A legislator from Bicol on Wednesday said that the drastic cut on the import tariff on rice will eventually result in the staple being sold at below P30 a kilogram.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte made the statement as he welcomed Malacañang’s order that slashed import tariffs on rice, in a move, which, he said will set in motion President Marcos’s goal to eventually reduce the retail cost of rice.
“The recent issuance by the President of EO (Executive Order) 62 that modified the multi-year and comprehensive tariff schedule on imports until 2028 is certainly a welcome development,” Villafuerte said.
“As the modified rates include the reduction of customs duties on rice from 35 percent to just 15 percent, which our economic managers project to later on bring down the market price of the staple to below P30 a kilo,” he added.
Villafuerte also supported the provision in EO 62 that subjects the reduced rates to a review every four months, saying “this would give flexibility to the government to adjust the customs duties if and when necessary, subject to existing market conditions.”
Marcos issued EO 62 on June 20, or just weeks after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, which he chairs, approved the rice tariff rate cut as part of the modified comprehensive customs duties for most commodities from now till end-December 2028.
Villafuerte at the same time appealed to certain farmers’ groups that are set to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) against EO 62 to “reconsider and give up their planned legal action, considering that agricultural workers will benefit, too, from cheaper rice as they themselves are main consumers of this staple.”
Twelve groups, including Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), bared plans last weekend to file a TRO before the Supreme Court to prevent EO 62 from taking effect on July 6.
“The unhampered implementation of EO 62 will get the process for rice prices to go down below P30 a kilo, at least to poor and low-income consumers, as projected by our economic managers,” Villanueva noted.
And once the Congress enacts a proposed law amending Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), he said that rice prices are then expected to even go down further.
