last week said the House of Representatives and the Senate are close to reaching an agreement on the proposed amendments to the RTL following the first official meeting between him and Senate President Francis Escudero.

Romualdez has said he expects Sen. Cynthia Villar, who opposed the House’s proposal to restore the power of the National Food Authority (NFA) to directly import and sell rice, to file her version of the bill seeking amendments to the RTL.

Villar chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform that is tackling the proposal.

Villafuerte pointed out that the proposed market intervention of the NFA shall happen only as a last resort of the government to fix “food security emergencies.”

Also, he said the oversight functions inherent in the Congress will enable legislators to keep track of the implementation of the would-be law to deter the NFA from possibly