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President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on December 9 signed a law extending the life of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for six years and tripling its annual allocation to P30 billion from P10 billion
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Republic Act No. 12078 amends RA No. 8178, also known as the ATA, which was in turn amended by RA 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act
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RA 12078 aims to strengthen the Philippine rice industry through enhanced regulatory functions, price stabilization powers for the Department of Agriculture and the president, among others
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on December 9 signed a law extending the life of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for six years until 2031 and tripling its annual allocation to P30 billion from P10 billion.
Republic Act No. 12078 amends RA No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 (ATA), which was in turn amended by RA 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act of 2019. The latter removed import restrictions on rice and replaced them with a tariff system aimed to make local farmers more competitive and sustainable through, among others, the creation of the RCEF.
RA 12078 aims to strengthen the Philippine rice industry through enhanced regulatory functions, price stabilization powers for the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the president, and support for initiatives such as seed development, modern farming equipment, low-interest credit, farmer training, composting facilities, pest management, solar irrigation systems and soil health improvement.
In his speech during the ceremonial signing of the law at Malacañan Palace, Marcos said: “With the expiration of the original six-year plan for RCEF fast approaching, it became clear that we needed to extend and strengthen the program.”
He noted that through the RCEF, “we have been able to invest in high-quality seeds, mechanization, and training of our farmers—ensuring that they are equipped with the right skills and tools to increase productivity.”
The fund’s extension, the president said, “will enable us to do much more for our farmers, ensuring that they have the resources that they need to succeed and to make the rice industry even more competitive.”
In a separate press statement, the Department of Finance said RA 12078 “enhances the capabilities of the government to protect Filipino consumers by extending market interventions to stabilize rice prices during periods of volatility and to prevent manipulative pricing and hoarding.”
As part of the law, the Seed Program and the Mechanization Program under the RCEF will receive enhanced support to provide more farmers with access to high-quality seeds, which will boost their yields.
A buffer stock of rice will also be maintained, equivalent to 30 days at any given time, to sustain disaster relief programs of the government during natural or man-made calamities and to address food security emergency situations on rice.
The law empowers DA to maintain stricter oversight of the rice industry to ensure rice reaching the markets complied with quality standards and regulations. The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) will be able to inspect rice warehouses and manage a national database to track grain storage in order to safeguard food supply and ensure its safety for the public.
The DA-BPI is authorized to require the registration and maintain a national database of all grain warehouses, storage facilities, silos, and controlled-temperature cold storages; conduct regular site inspections; and collect and analyze data on rice trade activities, in cooperation with the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Bureau of Customs, the National Food Authority, and other government agencies.
RA 12078 authorizes the secretary of agriculture, upon the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council, to declare a food security emergency on rice due to supply shortage or extraordinary increase in prices.
During periods when there is an extraordinary increase in the prices of rice, the secretary of agriculture is authorized to designate importing entities, with the exception of the National Food Authority, to import rice to augment the supply of rice and stabilize prices.
