PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is expected to sign the Rice Tariffication bill “anytime soon,” Malacañang said on Wednesday.
“I suppose it will be signed anytime…. He will decide on that soon enough,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a briefing on Wednesday.
The Senate approved the measure, which is expected to slash rice retail prices by P7 per kilogram and inflation by 0.7 percentage points, on third and final reading in November. The House of Representatives, for its part, approved the bill in August.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said in a statement that Mr. Duterte “will ensure that even with the tariffication of rice and liberalization of (imports), the NFA (National Food Authority) shall continue to provide the public, particularly the less fortunate, with rice that is affordable and safe.”
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said Tuesday that once the bill is signed into law, the NFA can no longer sell rice at P27 per kilo. “Obviously if we procure locally, we cannot sell at 27 because we will be losing a lot of money,” he said.
Asked to comment during a briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Panelo said: “When the market is liberalized there will be competition that will pull down prices.”
In a statement, Senator Francis N. Pangilinan said in response to Mr. Piñol: “The rice tariffication bill, when it becomes law, should not be used as an excuse to alarm the consuming public about available affordable rice. It’s the equivalent of announcing a death toll with the approach of a storm. The correct approach should be to ensure no one dies during a storm.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
